Governments do not always show all the actions they are doing. There are some things that they do not want to share with the citizens of their countries and the rest of the world. It could be said that there is not transparency in our politicians. Take as an example, Guantánamo, nobody knows what is done there and how detainees are treated. However, there is an organization since 2006 that wants to break all that and is fighting against corruption. This organization is called WikiLeaks. His creator was Julian Assange, who is an Australian publisher and journalist. The aim of this journalist is to open governments as it is said in Wikileaks’s slogan: “We open governments”
For instance, WikiLeaks is a non-profit organization, in other words, the journalists who work in this organization do not want money. They want to stop how our governments rule our countries. WikiLeaks believes in the Universal Declaration of Human rights which says that everybody has the right to speak freely and without interference of any type. They claim that journalists should be able to write about any topic without being afraid of being sent to prison or something worse. Publishing improves transparency and that is the only way to form a better society.
Wikleaks is compared to Daniel Ellsberg's leaking of the Pentagon Papers in 1971
WikiLeaks has been a success and has won many prizes since it was launched such as the 2008 Economist Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression award or the 2009 Amnesty International human rights reporting award (New Media). Furthermore, it has broken many stories such as war, killing, torture, finace, taxes… However, the problem has appeared when its creator Julian Assagne was sent to prison due to sexual offences. Some people claim and Julian himself that governments are politically motivated and want him in prison. There have been many riots in favor of releasing Assange and this event is being one of the most trending topics of this time.
Many questions have still to be answered. Is Assange a good person in favor of human rights or is he using the fact of being the creator of WikiLeaks to avoid prision? Are governments against transparency? The truth is that Wikileaks has put governments in an awkward position.
References:
- What is WikiLeaks? In WikiLeaks. Retrieved 11:00, 18 January,2011 from http://213.251.145.96/About.html
- WikiLeaks (2011 January 18) In Wikipedia. Retrieved 12:00, 18 January, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikileaks#Purpose
- WikiLeaks: Julian Assange ‘faces execution or Guantánamo detention’(2011, Tuesday 11) In guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 13:20, 18 January, 2011 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jan/11/julian-assange-wikileaks-execution-gantanamo
- WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange ( 2010 ,July 26) In Youtube. Retrieved 13:29, 18 January, 2011 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdfZ-D2oZiU
