Is Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, being persecuted for the crimes of his accusers? Patrik Etschmayer of Switzerland’s News writes that the world’s power elite don’t like – and aren’t used to – having their incompetence and misbehavior so roundly exposed, and in an effort to deflect public angst directed at them, are trying to make Julian Assange the issue.
For Switzerland’s News, Patrik Etschmayer writes in part:
WikiLeaks is a hot topic and will remain so. The arrest of Julian Assange won’t do a thing to change that. Assange may well be the face of WikiLeaks, the representative who stepped into the public eye; however, he is no more WikiLeaks than George Clooney is the manufacturer of Nespresso or Audrey Tautou the person who mixes perfume for Chanel.
The accusation being put forward by governments and adopted by some journalists, that while exposing governments Assange isn’t open enough in regard to his private life, is complete idiocy. With the exception of the veracity of documents published by WikiLeaks, Assange isn’t accountable – unlike governments – for how he wastes taxpayer money, incites wars, tortures prisoners, violates constitutional rights and falsifies the results of investigations. He simply hasn’t done any of these things. States have duties and responsibilities and are accountable to their citizens – and they are increasingly shameless in their neglect of these responsibilities.
The brave new world of information has delivered into the hands of governments and their secret services brand new toys for surveillance, deception and manipulation. At the same time, multinational companies have expanded their influence in politics to an all-time high. The exercise of power has become more opaque, and last but not least, lobbying groups are making sure that the boundaries between economic and political interests disappear even further. Meanwhile, many media companies, whether for financial reasons or for reasons related to the conflict of interests of owners, dispense with investigative journalism and the great effort and expense that it entails. This is a dream of those in power that threatens to become a reality.
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