Mediastan (2013) Movie Script
[ In May 2010 US army analyst
Private Manning was arrested
in Iraq on suspicion of having
passed state secrets to the
online publisher WikiLeaks. ]
[ Private Manning was accused of
leaking hundreds of thousands of
diplomatic and military documents. ]
[ Location:
Central Asia ]
A month or a year passes by and people kept saying:
you are in Guantanamo, Cuba,
...but I refused to believe them.
No, they said, you can take it for granted,
this is Guantanamo, Cuba.
Even the books we were given were stamped
"Guantanamo Library", but I still refused to believe it.
There was no way to check:
you are locked up in a cage,
...you see nothing but water:
how can you be sure where you are?
We weren't supposed to know anything,
or do anything.
Just sit quietly and not make
any trouble. That's all.
If you wish we could tell you why
the Americans kept you there, what they wanted from you.
Here is your secret file from Guantanamo,
it's supposed to be declassified in 2033...
This part is called -
"Reasons for Transfer to Guantanamo".
[ MEHRABON ODINAEV,
recently released from US Guantanamo Bay prison ]
To provide information on the following:
[ MEHRABON ODINAEV,
recently released from US Guantanamo Bay prison ]
To provide information
about Tadjik refugees in Afghanistan...
The refugees?
Yes, they asked about them.
And to provide information
about a school in Karachi...
- What could I tell them about it?
They go to Pakistan themselves...
These were the reasons why they decided
to take you to Guantanamo,
they wanted information on
refugees in Tadjikistan...
...and a school in Karachi.
That's absurd, 5 years for that!
-They could have asked then, on the spot...
They could have just asked me
while I was in Kandahar.
I mean, if they would at least have had
some serious questions, I'd understand...
...but the whole world knew
about the Tadjik refugees,
...there were a hundred thousand of them.
Maybe more...
Interrogation, huh!
I'm surprised that they didn't come up
with anything more serious.
I mean they could have at least asked you how
a Soviet tank is constructed
...but no they even wrote officially
that they were interested in a madrasah.
You must be angry with them?
I mean I would be pissed off if I had to spend
five years in Guantanamo for such bullshit.
All for nothing!
[ Location:
Norfolk,
England ]
[ JULIAN ASSANGE,
founder of WikiLeaks under house arrest ]
Take a look at this poor bastard.
Five years in Guantanamo...
...to find out about some refugees in Tadjikistan.
It's not just this detainee...
...there are revelations throughout Central Asia
about what's happening there.
An extreemly interesting region...
...between China and Russia.
This is the State Department's brain...
...the empire of the 21st century.
Bildt is already in correspondence with Karl Rove...
[ In 2011 a small group
of journalists made their
way through Central Asia
interviewing editors. ]
[ Their real goal:
to find local media outlets to publish
the secret US diplomatic cables. ]
[ Mediastan ]
Trascrizione lovvaH
...animeDB...
This is the summary of the cables from Tadjikistan.
The first cable that we have is a scene setter
for some important person who visited Tadjikistan:
[ Location:
Tadjikistan ]
for some important person who visited Tadjikistan:
Regardless of our efforts there is a limit to what Tadjikistan can offer.
That's to the United States.
It produces very little, it is poor
it's Government has minimal capacity.
The Tadjiks have some unrealistic ideas of what we can offer them:
mainly large infrastructure projects.
Including questionable power plants
Tunnels to Pakistan and bridges to nowhere.
There is some truth to the quip that Tadjikistan's real contribution
to our efforts in Afghanistan is to be stable and
allow unfettered overflight and transit to our forces
- which the Tadjiks have done unfailingly.
Ok, so we have another one which is also kind of fun.
It's about how the United States is trying to...
...make the local media more pro-American.
And how do they want to do that? Here goes:
In addition to overt public diplomacy
other complimentary efforts could be authorised, such as:
Aggressive media campaign through the Russian Media
as well as placements of articles in the major Russian Newspapers
read in central Asia
ensure that editors see the positive material from Russian media
and pay them if necessary to reprint it.
To reprint it?
Yes, they will publish positive material about the United States
in Gazeta.ru, Echo Moskvy and Interfax
and then they will pay the local editors
in Tadjikistan, so they re-print those articles.
Do they name some media
which they wanted to pay for re-printing?
It would be interesting to know who they regard as natural partners.
Well, we'll have to look at that in the full documents.
This is just a summary.
so, are we going through the tunnel or around the tunnel?
Through I think...
It doesn't look like it's finished.
I'm not sure this tunnel is finished.
I'm not sure either but there there are people here...
Hi! We are heading to Dushanbe,
is this the way?
- No.
When will the tunnel be opened?
No idea.
All the way back...
Maybe we should turn around...
I wonder if we would have been able to go through anyway?
Those guys were wearing masks
maybe the car would go through, but not us.
Hi! Could you tell us how to get to the capital, to Dushanbe?
Just go straight, and then take a left.
At the foot of the mountain?
Yes, as soon as the road ends, take a left up the mountain.
Thank you!
Good luck on your journey!
We're on our way to the Asia-Plus news agency
here in Tadjikistan.
That's our first destination.
Here is the team:
That's me, Johannes.
This is Dmitri, the Russian journalist from the magazine
that we have been working with.
This is Alina, who is also a journalist.
And Katya, a film-maker from Kazakhstan.
And this is Theo who will be filming our journey.
Look, we have to be careful...
Yes, I understand but...
Hello, my name is Marat Mamadshoev.
Who is responsible for being late?
Not us!
It's ok, I'm also always late.
Everywhere media observe
some red lines that can't be crossed.
What are your red lines?
Surely we have taboo as well.
But if we were to talk too frankly
about our taboo...
...what kind of taboo would that be?
[ MARAT MAMADSHOEV,
Editor in Chief "Asia-Plus" ]
This interview is only one of the reasons why we are here.
...and thank you a lot for that.
But there is another reason why
we are here, that may interest you...
...it has to do with WikiLeaks.
I worked with the Russian cables
Johannes worked with the Swedish material.
There are also cables on Tadjikistan.
We propose to give you free access to the secret cables.
What you choose to publish, how you publish,
if you publish in your newspaper is entirely up to you.
But we demand that you redact the names
of those who need to be protected.
Ok, we are interested.
Ok, in that case there are a couple of terms
that you will need to agree upon.
They are written in
a Memorandum of Understanding.
But it's not a legally
binding document.
In short the terms are: that you may not give
this material to anyone else, and you may not sell it.
And if there are people in need of protection... We are not
talking about some politicians, but about small people.
Lets say a construction worker repaired a stove for
a powerful figure, and found a hideout with gold.
Then obviously the powerful figure is interesting, while
the construction worker will just loose his head.
In that case you need to redact
the name of the construction worker.
Obviously we cannot decide in what situation
the name of a person is relevant...
...and in what situation it is not,
only you can do that.
We'd like you to sign the agreement today...
but if you need more time, we'll go away.
Let's rather postpone
it for tomorrow...
Are you sure you can't
make it today?
...same time
It is a rather short text.
To be on the sure side, we'd rather get an
approval from our superior first.
Besides, he knows English
better than all of us together.
Perhaps you'll do it?
We have our way of doing things...
Can't you do it now?
I am afraid he is asleep
we have 12 hours time difference.
He is in Washington DC.
Yes, he is in the US.
If he were here, we'd do it right away!
I think it is a pure formality.
As comrade Suchov used to say,
there is no need to rush to your own execution!
Well, you are the top man.
You know best!
