Image via WikipediaThere is no easy way to put the flood of information Wikileaks has released in context. Is the information they are pumping out all true, or is its real purpose to create a justification for government control of internet free speech. Whatever the case, if you haven’t followed current events much lately, then you may have missed some eye-popping Wikileaks stories.
Wikileaks has pledged to release more than 250,000 documents. Already the site has published classified military records pertaining to the death toll in Iraq, and secret diplomatic cables about relations with foreign governments.
While the world is continuing to swallow all the information leaked so far, the diplomatic world has gone into overdrive with the information that has surfaced. Every so often a government spokesman makes a profound negative statement about this organisation and its founder, which kind of makes everyone wonder... are the documents released true? Some would believe so, others maybe no.
Indeed, this news organisation, which has turned the diplomatic and journalism industries upside down, believes that all information should be free and open. Bottom line, hundreds of thousands of internal and some very highly confidential government documents have been leaked to the public. Greece was no exception.
In a recent news report in the newspaper TA NEA, Kristin Hofnsson, spokesman of WikiLeaks, said that “The flow of leaks is not going to change”, she was referring to the arrest of chief Julian Assange. In an exclusive interview to the Greek paper Hrafsson cautioned that there will be major revelations for many countries, including Greece, in the weeks to come.
The TA NEA article said that already 1,313 diplomatic cables from the US embassy in Athens and 72 from the US consulate in Thessaloniki have been leaked on the whistleblower’s website. “Very soon, perhaps in a few weeks, we will begin to publish the cables from the U.S. embassy in Athens and the consulate in Thessaloniki. But do not ask me about their contents or what they reveal. With their publication you will learn everything in a short time from now “.
The report further noted that WikiLeaks in possession of 1,385 cables from Greece. TA NEA also revealed in a follow-up story that of the 1,385 diplomatic cables cover, covering the period between July 1985 and February 2010, the majority are dated from January 2005 onwards.
The newspaper stresses that there are 37 cables referring to Military Assistance and Sales, 42 referring to Intelligence, 157 referring to Terrorism, 945 to Foreign Policy and 638 to Inter Governmental Affairs. There are also cable referring to Human Rights and Economy. In particular, in 1985 there are only three telegrams and they all refer to terrorism-related issues.
The most recent cable, dated February 25, 2010, carries apart from the code of Greece also the codes of Syria and Iran. Apparently, it was sent two days after Kuwait informally expressed concern about the Iranian nuclear program.
In a similar article in the TO VIMA newspaper, it was noted that there are 49 cables referring to nuclear issues. During the year 2009 there are three cables bearing the code of military nuclear applications (MNUC).
There is only one telegram bearing a name on its title. That telegram marked BAKOYANNIS was written by the U.S. embassy in Athens and it is dated February 14, 2006. One day after the then foreign minister joined a dinner in Berlin together the then Greek Prime minister and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The document also speaks about the issue of Skopje, and how they hoped that the new socialist government would “abandon” its stance on the issue blab la blab la…
In a separate report on SKAI television, Regional Development Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis played down the significance of extracts from US embassy cables, that were also published by the Guardian newspaper in which he is quoted as telling a former US ambassador in Athens that Greece’s National Intelligence Service (EYP) is ineffective and dangerous and that Greek police know the identity of virtually all members of domestic terrorist groups but do not have the evidence to prosecute them.
In comments to SKAI, Chrysochoidis, previously in charge of the public order ministry, spoke of “hypocrisy” and “conspiracy theories,” noting that the comments attributed to him had been made several times on the record in the past and did not constitute news. “All this has been expressed publicly and I am surprised that it is being presented as a revelation,” he told SKAI. The minister added: “I have described publicly thousands of times the unsatisfactory situation that existed then. EYP was not fulfilling its role for the protection of the country.”
Chrysochoidis was responding to published extracts of a conversation he had in January 2010 with then US Ambassador to Greece Daniel Speckhard, at the American Embassy in Athens. According to the embassy cables, Chrysochoidis bluntly remarked: “EYP is nothing. It does not serve its mission of protecting Greece and in fact is dangerous to national security because of its many shortcomings, not least of which is a unionized labor force.” As a result, Chrysochoidis declared his intention to “collapse and rebuild the service.” Another section of the cable notes, “On domestic terrorism, Chrysochoidis said that the police know the identities of almost all the members of the current terrorist-anarchist groups but they lack evidentiary basis for arresting and imprisoning them.”
In a related development, an investigation carried out by Public Administration General Inspector Leandros Rakintzis, and whose results were made public a day later, highlighted widespread mismanagement and misconduct within the ranks of EYP over the past two years. The corruption watchdog has submitted his report to a prosecutor.
According to KATHIMERINI newspaper, the documents also mention about Turkey’s EU accession that is being obstructed by the politically motivated objections of several member states, notably France, Austria and Cyprus. There was special criticism for President Sarkozy, and France was accused of changing the rules mid-game, and that French opposition to Turkey’s membership is “deepening the cultural divide” between Christian Europe and the Muslim world: “A wider audience is watching this.”
Regarding Cyprus, and the island`s reunification talks, there is a perception that the Greek Cypriot side is complacent and that their EU “membership makes them invulnerable.” Greek Cypriots”, it was mentioned, ”want the world to forget the progress achieved by the Annan Plan in 2004″, and that “they pretend that relations between the island’s two communities are an internal affair, even though, by treaty, it’s been an international issue for 50 years.”
They have indeed created a buzz, but I am totally divided on whether I believe that all of this is true or not. I mean its definitely a new paradigm when a small private group has the capacity to provide free access to the inner workings of companies and governments, thereby pushing constitutional rights and freedom of the press to their limits. Or maybe, just maybe this organisation is just another mechanism by the global elite to control our freedom of speech? Maybe those that want to control the masses want to create something on the internet that would seem like a threat to governments, and thereby create an excuse justifying new laws for internet censorship and control by governments.
Who knows?
From what I read this organisation does not involved a dedicated group of political activists, but is just an organisation of hackers, some of which just hack just for the sake of hacking!
Nonetheless, the information released so far is like a skydiving adventure for journalists... and conspiracy lovers, but who has the ba...ls to dive blindly in this sort of information? As intriguing as the world of spies lies and other highs are... and as enlightening as all this information is as far as the Greek government is concerned, I will pass. My mother always told me... when you play with fire... you get burned!
Besides... I suck in skydiving.
Sources: TA NEA, TO VIMA, Kathimerini
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