VICTORIA, Canada—As the WikiLeaks controversy rages on, PEN International is calling for cooler heads and an emphasis on the need for responsible dialogue around the issue of leaked top-secret U.S. government documents.
The world association of writers has issued a statement urging those voicing opinions on the WikiLeaks debate to “adopt a responsible tone, and not to play to the more extreme sections of society.”
“In a world where journalists are regularly physically attacked, imprisoned, and killed with impunity, calling for the death of a journalist is irresponsible and deplorable,” the statement said, referring to the several death threats WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has received since his organization recently published hundreds of leaked U.S. diplomatic cables.
“PEN International believes it is important to acknowledge that while the leaking of government documents is a crime under U.S. laws, the publication of documents by WikiLeaks is not a crime. WikiLeaks is doing what the media has historically done, the only difference being that the documents have not been edited,” the statement said.
The organization also said it is concerned about reports that, fearing repercussions, some websites have stopped carrying WikiLeaks, and that some individuals, under threat of legal action, “have been warned against reading information” provided by WikiLeaks.
“PEN International condemns such acts and calls upon corporations and states to avoid breaches of the right to free expression. Governments cannot call for unlimited Internet freedom in other parts of the world if they do not respect this freedom themselves,” the statement said.
