Governments and Corporations Attempt to Repress Wikileaks: Holding Up Mirrors

WikiLeaks has struggled to stay online after initiating the slow release of over 250,000 leaked US diplomatic cables on 28th November 2010. The releases, dubbed "Cablegate" have been carried in newspapers around the world. The four-year-old WikiLeaks organistaion has been under constant political attack, especially from the conservative side of politics, whilst it's website has been subjected to a series of sophisticated cyber attacks. Reporters Without Borders condemned this hounding of Wikileaks.

Spokesperson for Wikileaks, Julian Assange, was put on Interpol's most wanted list for detention and extradition to Sweden in relation to two allegations of sexual abuse against him which had previously been dropped. The Swedish prosecutor is described as “overzealous” in the mainstream German weekly, Die Zeit. Assange surrendered his passport to British police and offered sureties of £180,000, but a Westminster Court denied his bail application. (Court protest)

Global resistance in support of Wikileaks and Assange is taking the form of over 1,200 websites mirroring Wikileaks and street protests such as in Australia. The Indymedia Network is hosting one of these Mirrors. Noam Chomsky, Professor Peter Singer and other prominent people in Australia have released an open letter to Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard calling for Julian Assange to be given full support as an Australian citizen and urged a statement of Australia’s commitment to freedom of political communication.

In retaliation against corporate censorship action against Wikileaks anonymous hackers working as Operation Payback have taken down a bank website that froze Julian Assange’s defence fund and the Mastercard site was subject to a DDOS attack after wikileaks donations were banned.

US constitutional lawyer Glenn Greenwald said on Democarcy Now that the freedom of the whole internet is now at stake.

The manner of these revelations has been described as "holding a mirror" to the mainstream press and their friends in governments. The governments clearly don't like to see the ugliness of their own depravity, which is ususally hidden from view by the press. Will we allow Wikileaks and Julian Assange to be destroyed for daring to tell the world the truth about wars and the criminal deeds of governments around the world? Or will we support the upholding of mirrors - both technical and journalistic - in the struggle for openness?

continued at link :http://www.indymedia.org/en/index.shtml

it is good to see someone in government speak their truth

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Wikileaks row: US spokesman Crowley quits over gaffe


Mr Crowley later added that his remarks were his own opinion

13 March 2011 Last updated at 14:28 ET

US state department spokesman PJ Crowley has resigned after calling the treatment of the man accused of leaking secret cables to Wikileaks "stupid".

He said he was taking responsibility for the impact of his remarks about Bradley Manning.

Private Manning is being held in solitary confinement at a maximum security US military jail.

He has been on suicide watch at the Quantico marine base in Virginia and is shackled at all times.

He faces 34 charges relating to the leaking of 720,000 diplomatic and military documents.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she accepted Mr Crowley's resignation "with regret".

She said he had served his nation "with distinction", "motivated by a deep devotion to public policy and public diplomacy".

'Ridiculous'

Mr Crowley was speaking to an audience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology about new media and foreign policy when he made the controversial remarks.

He was asked by a participant about the "the elephant in the room" - Wikileaks - and, in the questioner's words, "torturing a prisoner in a military brig".

"I spent 26 years in the air force," Mr Crowley reportedly replied.

"What is happening to Manning is ridiculous, counterproductive and stupid, and I don't know why the DoD [Department of Defense] is doing it. Nevertheless, Manning is in the right place."

He said his comments were on the record, though he later added that they were his own opinion.

In his resignation letter he said: "Given the impact of my remarks, for which I take full responsibility, I have submitted my resignation."

His remarks were revealed in a blog by the BBC's Philippa Thomas, who attended the event.

President Barack Obama later insisted he had received assurances that the terms of Pte Manning's confinement were "appropriate".

Earlier this year, rights organisation Amnesty International expressed concern about the conditions in which Mr Manning was being held.

It said he had been held "for 23 hours a day in a sparsely furnished solitary cell and deprived of a pillow, sheets, and personal possessions since July 2010".

He was also reportedly forced to disrobe on a daily basis.

Source;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12728315