No, the top man sits in Washington DC...
the Washington overlord of Asia Plus...
...Umet Babakhanov.
[ The next day ]
You should fill out your name and the name of your newspaper here...
M. Mamadshoev, here...
We are in the office of one of the future partners
and they are called 'Asia-Plus'.
Is there a chance that within the coming half hour
you can be online for Skype?
You can see me now, correct?
Yes, hello!
First I will just give a very brief description
as to how I think you should approach this material.
The most important thing to do is to read all of it.
If you go searching for particular things
you will bring your prejudice to the material
and you will only find what you already know.
The other is to understand
the situation in which these documents are made.
They are made by US diplomats, Political Officers,
Economic Officers at the US Embassy
and they are reports on their own activities back to Washington.
Of course I would love to be there myself
but I have to live vicariously these days
by sending these people around the world to...
...engage in some form of remote adventure.
Let us search right away...
You could at least have started with "Asia Plus",
for the sake of decency!
Marat searched for his own name,
the first thing that he did.
They describe me as
an "independent journalist"...
He is called an independent journalist.
...that is a big mistake!
Again, "Marat Mamadshoev".
Here it is written "Editor"
now that is correct!
So, there are too many
references of my name.
Search for "Asia-Plus".
So...
3000 pages! Oh my God!
That's work for the whole night!
[ NAKBI DUSTI ]
Hello!
Hi, is that Marat?
Speaking.
Hi Marat! We wanted to make a check up.
Has Asia-Plus published any of the material that you got?
Yes, we've published a number of articles...
But the problem is that there are many things
in the cables that we cannot publish...
...because we will be in trouble.
For example there was a cable claiming that
a man came to the US Embassy...
...and said that he was planning a coup.
We can't publish a thing
like this, he would sue us!
There are things that are
very interesting for us,
...but I don't know
if we can publish them.
Why can't you publish that
the man is preparing a coup?
Well, I don't know.
We have taken some advice
and decided not to run the story.
[ Location:
Kazakhstan ]
I began with some funny stuff
I was obliged to edit the column 'letters of readers'.
But the problem was that there were
absolutely not letters to edit
but the column should be published twice a day.
So I was obliged to...
...invent those letters myself.
And I just invented a lot of them.
Did you get some, any letters from readers?
Yeh, we've got some, I don't know...
maybe three, four or five in two months
but they were all containing some criticism.
These letters you didn't publish?
No, those letters...
I wanted to publish at least those that were about
problems in the factual content of the newspaper
because I found it rather important
to have some kind of self criticism.
But our marketing department had no self criticism
and they forbid me to publish it.
So I invented letters about problems of veterans
problems of pensioners
problems of no matter whom
So that's how I became a journalist.
Now we are going to visit the magazine
'Expert Kazakhstan'
which is in the same holding company
as my magazine.
And in the same building we have
the news-wire 'KazTag'.
Why are you here on this mission?
Why have you come here
and why do you want to have
these cables published?
You could say that this is your moral obligation.
[ RASSUL RYSSMAMBETOV,
"Kazakh Telegraph Agency" ]
Who is paying for your trip?
You could say that you paid for it
with your own money...
You paid for it all... that's it...
I for example, wanted to visit Iran
to cover the massacres...
...during the elections in 2009 or 2010,
just because I was interested.
I paid for the trip with my own money,
but nobody believed me!
In order to pay for it, I bought vegetables
and exported them to Kazakhstan.
It helped me to pay for satisfying my main interest,
my passion, my curiosity.
I wanted to understand what was
really happening there...
...so I found a way to finance it.
If you can show me your goal clearly,
it will be easier to negotiate.
Enough! Just sign the agreement!
Share your own thoughts.
Theoretically I understand what you say...
...but what's your personal view about
the goals of WikiLeaks?
Look... We have a position...
...the advantage of being a beholder.
We observe things that amaze
a Swedish or American reader:
"Look, they killed this guy!"
We are not amazed.
We know that every war
is cruel and unjust.
And then, the Western countries
attack Libya or some other country and say:
"you've got to have democracy, democracy!"
Then they lay there and
understand that, yes...
- yes, they need democracy.
For sure!
And Information is a weapon...
You admitted that information is a tool.
That WikiLeaks is a tool.
If an unskilled person will use this tool...
You can use a shovel to dig.
But you can also use it to behead.
Same here: if an unskilled man will get
access to this compromising data...
...it will lead to anarchy!
In your view, people are not ready
to consume all information...
...so they should not be
offered the full choice of it?
Right, this is my view.
But who is to...
Who is the judge?
I am the judge!
This is not for WikiLeaks...
But I for example, I'm against democracy.
I don't believe in one
man - one vote stuff.
Look at me, I graduated
from Law school,
I worked, I served in the army,
...in the special forces.
I was wounded.
I completed my studies.
I tired to improve myself...
I learned languages...
I've read Aristotle in the original Greek.
I am sure that I am better
and more worthy...
...than a man who didn't
try to improve himself.
This is my view.
Enough!
I know what WikiLeaks is.
I've formed my own opinion.
It is an absurdist picture of all
of us sitting here...
[ ANDREY SKIRKA,
Editor in Chief "Expert Kazakhstan" ]
...because all are interested
in other people's lives,
...instead of their own.
That is why WikiLeaks came to exist.
It's a totally useless thing.
It just reminds us of how bad we all are...
...paying attention to meaningless stuff...
...such as what one diplomat
told another diplomat...
...and it will change nothing in the world.
We spoke about it yesterday
- remember the book on Aristotle that I gave you...
...nothing has changed since the days of Aristotle
and nothing ever will.
From this point of view WikiLeaks
is an ephemera, a one-day-event.
Now the interest to WikiLeaks
has already vanished...
...because its not important.
It's superficial.
WikiLeaks is a superficial shell.
Such things do not impact
real changes of mankind...
...of human existence,
they don't promote real change...
The landscape is changed
by inspirational things.
For example, we invented a project called:
"how to organize our country"
this was an idea of Solzhenitsyn.
If we launch it right, this project
will inspire people...
...to change their surroundings.
But the WikiLeaks materials
do not inspire people...
...to change the world
that they are living in...
- Well, we are here - it means
that somebody is inspired!
Perhaps you're right.
I don't want to offend you.
So I'll put it this way:
I'm not inspired!
You travel, you are great guys.
But you are wasting your time.
You are wasting your life in vain!
Nothing will come out of it.
[ The next day ]
I'm trying to convince my friend
to start collaborating with you because...
Yerdos is taking a more journalistic stance
than me, he thinks that...
I'm a journalist by profession,
that's why I know for sure...
...that collaborating
with you will bring economic benefits.
I'm not politically engaged...
...but if we speak about money...
Circulation.
Yes, it can help our sales.
I wanted to ask...
...since we met last time,
have you talked to anyone else?
Because if "Expert" is going to participate - and as far
as I understand we are leaning in that direction...
we would like to talk about an approach where there
are not so many other partners.
I know that KazTag is already in on it, but that's OK,
since it's a news-wire.
If "Expert" joins the project,
would it be possible for us...
...to have the material exclusively?
Unfortunately we can't do that...
[ Zjenauzen,
Kazakhstan ]
Hi! Can't we pass, is the road closed?
There are oil-workers on strike here.
They have been on a hunger strike for a week...
According to this police officer, oil-workers are on strike here.
Strange that no journalist told us of this before.
Are you on a hunger strike?
- Yes, it's already the 13th day.
Are you filming me?
- You don't want me to film?
