WikiLeaks suspends publishing due to financial blockade

Citing a financial blockade, whistleblower site WikiLeaks announced it is temporarily suspending all its activity for now. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange made the announcement at the Frontline Club in London, according to a report on tech site The Next Web. “In order to ensure our future survival, we are forced to suspend all publishing operations to direct all our resources to fighting the blockade and raising funds," he said. Assange was referring to major US financial institutions such as including Visa, MasterCard and PayPal, which WikiLeaks earlier claimed tried to "economically strangle" WikiLeaks due to "political pressure from Washington." “A handful of US finance companies cannot be allowed to decide how the whole world votes with its pocket," he added. But he added they also “have over 150 pending publications," and its ceasing of operations is likely to happen some time in 2012 - unless it can secure $3.5 million to see it through for another year. He said WikiLeaks has been surviving on cash reserves for the past year, which he said many media organizations would struggle to replicate. Kristinn Hrafnsson, an Icelandic investigative journalist and WikiLeaks frontman, added WikiLeaks has lost 95 percent of donations due to the financial blockade so far. Hrafnsson said WikiLeaks could have received €40 to 50 million if it was not fighting a financial blockade and it will proceed with legal cases in the UK, US, Iceland and Australia to fight against the blockade. Hrafnsson voiced concerns this could set a precedent in terms of the influence exerted by financial organizations across society. The Next Web said WikiLeaks earlier claimed the blockade has stopped over 90 percent of its donations and cost it over $15 million in lost revenue. It also quoted WikiLeaks as saying the only formal review was by the US Secretary of the Treasury, Timothy Geithner - which found on January 12 that "there were no lawful grounds to add WikiLeaks to a financial blockade." Re-engineering submission system He also announced a re-engineering of WikiLeaks' submission system to avoid infiltration and investigation. HTTPS connections and certificate authorities cannot be trusted, he said. The Next Web said the new submission system will be launched on November 28, with full details being announced on the day. Creative ways Assange said they have great hopes for the democratic process and the lawsuits, "but we aren’t putting all our eggs in one basket." "We’ve opened up more creative ways to give money to WikiLeaks, that includes mobile telephones, SMS payments, bank-to-bank transfers are also still possible in most countries, though anyone using the Bank of America network won’t be able to send money that it suspects will end up with WikiLeaks," he said. He said they are also relying on cheques and cash sent in the mail. When asked whether any of the new donations would go towards his own personal extradition case to Sweden, Assange said WikiLeaks donations have never gone towards his own defense. However, he said people can still make Visa and PayPal payments towards his personal defense fund “because that goes towards lawyers." Since his arrest, Assange has been living in England on bail, with his friend Vaughan Smith providing refuge at his country mansion near the city of Norwich. — TJD, GMA News