We Neither Hate Nor Bear Grudges Against Anyone

Wochenspiegel, 03.06.1998, Mario Zender  
 
Husband and wife agent team Mauss delight at decision of Bogotá Prosecutor General
 
District/Bogotá. “We neither hate nor bear grudges against anyone, nor against any national or private institutions.” Werner Mauss and wife Ida (37) are in a good mood as they issue their joint statement in Bogotá.

The General Prosecutor had just declared all charges against the Hunsrück-based agent pair invalid. “We wish to express our thanks to the German government for their unstinting support, to the Colombian National Police, in particular General Serano, for the protection they have provided for us since our release from prison, and to all those people who have stood by us.”

Mauss, the world famous German agent, sees the order for withdrawal of prosecution issued by the Prosecutor General as a vindication of his “special mission for peace” in Colombia.

Mauss: “It has been proved that we were engaged in a humanitarian mission, just like the many others we have accomplished in other countries.” And on one point the Mauss couple are agreed: The arrest, the long court proceedings with all the stresses and strains, will not be allowed to keep them from continuing with their work on the peace negotiations. “We repeat our commitment, if it is the wish of the Colombian people, to carrying on the search for a solution to the armed conflict that is destroying this beautiful country,” says Mauss. To make a dash for the exit, to leave the country at the first opportunity now that proceedings against him have ended is not his style says Mauss. “I’ve never yet left a job unfinished.”

Among the first to congratulate Mauss after the collapse of the case against him was Minister of State Schmidbauer.

The intelligence services coordinator called Mauss in Bogotá to congratulate him on the outcome. The minister too must have been greatly relieved by the decision. He was the one after all with political responsibility for Mauss’s special mission and the one who then had to take all the political flak following the arrest.

By courtesy of the Wochenspiegel SW publishers www.wochenspiegellive.de