Don't film me...
I'm telling you, I'm afraid...
People want to talk and discuss...
but they are afraid...terrorized...
Recently, almost everybody was nicked...
...the whole crowd was loaded up into
a police van and beaten up...
...five men knifed themselves,
two went to the hospital...
...three refused to go to the hospital...
...now six persons plan to knife themselves.
Why do they knife themselves?
What else can they do?
We've hunger striked...
Nobody came to us,
neither the Mayor, nor the authorities...
We went to the Mayor - no result.
He is apparently also in cahoots...
And the TV doesn't cover it?
The TV? We asked them, but they say:
the Mayor forbade covering it.
They come and film, but they
only broadcast what the authorities say...
...they never broadcast our interviews.
What do the journalits say?
Do they apologize?
What apologies? They say:
we are ordinary guys, just like you.
Our job is to film, and our bosses decide
what should be aired.
Massive unrest has struck Zjenauzen.
In the central square while people were strolling
and enjoying street theatre
...the festivities were suddenly
smashed by a raging mob.
Unfortunately there is no other way
to describe these people.
[ Footage of killed oil-workers
posted on the Internet a few weeks later ]
What the artists and local citizens gathering
to celebrate the main government holiday...
...had done to enrage the mob
is beyond understanding.
It needs to be noted that the police
acted more than professionally.
They attempted to defend the stage, but the rioters
who were cheered on by their leaders...
...outnumbered the law enforcers
and crushed the fence.
After they had vandalized the stage they continued on their
rampage. They toppled the Christmas tree and the yurtas.
Then the most awful thing occurred:
the criminals started burning cars,
...attacking public buildings, burning shops,
private houses, cash machines.
Instead of celebrating independence day,
the citizens of Zjenauzen had to save themselves...
...from the merciless mob.
I got fired because...
...I wrote an article about...
...the conditions of work that Swedish journalists have
when they work in Israel and Palestine.
The journalists that I interviewed were very frank with me
and they told me about the different
things that they couldn't report upon.
The things that they could.
The censorship that they experienced at their work place.
When the material was published
two of the six journalists that I had interviewed
retracted their statements.
So you think they sincerely thought that
you misunderstood them
or took things out of the context?
I think that if somebody does an interview with you
and then you're entirely open and frank about it
after a while maybe you realise that
this is going to be shown on television
your boss is going to see this, your mother is going to see this
and you start understanding the consequences.
It is not just a conversation between you and your friends.
But anyway I just thought about it because
I think to an extent I made a very big mistake with that article.
and the mistake that I did was that...
...I did a very typical journalistic work...
...about journalists.
And the standards for doing journalistic work about journalism
has to be a hundred times higher.
Because they will immediately backfire
and they will start criticising what you do
in a completely different way than if it's a regular person.
Because a regular person does not have the power to...
...to say no.
Here is a cable which is marked 'Secret / Noforn'
and that means that not even allied states are allowed to read it.
And it's about a meeting between the US Ambassador
[ Location:
Kyrgyzstan ]
and the Kyrgyz Foreign Minister.
So here it goes:
The Ambassador and the Kyrgyz Foreign Minister
met at the Ambassador's residence mid afternoon.
President Bakiyev, the dictator that was
just kicked out in the revolution a few months ago
told him that he was authorised
to sign the agreements on the US military base
but the agreement must be kept secret.
The Foreign Minister said that
ha needed time to work with public opinion and the parliament
before he could roll out the new agreement publicly.
He asked for our assistance in preparing the Kyrgyz public opinion
specifically by placing articles in the local Russian language press.
[ Protest in front of Presidential Palace in Kyrgyzstan ]
[ Footage from revolution in Kyrgyzstan
recorded a few months earlier ]
I was fascinated about power.
I wanted to get to
the top floor of the palace.
I served my Government
- not President Bakiev.
I wrote his speeches.
And he read them.
Because I can write beautifully,
especially in Kyrgyz.
The President read his speeches...
...but nobody believed what he said.
I felt this all the time.
I even had difficulties looking
people in the eyes...
...especially during the last months
of his regime.
I was on the 5th floor of the palace...
...when I saw all the bloodshed
with my own eyes.
They attacked from the square...
I ran from the back of the Palace.
It's a long story...
But on the following morning
a weight was lifted from my shoulders.
Because I had found my liberty.
[ SULTANBEK JOUMAGULOV,
Director "Radio Liberty" ]
The Kyrgyz society is
different from it's neighbors,
...it's a vibrant society.
Demonstrations and all of that...
is far from negative.
I'ts just the other side of the coin.
It's a society heading somewhere,
trying to achieve something.
I think that the West
has also gone through...
...a period of demonstrations
and turmoil, right?
I think that Kyrgyzstan, will soon...
...I want to accentuate it again...
...will become a model
for other countries of Central Asia...
...unless someone interferes.
Do you believe this?
- I do!
It's just that many have told us
that this is temporary...
No, I believe in this.
What is happening...
The fact that Radio Liberty exists...
with its TV-project...
It doesn't exist in the other countries,
not in Dushanbe, not in...
- That's true but...
And that is not a merit to our staff.
It is a merit to the whole
Kyrgyz society.
It is not a merit to the President.
The society demands it.
The society wants it.
- In that case, are there in
your opinion any questions...
...that you would not be
able to publish?
Anything at all?
I mean is there any censorship
or self-censorship on your station?
You mean Radio Liberty?
- Yes
We don't have any forbidden topics.
We are absolutely free.
But we have the statutes
of Radio Liberty.
...and that is that we must abide by the ethical
standards of international journalism.
If you would want to...
...we would be able to provide you
with the archive on Kyrgyzstan.
Would that interest you?
Absolutely, that would be
very interesting.
And you would be able to use it?
Absolutely, absolutely,
Absolutely.
Yes we can.
Honestly speaking I didn't expect...
...our interview to be about...
...WikiLeaks.
I thought that we...
...that I would tell you about
freedom of speech in Kyrgyzstan.
The agreement from the side
of Radio Liberty...
...will be arranged by
my boss...
...who is in Prague.
[ The next day ]
Should we hurry up?
We're on our way!
Hello, Dmitri!
- Yes
Well... our people have said that
we can't sign the memorandum...
...since we...
we in principle don't...
...we can't get involved
in any limitations...
But listen, this memorandum,
first of all it is not legally binding,
...it's a gentlemen's agreement.
And secondly there is an important issue
about your responsibility.
And it says that if you do not fulfill the clauses
the partnership is just cancelled.
In other words there are
no liabilities.
Well, yes... but it's just that...
...apparently we technically can't
sign the memorandum.
All of these materials will be published
sooner or later anyway.
Sure they will...
...but it's just a question of who is going
to publish them.
...it's a question of time and...
You see, there are most likely
some sensitive issues...
I mean, we are
...nonetheless...
...an American...
...maybe that's why.
Well, Radio Liberty is financed
by the US State Department?
By the Congress.
[ Location:
Afghanistan ]
Here is a cable about a meeting that the US Ambassador has
with the Governor of Mazar-e-Sharif here in Northern Afghanistan.
This is what the Governor says:
He let loose with a litany of complaints
about the Swedish presence in Afghanistan.
He described the relationship to the Swedish military as cold
saying that the only times that the Swedish commanders visit
are when they first arrive in Mazar
and when they pay their farewell calls.
Nor did he spare criticism for the Swedish media
who he claimed never bothered to talk to politicians
or ordinary people during visits to the military base
and thus only heard positive accounts of its work
instead of hearing the views of the local residents.
