The announcement today by the investigative and whistle blowing website, Wikileaks that will temporarily suspend publishing operations in order to raise much-needed funds blaming the US government and financial institutions leaves has great repercussion for freedom of information. We are witnessing a scenario where interest is competing against avowed tenets.
For decades, at least during the era of the cold war, the capitalist bloc led by the US trumpeted from the roof top the right of citizens to information and freedom of expression. This tenet was used to justify the support for campaign against socialist and communist governments. Well, today the very weapon used to dismantle communism is turning round against the interest of the west especially the US.WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange and his organisation have since faced all forms of hate tactics to scare them from divulging secret diplomatic cables.
The organization caused international controversy last November when it began the release of more than 250,000 confidential U.S. diplomatic cables. The site recently published the entire catalog of files, with the names of sources included. WikiLeaks claims the aforementioned financial firms yanked support last year at the urging of the U.S. government, which is actively pursuing an investigation against it.
Financial woes began for WikiLeaks last December when Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, and Bank of America all ceased processing donations to the whistle-blowing site, which is supported entirely by donations. WikiLeaks said this effectively cost it “tens of millions of dollars” in funding.
WikiLeaks said the “unlawful financial blockade” has “destroyed 95 percent of [WikiLeaks’] revenues, and has caused it to almost empty its bank account.
Now, to ensure its future, WikiLeaks will “aggressively fundraise in order to fight back against [the] blockage] and its proponents.”
“The blockade is outside of any accountable, public process,” WikiLeaks continued. “It is without democratic oversight or transparency. Our scarce resources now must focus on fighting the unlawful banking blockade.”
WikiLeaks said it has begun to pursue legal action against the blockade in the U.S., Iceland, Denmark, the U.K., Belgium, and Australia. It also on Monday launched its own site where people can make donations.
The question is 'is the US gagging tactics beginning to bite and what will be the implications for the freedoms we all so much cherish and aspire for?
