East Africa: What Leaks? Secrecy Still Cloaks Region

5 December 2010

Nairobi — The leak of US diplomatic cables from all over the world has raised fundamental question over freedom of information and the operations of the media vis-à-vis governments.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has among others put the media in the East African region on the spot, for not doing enough to investigate corruption in government, or going along with targeted leaks by government officials with their own agenda. The Wikileaks saga proves that even the US government is scared of the new media and its capacity to track goings on in the corridors of power.

Africa: IFJ Condemns United States Desperate And Dangerous; Backlash Over Wikileaks

International Federation of Journalists (Brussels)
2 December 2010

press release

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today condemned the political backlash being mounted against the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks and accused the United States of attacking free speech after it put pressure on the website's host server to shut down the site yesterday.
The website's host Amazon.com blocked access to WikiLeaks after United States officials condemned the torrent of revelations about political, business and diplomatic affairs that has given people around the world unprecedented access to detailed information from United States sources, much of it embarrassing to leading public figures.

"It is unacceptable to try to deny people the right to know," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. "These revelations may be embarrassing in their detail, but they also expose corruption and double-dealing in public life that is worthy of public scrutiny. The response of the United States is desperate and dangerous because it goes against fundamental principles of free speech and democracy."