Then the cable goes on about basically all other Afghani politicians
[ Swedish Military Base
in Afghanistan ]
asking that Sweden leaves Afghanistan.
It kind of leaves you thinking, why is Sweden here in that case?
[ ANNE-CHARLOTTE MALM,
Swedish development advisor in Afghanistan ]
The right to vote I think is very appreciated.
And the people want democracy.
But it's difficult in a country with so poor education.
And so little experience in democracy to obtain democracy.
My colleagues and I are responsible for this section
in Northern Afghanistan.
And we have this special task
to find synergies...
...between the Armed Forces and humanitarian aid
and to cooperate with the Army.
To find synergies with the Army?
What does that mean?
Well, that's a good question.
And we have tried to find an answer to it.
Because this is what
the Government is telling us to do.
But they are not really
explaining what it means.
But what do you think is the purpose
of the US Military presence in Afghanistan?
I don't want to speculate on that.
But do you think that there is a risk that your task
which might be good hearted and important...
...is used to bribe the locals to support
that which you don't want to talk about...
...to support a military presence, which might be
about something completely different?
I don't know...
Let me give you a list
of projects that we support...
We also fund the Institute
For War and Peace...
...Reporting. How lucky
that I noticed the mistake.
Hello is the IWPR?
My name is Johannes, I just got your telephone number from
Anne Charlotte Malm at the Swedish Military Base here in Mazar-e-Sharif
we are just heading off towards your office
together with Enayat, a local journalist who will help translate.
Alright, see you soon.
When I knew that there was an attack on the United Nations
I was just driving to the UN compund, in my car
[ ENAYAT NAJAFIZADA,
journalist ]
and when I got there, there was hundreds of people at the UN
and the police were not letting journalists in.
But I got some information and I sent it to my office in Kabul.
It was a really hard day for me
because everyone was calling me to help them.
How does it work...?
It was very good in terms of finding money.
But in terms of humans who got killed it was a sorrow.
I was very angry and it was sad.
But in terms of the news it was for the first time
that the UN in Afghanistan came under attack.
There were journalists calling me from London
from BBC, from CNN
asking 'hey we need to hire you for a day'.
Even from Sweden, Aftonbladet.
And then I was telling them I don't have time
but they were paying very well when I was working for them
So what do you do then? You tell them on the phone what's happening?
Yeah on the telephone, I was writing on my laptop,
and I was sending them emails.
I earned more than ten to twelve thousand dollars.
You mean per month?
- No, just in a couple of days
How much!? Ten, twelve thousand dollars!?
Yes, sending videos, selling videos, selling pictures, text.
Only for two days when I worked with a Swedish guy
I took three thousand dollars.
Therefore Aftonbladet and everyone is very angry with me.
Why are they angry with you?
- Because I am taking their money.
No they are not angry at you.
- They are sometimes angry.
Frontline reporting
Civil society building
International justice
Human rights
Womens rights
Truth
Good governance
Freedom of information
Peace
Democracy
Democracy
IWPR
IWPR
IWPR makes a difference
The greatest guarantor of Freedom is Truth.
We have been working with the WikiLeaks materials
in different parts of the world, in different countries
and we are looking for a media partner in Afghanistan.
Somebody who would be interested in taking and
[ BABAK QAYUM,
"Institute for War and Peace Reporting" ]
working with the WikiLeaks material here.
If you think it is something that you can work with
then we would be willing to give it to you.
There is no doubt that you are trusted to work on these stories
but we have a problem.
The problem is that we ourselves had a newspaper here
it was a daily paper, with activities in the past years...
And there was a group of journalists that were working for it.
But some people made a plot against them
and one of their colleagues was sentenced to death.
He is very afraid.
I will sign for the information.
But if you sign it, it means that you will be
the person that gets the material.
I will be the one.
And then I will give the information to him.
In that case you will be the one in control of the material.
I will be the one, because I can speak English
if you ever want to be in contact with me I will be available.
He is very old.
The weather is very hot.
It is because I don't understand English...
He was a communist.
He is a joker...
And he is very afraid that you are going to plot against him.
No, I am making jokes!
Let me make another joke - he was a member of KGB.
He was a member of the CIA.
OK, I will put a signature on another paper
and I will put the name of my organisation on it.
It's called Otash. Fire. We are Fire.
I was against the Governor
my brother was prosecuted because he was critical of the Governor.
I will do this, but I will give the information to him
in order to help him to use it in his reporting.
Please give the information to Enayat.
Enayat, please sign it.
Hi Julian this is Enayat I am an Afghan journalist
based in Northern Afghanistan.
I just met Johannes this morning
at a ceremony in the PRT ISAF base in Mazar.
I didn't know that...
...however when I heard initially
that having access to this information would help me
as an Afghan journalist
to disclose the faces of warlords
the faces of those who have committed crimes
the faces of those who have committed genocide.
But later on when I knew that having these materials
could be dangerous
since Afghanistan is an insecure country
and there is no guarantee for the life of a journalist.
Therefore it made me a little bit impressed
and it made me a little bit stressed.
Therefore I don't know how to deal with this material
but I know these materials are very important
in order to help the journalists
in order to enable them to do their stories
because all these documents are a proof.
By having these documents they can do their stories.
One of the most important things for journalists is that
they are facing a lack of proof and information.
I don't know, I'm still thinking of how to deal with this.
Well, the country that you are in is somewhat unique
as far as the US is concerned.
We don't quite understand what the risk situation is in your country
and how much pressure can be
meaningfully applied to you and other people.
For example, if you immediately said:
I have this material.
And you said this publicly in many papers
And that we're going to show what is really happening here.
And I got this and I don't care
what the US Government thinks about this
and they can go to hell.
And you said 'and its just me that is doing this
and no one else'.
that would be a very strong motivation
for them to crush you.
Yes, as far as I know
US Forces are more than our Army by numbers.
It is clear that this is another US...
...in terms of having forces.
And you know they have access to all information
to every Afghan everywhere.
I'm sure there is some information, there are some reports
about what the US really wants.
Do they want to continue this war
in order to have it's profits?
I'm sure that if a group of journalists came together
we would be able to handle it.
But if it's only me
I'm sure it's difficult for me.
It's not an easy job.
Here's a cable about the Turkmeni President and Jebediah Bush
[ Location:
Turkmenistan ]
the son of President George Bush Senior.
It's called 'Meeting with the President'.
TX Oil Directors, including Jebediah Bush
the son of the 41st US President
met with the President of Turkmenistan.
The purpose of the meeting was to explore possible
business opportunities in Turkmenistan's oil sector.
They immediately recognised the emphasis of
form over substance in Turkmenistan.
They were both surprised and impressed by the rapid
pace of construction in the capital.
The Oil Directors worked to build a more personal
relationship with the Turkmen officials
in the hope that it would lead to some of the proposed projects.
The Presidential Meeting was featured on the front page of
'Neutral Turkmenistan' newspaper on the following morning.
This is the main office of 'Neutral Turkmenistan'.
The main office of the most important newspaper in the country.
Which is founded personally by the President.
Who sent you here?
Who ah...
Well, I know what visas are and all that...
...so I'm just curious who sent you here?
We came by ourselves, I don't know...
Did you come as tourists?
Who invited you?
We have a question that can only be resolved
with the help of a local journalist.
Well, you see, I'm not a journalist.
I'm a Member of Parliament.
- Yes, but...
No, no, no. I'm just explaining who I am.
Since our President is...
