25/10/2011
By Scott Thompson
WikiLeaks has stepped up its war of words with Bank of America, Visa, MasterCard, PayPal and Western Union. The whistle-blowing website has also announced that it is temporarily suspending the publication of classified files as it instead focuses on raising desperately needed funds.
In a press conference held yesterday, it slammed the aforementioned companies "who have successfully blocked 95 per cent of worldwide support for WikiLeaks.” Julian Assange commented: “A handful of US finance companies cannot be allowed to decide how the whole world votes with its pocket.” According to a statement issued: "The most powerful players in the banking industry have shown themselves to be a politicised arm of Washington. This collusion has occurred outside of any judicial or administrative process. The reach of these companies is global and violates the most basic principles of sovereignty."
It continued: "The blockade came into force within 10 days of the launch of Cablegate as part of a concerted US-based, political attack that included vitriol by senior right wing politicians, including assassination calls against WikiLeaks staff. The blockade is outside of any accountable, public process. It is without democratic oversight or transparency. The US government itself found that there were no lawful grounds to add WikiLeaks to a US financial blockade. But the blockade of WikiLeaks by politicised US finance companies continues."
It has been claimed that the site could have received Euro 40 – 50 million if it wasn’t fighting a financial blockade. The statement noted: "Our scarce resources now must focus on fighting the unlawful banking blockade. If this financial attack stands unchallenged, a dangerous, oppressive and undemocratic precedent will have been set, the implications of which go far beyond WikiLeaks and its work."
WikiLeaks plans to hit back at the blockade with legal cases in the UK, US, Iceland and Australia. Meanwhile, in late November it will launch a new generation submissions system. This is part of a move to “aggressively fundraise in order to fight back against this blockade and its proponents.”
