Media Alliance warns of muzzling of Australian media over Wikileaks

Journalists union The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance has come to the defence of anonymous disclosure site Wikileaks.

In a statement this afternoon, the union accused Amazon, which withdrew hosting services from Wikileaks, of caving in to hysteria.  

It follows the release by Wikileaks – which is led by the Australian Julian Assange – of a huge amount of diplomatic exchanges involving the US.

Federal secretary Chris Warren said: “Amazon’s decision is extremely disappointing. “We need to take a step back from the hysteria. It is not known whether WikiLeaks has broken any law. It has – via a free media – upheld the public’s right to know. ”

He also praised Wikileaks’ allianece with publications such as Der Spiegel, The Guardian, the New York Times, Le Monde and El Pais – and warned that the Australian government was putting local outlets under pressure not to report Wikileaks content.

Warren said: “These publications have given assurances that the material published does not put the lives of individuals or sources at risk or reveal material that compromises ongoing military operations or the location of special forces.

“Given that WikiLeaks is working with five leading media organisations around the world to publicise the Cablegate material, any attempt to muzzle the Australian media in this instance would ultimately prove pointless.”