...the publisher of our newspaper...
...he appointed me...
...because...
...well there is no because, he just appointed me.
[ VLADIMIR GUBANOV,
Editor in Chief "Neutral Turkmenistan" ]
When you real about Turkmenistan,
you know what they write.
You know it, I know it:
that Turkmenistan is a country where there
is no freedom of expression whatsoever.
That there is no criticism, only love
and admiration. Is that so?
You know what I respond to that? Do you think
you are the first person to say such a thing?
You know what I respond to that?
I recall that American President...
...in those terrible years of the last century,
...who spoke to his people and said:
'Smile, god damn you!'
Don't hang down your head.
Just smile!
But don't we search for truth
in a diversity of opinions?
Diversity of opinion?
Look, I'm an experienced man and I'm trying
to understand where the truth is...
I can't.
Do you understand?
You read this - it seems right.
You watch this - it also
seems right.
It seems as though all
is confirmed by facts.
But try and solve the puzzle.
Well, that's it. I'm sorry
but I have a... newspaper!
Why is the president on
all of your front pages?
Is that by law?
I don't even know how to answer
... well, you see...
...there is no demand of harsh
criticism by journalists.
[ VLADIMIR KOMAROV,
Wed Editor "Neutral Turkmenistan" ]
- So you have criticism of the system from the top?
No, not the system- rather
specific workers or organisations...
...that don't fulfill their quotas.
So the journalist is an
echo-chamber for the people?
Obviously it doesn't sound good when you put
it that way... but we have other tasks...
Let me just show you
some pictures of our nature.
And you can judge for yourselves.
The desert.
...here it is still in spring,
...but it is starting to wane.
Look at all this beauty.
Where else can you see...
...such amazing canyons.
In the Soviet days
I was younger, of course,
...all of this was much
more interesting.
I lived for journalism.
Now I have settled down.
I choose my topics
I don't jump on everything.
Now I'm a friend of nature.
It interests me more.
Well, you have to agree
that it is more pleasant...
...than digging around in...
...in ...excuse me...
some kind of shit...
...trying to prove something
to someone.
Sorry for not being contactable for a while
we've understood that quite a few people have
been engaged in our search and rescue mission.
We've had the Swedish Ambassador in London
and we had the Foreign Ministry in Sweden
and Dimitry's editors...
...and the former Ambassador to Uzbekistan all engaged.
I think we got them just...
Oh, and Jan Helin as well...
...it was just at the fail safe point when we pulled them back.
Twenty-four hours and there would have been a public stink.
On the positive side
we can give you some small good news
we were actually deported from Turkmenistan.
Excellent!
Journalists!
I think this, this for instance
should journalism be lucrative or not?
Is an issue that is very interesting for us.
But I'm not sure this is the right place to propose it...
[ Location:
Ellingham Hall,
England ]
It's not an issue, it's just...
these particular people
we are working with, who the fuck are they?
Why do they do anything?
Why would they work with these cables
why would they not work with these cables?
Many of them for money!
Yes, then this needs to be said!
They do this for the money!
Everybody does things for money!
Why are you judging that?
Who said that I was judging that?
You are judging it!
No, no, no, you are judging that.
This movie is judging that!
I'm just saying that we need to be concerned
that we are not going around places
saying that we are better than you
because I've had the situation and I've fucked off
And you're still there.
This is what I don't like.
I don't like this approach.
Where have you seen that?
Well I've seen it when you go to people
you knock on their doors
then suddenly you are WikiLeaks
and then when they have a strong reaction you're like...
A strong reaction? When they say they won't publish the cables?
What are we going to do, force them?
No, you have to call before...
But why? Then you'd get a totally different opinion
then you would only get the response that they want to give
as opposed to showing the audience what they will say.
But do you not think it is an interesting question
to see if media around the world will do this
and who will and who won't?
Do you really not think that is an interesting question?
Do I think that it is an interesting question?
No...
That they are too scared to publish US Government documents
is not an interesting question?
No, even if they are scared there are many other criteria.
What criteria is there other than fear?
Interest, newsworthy-ness...
No, no, no, you could write a script...
every news organisation that has a website
has a website developer
who can just go, puff like that
and they get free hits in Google.
It is very, very profitable to publish cables
because you don't have to write cables.
It is free stories!
The point as far as I see it is that
there are boundaries to free speech
in the same way
that there are boundaries to our thoughts
and to our language
and 'newspeak' is basically what we are dealing with
and these boundaries, they look different in different countries
but they always exist in either one way or another
and that is called either censorship or conformism
or self censorship or whatever it may be.
We have a unique opportunity to
actually just show where these boundaries are.
It doesn't necessarily mean that this boundary
is better than that boundary...
Yes, or every boundary that there is...
But people are usually unaware of where these boundaries are.
The easiest way of getting hold of them is by asking a person
and they will say 'well I cannot write about the king'
or 'I cannot write about sex' or whatever.
But most often they will lie.
They will not tell you that there are any boundaries
they will say 'we have no boundaries whatsoever'.
And this is what you will get when you interview
any journalist in the United Kingdom
or in Brazil, or in Sweden or wherever.
So what we have here are the tools
for actually catching these boundaries.
If you push any organisation, they will have boundaries
- any organisation!
Yes! So what are they?
All of them...
What are they?
Is this being filmed now?
Are you filming now?
He is filming now.
Can we discuss things before we film?
Well, I'll discuss things and you'll see its all very easy.
It's not as suspicious as it sounds.
[ The Guardian is
opening its doors ]
With the Guardian you've got a paper
that's been around for nearly two hundred years.
[ ALAN RUSBRIDGER,
Editor in Chief "The Guardian" ]
It is completely solid in its traditions.
It's internationally engaged
It's at the forefront of digital innovation.
We're doing something that is almost unique in journalism
there is no one else that looks like us.
I'm very happy to talk, but...
...I just need to establish the...
...so you're talking to me for a film
which is documenting...
We're documenting how we roll out...
So this is...
So essentially you're interviewing me...
Yes. Something that surprised us
the Guardian removed, redacted
a substantial amount of US Government cables
that we had provided the Guardian.
For example in Uzbekistan, in Tashkent
the US Government cable said that
there was a connection between the Karimov family and the Mafia.
But the Guardian version of the cable which was then given to us
protects the identity of the mob-boss.
So, why did the Guardian do that?
I don't remember the document itself so I can't...
You can speak more generally than that
I would guess...
...that...
...the libel courts of London
have been used extensively by...
...people from the former Soviet Block...
...to protect their reputation.
There's quite a lot of case law built up around that.
Some of these people are very rich
and can spend millions on fighting cases.
Also, In Kazakhstan there was a cable which said that
ENI...
...an Italian energy company operating in Kazakhstan
according to many sources connected to the US Embassy was corrupt.
So this is not an allegation against an individual
rather an allegation against a company.
In Great Britain, what is the situation?
The law in Great Britain is that a company can sue.
and two or three years ago
we were sued by a very large company.
Was that Texaco?
Tesco.
And that was a classic case where the burden of proof was on us
and very rapidly we got to easily a million pounds
in total costs trying to defend that.
So yes, the law in Britain is that companies can sue.
We have a partner in Bulgaria.
They are extremely interested in a cable
that came out about Bulgaria.
detailing some of the penetration of the Bulgarian state
by Bulgarian Mafia.
I have to go at about five past...
That cable was some five thousand seven hundred words
the Guardian redacted it down to some two thousand words.
It removed all the names of alleged Mafia members
and the names of all the companies.
