In respect of Wikileaks, The Hindu has really made history by offering to its readers articles and reports based on a selection from 5100 India Cables, aggregating six million words.
To cap all these valuable reports, N.Ram, the highly acclaimed Editor-in - Chief of The Hindu travelled to the county of Norfolk in U.K. and in the course of an hour long interview with Julian Assange, Editor-in - Chief of Wikileaks was able to give the country a glimpse of the theoretical framework within which Wikileaks plays its role on the world stage, and what motivates and moves Assange.
The interview is carried by the paper in two instalments, the first on April 12, 2011 and the second on April 13, 2011.
In the context of the Government of India’s reaction to the leaks relating to India, Assange’s comments about the Indian Prime Minister were highly uncomplimentary. I would like to reproduce verbatim the relevant exchange between The Hindu Editor and Wikileaks Editor:
N.RAM : In India, after the initial stunned reaction, the tone of the official response to our publication of the India Cables was set by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh questioning or disputing in Parliament the authenticity of the cables and what the U.S. Embassy and consulates were reporting back to the State Department. Here’s what he actually said in the Lok Sabha, our House of Commons, on March 18. He said the government “cannot confirm the veracity, contents or even the existence of such communication.” This seems to have set the Indian government apart from the rest of the governments, the rest of the world, at the receiving end, doesn’t it?
JULIAN ASSANGE: Yes, it does.
N.RAM : Have you come across this reaction anywhere else?
JULIAN ASSANGE: We have not come across this reaction, and that reaction disturbed me. Because Hillary Clinton had been involved in informing the Indian government, in December [2010], as well as many other governments, that this was coming. There has been no question as to the credibility of any document we have ever published in the last four years, let alone the [U.S. Embassy] cables — which have been authenticated by the very aggressive action of the State Department towards us and by hundreds of journalists from the most reputable institutions across the world.
That is why I said I find that statement a deliberate, knowing attempt to mislead the Indian population. And that is something which is quite concerning. Because that is not just an allegation, it is directly from Prime Minister Singh’s mouth and he knows better than to do that. While I have heard — I have no proof but the consensus seems to be that — he is not personally corrupt, here’s a clear attempt to cover up for the possible corruption of other people. Rather than simply playing it straight, which he should have done, and say, ‘Look, there are allegations. They are serious and we will investigate them and come to the truth of the matter and give a full report to the Parliament.’
I think if he had taken that approach, he would have been served a lot better. So he has acted against his own interests and acted against the interests of his party, which is odd. So I would suggest it means that he has a habit that he was following rather than thinking things through — and a habit of reactively covering up allegations of corruption.
N.RAM : However, a senior Opposition figure, L.K. Advani, former Deputy Prime Minister and BJP leader — he was in a “Meet the Press’ programme in Mumbai where I was on the panel [of editors asking him questions] — he said these [cables] are true. He praised WikiLeaks and us for getting it. But basically he said that a cable can be divided into three parts. I think you’ve said something like that in interviews but he had come to his own conclusions. One is the fact element, based on facts. He said, ‘So far as I’m concerned, they’re true. Because they’re not meant for anyone other than their headquarters and it’s true.’ Then, he said, there’s interpretation and the third component is advice provided by the Embassy.
JULIAN ASSANGE: Yes, yes.
N.RAM : Similarly, other BJP leaders have used it when Congress is at the receiving end. And interestingly, in a recent election campaign, Sonia Gandhi, president of the Congress, used WikiLeaks because one of the BJP leaders said, ‘ Hindu nationalism is an opportunistic issue.’
JULIAN ASSANGE: Yes, I saw that. Fascinating.
N.RAM : And she used it. They’re tying themselves up in knots. I thought I’d get your insight on it. But you have said your score on two issues is perfect. One is, not a single item that you have put on WikiLeaks has been shown to be anything other than accurate. Secondly, there’s not an instance where it has harmed any innocent person.
JULIAN ASSANGE: Well, well not physically harmed. Not physically harmed. And I don’t know a case where it has harmed any innocent person either, in a non-physical way. Many politicians have had to resign or ambassadors that have had to leave their countries because their relationships became unworkable as a result of the lies they were telling their counterparts, and governments have lost elections and dictators like Mubarak had been expelled. But we know of no instance — and neither is one alleged by any official in the United States or another country — where an individual has come to harm as a result of our publishing…
N.RAM : So justice is what moves Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. That’s your lodestar, your conception of justice?
JULIAN ASSANGE: Yes. We have a method and a goal. Our goal is justice and WikiLeaks and its various publishing activities and sourcing activities is the method that we use to try and head towards this goal to have a more just society. And if you ask why am I interested in that, well there’s a lot of things I can do. I’m in a fortunate position where I am able to do many things and have done many things. But I see that the world is my world and I am unhappy that my world has injustice in it. I think it is less of a world and it makes me sad to see those things in it. I want to be happy, so I want to make the world more just.
***
Those using the internet know that Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia. To reply to people wanting to know some details about Wikileaks and about Julian Assange its Editor- in –Chief, this is what one is able to gather from Wikipedia.
Julian Paul Assange (born 3 July, 1971) is an Australian publisher, and an internet activist. Wikileaks is a whistle-blower website. Before working with the website he was a Physics and Mathematics student as well as a computer programmer.
Assange has lived in several countries and has told reporters that he is constantly on the move. He makes irregular appearances to speak about freedom of the press, censorship and investigating reporting.
In 2009, Assange won the Amnesty International Media Award “for exposing extra judicial assassinations in Kenya.” The British magazine New Statesman named him among the World’s 50 Most Influential Figures in 2010.
PUNISH THE SCAMSTERS
The country is really angry over corruption. It is generally accepted that corruption prevails not because of a lack of necessary laws, but because those in the establishment lack the will to punish the scamsters.
So, even before Parliament meets for its Monsson Session and takes up the Lokpal Bill presently being considered by the Committee secured by Anna Hazare, the real test of Government’s sincerity about tackling corruption will be what action it takes about the three scams that have already come to light –the Spectrum Scam, the Commonwealth Games Scam and the Mumbai Defence Land Scam.
Also, another sore point with the masses is that in recent years while the more powerful western countries like U.S. and Germany have succeeded in penetrating into the banking secrecy laws of tax havens like Switzerland and getting back their own wealth, Government of India has made no earnest efforts in this regard. It has not even ratified the U.N. Convention against Corruption adopted in 2004.
The enormous amount of black money stashed abroad by Indians must be brought back without delay.
TAILPIECE
The closing remark of Julian Assange at the end of his one hour interview with N.Ram is interesting. He said: “There’s one thing I would like to say to The Hindu and to Indian people in general. Which is, as an Australian, thank you for speaking English better than the English.”
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