nazret.com Merkato Blog

US: Setting a bad example for World Despots

By Tibebe Samuel Ferenji

In 1970s when New York Times published what is dubbed “The Pentagon Papers.” Its publication created an enormous uproar in the political arena of the United States. The Pentagon Papers, officially titled United States–Vietnam Relations, 1945–1967: A Study Prepared by the Department of Defense, was a top-secret United States Department of Defense history of the United States' political-military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967. The papers were first brought to the attention of the public on the front page of the New York Times in 1971. A 1996 article in the New York Times said that the Pentagon Papers "demonstrated, among other things, that the Johnson Administration had systematically lied, not only to the public but also to Congress, about a subject of transcendent national interest and significance.”
The Papers revealed that the U.S. had deliberately expanded its war with bombing of Cambodia and Laos, coastal raids on North Vietnam, and Marine Corps attacks, none of which had been reported by media in the US. The most damaging revelations in the papers revealed that four administrations, from Truman to Johnson, had misled the public regarding their intentions. It is because the freedom of the press that such information was exposed and became known to the public. Today, we see an attempt to silence the press because improper conducts are exposed to the public domain by brave reporters like Julian Assange.
Following the unfolding story of Wikileaks founder Julia Assange, I am extremely amazed and surprised how poorly the US administration handled the situation. It may well be true that the documents leaked by Wikileaks may harm the national Security of several countries. It is up to each country to protect and guard its own secret. Once the “cat is out of the bag” trying to control the information by muzzling those who are publishing it dangerous and wrong.
Everyone has the right whatever opinion they could form regarding Mr. Assange, but harassing him threatening him and arresting him with tramp up charges is a dangerous trend that will have a significant effect on the freedom of the press all over the world.
The United States which has been a leading critic of regimes, that imprison and muzel journalists and reporters, is becoming one of the perpetrators of such conduct. You may feel whatever about Mr. Assange; however he has every right to publish the information that he has received from whatever source. It is up to the concerned government agencies to guard their confidential information. The enormous sacrifice paid for the freedom of the press is because Governments lie to their people and abuse their powers. As history teaches us, by its nature government is abusive. Laws and Constitutions are enacted to protect the public from the government not the other way around.
The United States has been a shinning example for the world when it comes to Freedom of the press. When its interests are threatened however, it is reacting like despots that we often condemn and chastise. It is essential to realize despot regimes all over the world suppress the press in the name of protecting their national security. If the United States follows their foot steps in the name of “National Security”, I don’t know what makes the United States different than Ethiopia, Eritrea, Iran or China when it comes to freedom of the press. Long time ago I read a quote that says “Many of us believe that wrongs aren't wrong if it's done by nice people like ourselves.” In this case, targeting Mr. Assange cannot be any different from those despot regimes that target reporters in their own countries and deny information to their own people.
For the United States and its allies, targeting the website of Wikileaks was not enough to silence Mr. Assange; they have to come up with some trump up charges to imprison him in order to stop him publishing the remaining documents. Several reports have stated that Wikileaks website was hacked, and the company that was hosting Wikileaks pulled the plug and the Server was forced to relocate to a different country; now we learned in addition to the arrest of Mr. Assange, VISA, the largest credit card provider in the world has suspended payment for Wikileaks. One does not need to be a conspiracy theorist to realize the pressure that is mounting on various companies not to do business with Wikileaks in order to shut it down. What is sad is those advocating for freedom of the press are standing on sidelines with silence watching this tragedy unfold. All of us have a responsibility to put pressure on the United States and its allies to stop muzzling the press. As many experts stated Wikileaks has every right to publish the information it has received PERIOD! By knowing what kind of classified information could be out in the public domain as the result of the Wikileaks leak, the concerned governments should work to contain its effect and the damage it may cause rather than trying to control the information by persecuting the publishers and by shutting down the website.
The cat is out of the bag, deal with it and continue to respect freedom of the press and the publics’ right to know. There is no question that the information that is coming out from Wikileaks is damaging the US relations with other countries. It is the US intelligence community that failed to protect its information. The US has only itself to blame. I was ashamed and disappointed when I heard Secretary Robert Gate telling the press that the arrest of Mr. Assange is good news. How could Secretary Gate have any moral authority to criticize China, Iran or anyone else for that matter when and if they detain, assassinate, and persecute reporters and journalists in the future. It can not be right when the US and its allies violate the fundamental rights of the public for information and suppress the press; and cannot be wrong when others do the same thing. The US and its allies conduct must be judged with the same ethical and moral standard like everyone else.
I respectfully ask you to oppose the detention of Mr. Assange. Write to the US President Barrak Obama to do what he can to demand the release of Mr. Assange. The US should lead by an example and show the world that it will not violate its own laws and constitution even when it perceives that its National Security is threatened by legitimate publications. More over, for those who believe that Freedom of the press is as important as any basic necessities for the survival of civilization and the world community, I ask you to boycott VISA until VISA changes its policy. Speak with your money, write and call the appropriate authorities to stop the persecution of Mr. Julian Assange and his colleagues. As one commentator said, Mr. Assange deserves a Nobel Prize for his courage not to share a prison cell with thieves and murderers. Voice your concern to British embassy all over the world and demand that Mr. Assange be released immediately. If the United States and its allies get away in muzzling the press, then how could any one speak with voice of authority about freedom of the press.

Please call the White House at: (202) 456-1414 or (202) 456-2461; and the British Embassy at: (202) 588 6500 or (202) 588 7800. Boycott VISA and let them know how you feel. Support Freedom of the Press. CHERISH THE FREEDOM YOU ENJOY TODAY, it may not be there tomorrow unless you fight for it.