But one name remained, which was the name of a Russian
who was the subject of the Guardian story.
There was an unfortunate side effect of this, which was that
it made this Russian individual look like he
was the subject of the entire cable.
From memory...
...we had a kind of rubric at the beginning of the series
where we tried to explain what we were doing.
we tried to explain why we had redacted some...
and again from memory...
there are difficulties in publishing this
for among them legal considerations.
If your point is that we could have...
...been more explicit in explaining
both why we were doing things...
and the nature of the material we were cutting out
that's probably a fair point.
Were you approached by the British Government?
or US Government?
Before November the 29th?
We had...
It was decided that
the New York Times would approach
the US Government proactively.
Separately, we had two sets of communication
with the American Government
one was via the Embassy in London
who come along to see what we would tell them
which was not very much because
we already had the channel through the NY Times.
The second channel was a phone call setup by the State Department
but also involving other agencies.
Their primary aim was to discover
what documents we were going to use.
If you take away the Army entirely from a country
then wait for ten years
will there be a change in the country?
If there is no change, then you might be able to say
that the Army is actually not a powerful institution.
But we actually know that
if you take away the entire national defence force
and wait long enough
the country will be run over by a neighbour.
And we have this powerful institution
powerful enough to set agendas, to set values
to provide examples of behaviour that is punished
and behaviour that is approved.
The institution that sets all perceptions of the world
other than the ones which you immediately encounter
and perhaps those of your family and close friends.
A tremendously powerful institution
now has competition through a different mechanism.
So there must be change as a result.
To suggest that there is not change as a result would be to say
that these media institutions themselves
had no meaningful power previously.
[ Location:
Washington DC,
USA ]
Good afternoon, you probably have seen
either in person or on TV screens
the State Department briefing that we just finished.
I won't repeat everything I said at the start there but
the most significant response to what has happened is
exactly what Secretary Clinton
is doing in Astana, Kazakhstan as we speak.
She is there working constructively on co-operation and security
In a very important part of the world.
Clearly the unauthorised release of these documents
represents risk to the United States
and to others with whom we collaborate.
[ P.J. CROWLEY,
Assistant Secretary of State USA ]
This is why we condemn what WikiLeaks has done.
From Kazakhstan through Russia, into here
and through most of the geography in between.
I'm going to interview you as much as you interview me.
And we have followed the path...
...from the different countries where
the Wikileaks material has been published.
Only looking from the outside
without having any particular knowledge about it
you get the impression that all these private US institutions
have acted from being pressured in one way or another
by the US Government. In order to block flows of money...
No, no that's not true!
That is absolutely not true.
In my time in Government
at no time did Government tell
any private company what to do
there have been rumours and suggestions of that
and to be honest there has been no evidence
by those who have questioned this.
Companies protect their own reputations
it's not for the Government to tell a company
what it should and shouldn't do.
They have taken actions because they
they see it as in their interests to do this or that.
But how would you look at it if the same thing
were to happen to the New York Times?
If the New York Times were all of a sudden
stopped from getting funds...
and they would have their offices closed down.
You're painting a hypothetical, but I can't follow it.
You can paint a hypothetical where they are
in the exact same position as for example WikiLeaks.
The New York Times decides to publish everything that they get.
No, I mean...
...there's a very sharp distinction here
you have two actors who are in the business of
communicating with a broader public.
One actor made clear, the New York Times
and other publications
we are going to report on what we have
we want to do it responsibly
and we want to do it in a way that is respectful of...
...the danger that this might cause to specific individuals.
And the New York Times voluntarily withheld
certain documents and certain names
because they recognised as we did
that the pubblication of these documents
the publication of these names
would put real live human beings at risk.
[ Location:
New York,
USA ]
[ First day of Occupy Wall Street demonstrations ]
Whose street?
- Our steet!
Occupy Wall Street!
Occupy Wall Street!
The New York Post sent a very intrepid reporter down there
to sleep overnight!
You spent Thursday night in Zuccotti park?
- I did!
Live to tell about! What was it like?
It was a scary place
I mean Zuccotti Park right now is it's own country.
Listen, you're a tough Queens girl right?
You grew up in Queens, you're not afraid of this stuff.
You went down there. What surprised you the most
about what was going on in Zuccotti Park?
What surprised me the most about what's going on there
is that it's totally lawless.
Did you disguise yourself? Did you try to look like a protestor?
Were you going undercover?
You weren't advertising that you were with the Post, right?
When I spoke to people I told them that I was a Post reporter
so it was no secret.
And how did they recieve you?
Well... some people didn't really like
that I was a Post reporter to be honest.
What's very disturbing to hear though
you write from your article
"the threat of rape is very real here for men and women".
How did you sleep that night?
I didn't!
Too cold? Or too many characters?
Too many characters I think...
Candis Geovi from the Post, thank you very much.
Hi! How are you?
So like I said, once you start the interview
close the doors and don't come out.
It's General Assembly at the United Nations
and we have important people coming through.
[ BILL KELLER,
Editor "The New York Times" ]
The UN General Assembly opens this week
so there's a lot of presidents and foreign ministers
and some of them troop through here.
Really? Is that customary?
Yeah, it's pretty typical.
When they're in town, some of them invite themselves
and some of them we invite to
meet with the editorial writers and things.
And how does that usually work out?
They're usually pretty predictable
once in a while one of them makes news
but it's good to just give them a chance
to come over and air their views.
It kind of makes you into an Embassy...
We're the Embassy of the New York Times...
you may have discovered this yourself
foreign news organisations don't always get
the kind of access they would like to officials in Washington
if you want to ask the Military or the White House
to respond to classified information...
...it can be difficult if you're a representative
of a foreign news organisation.
I think that's a shame, but it's a reality
so I think they felt
we would be in a better position to
confront the administration with what we had
and solicit some kind of reaction from them
which turned out to be the case.
And your counterpart, was that PJ Crowley, or some other people?
The first couple of meetings
I think they went over and had them in person
and there were representatives of the State Department.
I assume the intelligence agencies we there.
I know that the CIA was represented.
I don't remember if the Military was there
because at that point it was mostly non-military matters.
After the first couple of conversations
they just had a daily phone call basically.
There was none of this 'everybody gathered in a room'.
They would say:
'We really think you should hold back this particular cable'
'and here is why'.
Then we would discuss it and decide whether to withhold it or not.
In many of the countries where we have been travelling
talking to either editors or politicians
there has been a concern that
these materials can have a destabilizing effect.
Did you consider the consequences of publishing them?
We considered it yeah, and we talked about it a lot.
Yemen is a good example of that
because the State Department's argument was that
these could be destabilising
but I kind of think it's not our job
to decide what is destabilising
or to preserve the stability of countries elsewhere.
Would you have acted differently had the material
been of such character that it would have
potentially destabilised your country?
It's hard for me to imagine what that would be...
You had an example a few years ago
with the warrantless wiretapping.
Yes.
Can you explain how you reasoned at that point in time
when you didn't publish the material?
When I didn't or when I did publish them?
When you didn't...
When I didn't publish them...
The concern wasn't whether it would destabilise our government
the concern was whether or not it would
be of significant value to people
who want to attack us.
Had it been your choice
and if you were the sole owners of this material...
you would not have published them?
The whole thing? No.
First of all because there are...
in the documents that we posted
we redacted many names of people
who would have been put in danger.
We have not studied all the documents
to know how many more people might be endangered
to post the whole thing I think would be irresponsible.
Let's say you would have redacted the names
of those who would have been in danger
and published it all on your site
would that be indictable?
