Leaky Freedom

As you have probably too, Murmeldyr has been following the Wikileaks releases closely in the last weeks. Not as eager for the actual documents as for the reactions of the international society. And reactions there have been, in a magnitude that reminds me more of totalitarian regimes than the free Western world.

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Like the re-opening of the otherwise unrelated rape case against the Wikileaks founder, a case that has been dropped for over three months. As far as I can tell, nothing new has been added to the report, making its resumption seem rather opportunistic. (Note that this is not another bashing of the accusing parties, I am sure they had good reasons to file the complaints and that the relevant authorities had equally good reasons to shelve them.)

So, now it seems we are hindered in spending our money the way we wish, as PayPal, Mastercard and even Visa have blocked any and all donations to Wikileaks and partner accounts. This is a new concept for me, and highly unusual in financial business. It seems bizarre that groups condoning genocide like the KKK can have open bank accounts while a (however radical) promoter of freedom of speech is facing all kinds of blockades.

While I do realize that diplomacy sometimes calls for confidentiality, it seems clear to me that the degree of secrecy is far higher than what would be reasonable. I am sure it is easier to restrict everything and anything “just in case”, but most of the leaked documents are really very mundane and should have been public in the first place. This January, in a speech by the US foreign minister the fact that “access to information helps citizens hold their own governments accountable” was highlighted. Where are you now, Hillary?