However, when it comes to transparency of information, not only governments and bureaucracies but also journalists affiliated to party organizations seem extremely worried. They pay some lip service to press freedom but are reactive to the issue of transparency of information.
But the genuine press freedom cannot be enjoyed unless there is a higher degree of information transparency. Governments and bureaucracies are not expected to work as conspiring agencies geared against peoples. If they are under the do-good-be-good principle, they need not be afraid of information transparency. As far as threats or danger out of a higher degree of information transparency is concerned, state mechanisms are to prove their moral integrity to prevent and control any criminal activities resulting out of information. When people are not accessible to the information they need, they are more likely to be defeated as usual.
World's peoples in confused mental state cannot decide better. The less information they have, the less powerful they are. Do we want them to be mere slaves of the ruling individuals? While, in principle, fundamental rights, including the right to information and press freedom, are well documented in national and international legal provisions, the examination of the ground realities does reveal to us that there exists a strong tendency to misuse press freedom for political and commercial missions, the impact being seen in the promotion and expansion of ultra-consumerist and sensualist culture amidst the suppression of the voice of the voiceless--the core social responsibility principle of journalism universally recognized.
Journalists' global representative organization the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has already condemned the US move against the use of press freedom for the voiceless. The IFJ General Secretary Aidan White commented on the US move against people's right, "It is unacceptable to try to deny people the right to know." Referring to the Wikileaks' leakage of secret US documents, Aidan added, "These revelations may be embarrassing in their detail, but they also expose corruption and double-dealing in public life that is worthy of public scrutiny. The response of the United States is desperate and dangerous because it goes against fundamental principles of free speech and democracy."
However, a different response on the leakage of secret documents by the Wikileaks comes from the Reporters without Borders General Secretary Jean-Francois Julliard. In an open letter to Julian Assange, the Wikileaks founder, Julliard states, "Wikileaks must provide a more detailed explanation of its actions and must not repeat the same mistake."
Thus is divided the world of journalists on the issue of information leakage.
There is no doubt that the leakage of the oceanic volume of information that world governments want to keep secret as long as they can definitely does not benefit them individually and institutionally; nevertheless, people as the final power in democracy can decide better with information that they get.
Amidst the possibility of merits and demerits of such leakage, more pro-public analysts and interpreters have a special role to play in this context. Intelligence agencies, accustomed to using much power and finance, are not likely to so easily repair their moral tools regarding their own do's and don'ts. But information players at personal, community, national and international levels have a significant role to play regarding the interpretation and analysis of leaked information.
Since the Wikileaks has leaked a huge quantity of information on the issues related to war and massacres, governments, commerce, suppressive moves, unethical diplomacy, corruption and ill-governance, human rights violations, nature and environment, they definitely carry much significance. But at the same, journalists need to make them journalistically important. The information available from the leaked documents needs analysis and meaningful interpretation.
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