Probably not...
but we had decided how to handle the material
regardless of the legal consequences
just on journalistic grounds...
...and we only wanted to publish...
Do you need the room?
You need me or the room?
I was going to send you a 'hero' gram
but then I heard you were in here man
[ ARTHUR SULTZBERGER JR.
Chairman "The New York Times Company" ]
That was fabulous!
Glad you liked it.
Oh shit yes!
It made the Drudge Report, so I'm getting a lot of traffic!
It's been a deep improvement in traffic this morning.
It's not the kind of traffic you necessarily want
because a lot of people use the word scum-bag.
It's a technical term!
We're talking about our favourite subject...
...WikiLeaks.
This is Arthur Sultzberger, he is the publisher.
To Arthur- Thanks for a memorable Ed Board meeting!
I've just gone back to the writing life
and my first op-ed column was published this morning
it was a somewhat...
half hearted defence of Obama
against...
...disenchanted liberals.
and you know what the Drudge Report is?
The Drudge Report is a website
a very conservative website
that basically aggregates headlines from all over the place
but with a kind of right wing commentary.
It's got a huge following.
So, if Matt Drudge, the guy who runs this website...
...finds something that you've written and puts it on his homepage
with a snarky comment
it drives traffic amazingly.
I mean driving traffic is nice, but the traffic that he drives
is mostly you know...
...'you scum bag, you idiot'.
But traffic is traffic.
[ In February 2013 Private Manning
admitted to leaking material to
WikiLeaks after failed attempts to
share it with both the Washington Post
and the New York Times: ]
[ "The more I read the cables,
the more I came to the conclusion
that this was the type of information
that should become public." ]
[ In July 2013 Private Manning was
convicted by a US Military court
on five counts of espionage and
sentenced to 35 years in prison. ]
Here it says that in the year two thousand
you sent your son to a school in Karachi.
Yes, it was in Karachi.
Does it say that he was ten years old?
That's wrong, he was eight years old.
...and it says that you were on your way to
visit your son in the spring of 2001...
when you illegally crossed the border into Afghanistan...
...and were captured by the Northern Alliance
because you had no passport
[ Mediastan ]
Trascrizione lovvaH
...animeDB...
When they interrogated me in Guantanamo,
they asked me how I crossed the border without a passport
I told them that I didn't have a passport. But that I had a beard.
In 2001 a beard was like a passport in Afganistan.
Then if you had a turban, that was your visa.
Nobody asked for documents.
No, seriously. That's what I told the interrogators.
And that's the whole truth.
[ The Pentagon admitted that no one had
been harmed by the WikiLeaks disclosures.
Yet the US espionage investigation
into WikiLeaks and its staff continues.
As does WikiLeaks publishing activities. ]
[ As of September 2013, Julian Assange
remains a political refugee at the
Ecuadorian Embassy in London. ]
[ Mediastan ]
Trascrizione lovvaH
...animeDB...
Private Manning was arrested
in Iraq on suspicion of having
passed state secrets to the
online publisher WikiLeaks. ]
[ Private Manning was accused of
leaking hundreds of thousands of
diplomatic and military documents. ]
[ Location:
Central Asia ]
A month or a year passes by and people kept saying:
you are in Guantanamo, Cuba,
...but I refused to believe them.
No, they said, you can take it for granted,
this is Guantanamo, Cuba.
Even the books we were given were stamped
"Guantanamo Library", but I still refused to believe it.
There was no way to check:
you are locked up in a cage,
...you see nothing but water:
how can you be sure where you are?
We weren't supposed to know anything,
or do anything.
Just sit quietly and not make
any trouble. That's all.
If you wish we could tell you why
the Americans kept you there, what they wanted from you.
Here is your secret file from Guantanamo,
it's supposed to be declassified in 2033...
This part is called -
"Reasons for Transfer to Guantanamo".
[ MEHRABON ODINAEV,
recently released from US Guantanamo Bay prison ]
To provide information on the following:
[ MEHRABON ODINAEV,
recently released from US Guantanamo Bay prison ]
To provide information
about Tadjik refugees in Afghanistan...
The refugees?
Yes, they asked about them.
And to provide information
about a school in Karachi...
- What could I tell them about it?
They go to Pakistan themselves...
These were the reasons why they decided
to take you to Guantanamo,
they wanted information on
refugees in Tadjikistan...
...and a school in Karachi.
That's absurd, 5 years for that!
-They could have asked then, on the spot...
They could have just asked me
while I was in Kandahar.
I mean, if they would at least have had
some serious questions, I'd understand...
...but the whole world knew
about the Tadjik refugees,
...there were a hundred thousand of them.
Maybe more...
Interrogation, huh!
I'm surprised that they didn't come up
with anything more serious.
I mean they could have at least asked you how
a Soviet tank is constructed
...but no they even wrote officially
that they were interested in a madrasah.
You must be angry with them?
I mean I would be pissed off if I had to spend
five years in Guantanamo for such bullshit.
All for nothing!
[ Location:
Norfolk,
England ]
[ JULIAN ASSANGE,
founder of WikiLeaks under house arrest ]
Take a look at this poor bastard.
Five years in Guantanamo...
...to find out about some refugees in Tadjikistan.
It's not just this detainee...
...there are revelations throughout Central Asia
about what's happening there.
An extreemly interesting region...
...between China and Russia.
This is the State Department's brain...
...the empire of the 21st century.
Bildt is already in correspondence with Karl Rove...
[ In 2011 a small group
of journalists made their
way through Central Asia
interviewing editors. ]
[ Their real goal:
to find local media outlets to publish
the secret US diplomatic cables. ]
[ Mediastan ]
Trascrizione lovvaH
...animeDB...
This is the summary of the cables from Tadjikistan.
The first cable that we have is a scene setter
for some important person who visited Tadjikistan:
[ Location:
Tadjikistan ]
for some important person who visited Tadjikistan:
Regardless of our efforts there is a limit to what Tadjikistan can offer.
That's to the United States.
It produces very little, it is poor
it's Government has minimal capacity.
The Tadjiks have some unrealistic ideas of what we can offer them:
mainly large infrastructure projects.
Including questionable power plants
Tunnels to Pakistan and bridges to nowhere.
There is some truth to the quip that Tadjikistan's real contribution
to our efforts in Afghanistan is to be stable and
allow unfettered overflight and transit to our forces
- which the Tadjiks have done unfailingly.
Ok, so we have another one which is also kind of fun.
It's about how the United States is trying to...
...make the local media more pro-American.
And how do they want to do that? Here goes:
In addition to overt public diplomacy
other complimentary efforts could be authorised, such as:
Aggressive media campaign through the Russian Media
as well as placements of articles in the major Russian Newspapers
read in central Asia
ensure that editors see the positive material from Russian media
and pay them if necessary to reprint it.
To reprint it?
Yes, they will publish positive material about the United States
in Gazeta.ru, Echo Moskvy and Interfax
and then they will pay the local editors
in Tadjikistan, so they re-print those articles.
Do they name some media
which they wanted to pay for re-printing?
It would be interesting to know who they regard as natural partners.
Well, we'll have to look at that in the full documents.
This is just a summary.
so, are we going through the tunnel or around the tunnel?
Through I think...
It doesn't look like it's finished.
I'm not sure this tunnel is finished.
I'm not sure either but there there are people here...
Hi! We are heading to Dushanbe,
is this the way?
- No.
When will the tunnel be opened?
No idea.
All the way back...
Maybe we should turn around...
I wonder if we would have been able to go through anyway?
Those guys were wearing masks
maybe the car would go through, but not us.
Hi! Could you tell us how to get to the capital, to Dushanbe?
Just go straight, and then take a left.
At the foot of the mountain?
Yes, as soon as the road ends, take a left up the mountain.
Thank you!
Good luck on your journey!
We're on our way to the Asia-Plus news agency
here in Tadjikistan.
That's our first destination.
Here is the team:
That's me, Johannes.
This is Dmitri, the Russian journalist from the magazine
that we have been working with.
This is Alina, who is also a journalist.
And Katya, a film-maker from Kazakhstan.
And this is Theo who will be filming our journey.
Look, we have to be careful...
Yes, I understand but...
Hello, my name is Marat Mamadshoev.
Who is responsible for being late?
Not us!
It's ok, I'm also always late.
Everywhere media observe
some red lines that can't be crossed.
What are your red lines?
Surely we have taboo as well.
But if we were to talk too frankly
about our taboo...
...what kind of taboo would that be?
[ MARAT MAMADSHOEV,
Editor in Chief "Asia-Plus" ]
This interview is only one of the reasons why we are here.
...and thank you a lot for that.
But there is another reason why
we are here, that may interest you...
...it has to do with WikiLeaks.
I worked with the Russian cables
Johannes worked with the Swedish material.
There are also cables on Tadjikistan.
We propose to give you free access to the secret cables.
What you choose to publish, how you publish,
if you publish in your newspaper is entirely up to you.
But we demand that you redact the names
of those who need to be protected.
Ok, we are interested.
Ok, in that case there are a couple of terms
that you will need to agree upon.
They are written in
a Memorandum of Understanding.
But it's not a legally
binding document.
In short the terms are: that you may not give
this material to anyone else, and you may not sell it.
And if there are people in need of protection... We are not
talking about some politicians, but about small people.
Lets say a construction worker repaired a stove for
a powerful figure, and found a hideout with gold.
Then obviously the powerful figure is interesting, while
the construction worker will just loose his head.
In that case you need to redact
the name of the construction worker.
Obviously we cannot decide in what situation
the name of a person is relevant...
...and in what situation it is not,
only you can do that.
We'd like you to sign the agreement today...
but if you need more time, we'll go away.
Let's rather postpone
it for tomorrow...
Are you sure you can't
make it today?
...same time
It is a rather short text.
To be on the sure side, we'd rather get an
approval from our superior first.
Besides, he knows English
better than all of us together.
Perhaps you'll do it?
We have our way of doing things...
Can't you do it now?
I am afraid he is asleep
we have 12 hours time difference.
He is in Washington DC.
Yes, he is in the US.
If he were here, we'd do it right away!
I think it is a pure formality.
As comrade Suchov used to say,
there is no need to rush to your own execution!
Well, you are the top man.
You know best!
No, the top man sits in Washington DC...
the Washington overlord of Asia Plus...
...Umet Babakhanov.
[ The next day ]
You should fill out your name and the name of your newspaper here...
M. Mamadshoev, here...
We are in the office of one of the future partners
and they are called 'Asia-Plus'.
Is there a chance that within the coming half hour
you can be online for Skype?
You can see me now, correct?
Yes, hello!
First I will just give a very brief description
as to how I think you should approach this material.
The most important thing to do is to read all of it.
If you go searching for particular things
you will bring your prejudice to the material
and you will only find what you already know.
The other is to understand
the situation in which these documents are made.
They are made by US diplomats, Political Officers,
Economic Officers at the US Embassy
and they are reports on their own activities back to Washington.
Of course I would love to be there myself
but I have to live vicariously these days
by sending these people around the world to...
...engage in some form of remote adventure.
Let us search right away...
You could at least have started with "Asia Plus",
for the sake of decency!
Marat searched for his own name,
the first thing that he did.
They describe me as
an "independent journalist"...
He is called an independent journalist.
...that is a big mistake!
Again, "Marat Mamadshoev".
Here it is written "Editor"
now that is correct!
So, there are too many
references of my name.
Search for "Asia-Plus".
So...
3000 pages! Oh my God!
That's work for the whole night!
[ NAKBI DUSTI ]
Hello!
Hi, is that Marat?
Speaking.
Hi Marat! We wanted to make a check up.
Has Asia-Plus published any of the material that you got?
Yes, we've published a number of articles...
But the problem is that there are many things
in the cables that we cannot publish...
...because we will be in trouble.
For example there was a cable claiming that
a man came to the US Embassy...
...and said that he was planning a coup.
We can't publish a thing
like this, he would sue us!
There are things that are
very interesting for us,
...but I don't know
if we can publish them.
Why can't you publish that
the man is preparing a coup?
Well, I don't know.
We have taken some advice
and decided not to run the story.
[ Location:
Kazakhstan ]
I began with some funny stuff
I was obliged to edit the column 'letters of readers'.
But the problem was that there were
absolutely not letters to edit
but the column should be published twice a day.
So I was obliged to...
...invent those letters myself.
And I just invented a lot of them.
Did you get some, any letters from readers?
Yeh, we've got some, I don't know...
maybe three, four or five in two months
but they were all containing some criticism.
These letters you didn't publish?
No, those letters...
I wanted to publish at least those that were about
problems in the factual content of the newspaper
because I found it rather important
to have some kind of self criticism.
But our marketing department had no self criticism
and they forbid me to publish it.
So I invented letters about problems of veterans
problems of pensioners
problems of no matter whom
So that's how I became a journalist.
Now we are going to visit the magazine
'Expert Kazakhstan'
which is in the same holding company
as my magazine.
And in the same building we have
the news-wire 'KazTag'.
Why are you here on this mission?
Why have you come here
and why do you want to have
these cables published?
You could say that this is your moral obligation.
[ RASSUL RYSSMAMBETOV,
"Kazakh Telegraph Agency" ]
Who is paying for your trip?
You could say that you paid for it
with your own money...
You paid for it all... that's it...
I for example, wanted to visit Iran
to cover the massacres...
...during the elections in 2009 or 2010,
just because I was interested.
I paid for the trip with my own money,
but nobody believed me!
In order to pay for it, I bought vegetables
and exported them to Kazakhstan.
It helped me to pay for satisfying my main interest,
my passion, my curiosity.
I wanted to understand what was
really happening there...
...so I found a way to finance it.
If you can show me your goal clearly,
it will be easier to negotiate.
Enough! Just sign the agreement!
Share your own thoughts.
Theoretically I understand what you say...
...but what's your personal view about
the goals of WikiLeaks?
Look... We have a position...
...the advantage of being a beholder.
We observe things that amaze
a Swedish or American reader:
"Look, they killed this guy!"
We are not amazed.
We know that every war
is cruel and unjust.
And then, the Western countries
attack Libya or some other country and say:
"you've got to have democracy, democracy!"
Then they lay there and
understand that, yes...
- yes, they need democracy.
For sure!
And Information is a weapon...
You admitted that information is a tool.
That WikiLeaks is a tool.
If an unskilled person will use this tool...
You can use a shovel to dig.
But you can also use it to behead.
Same here: if an unskilled man will get
access to this compromising data...
...it will lead to anarchy!
In your view, people are not ready
to consume all information...
...so they should not be
offered the full choice of it?
Right, this is my view.
But who is to...
Who is the judge?
I am the judge!
This is not for WikiLeaks...
But I for example, I'm against democracy.
I don't believe in one
man - one vote stuff.
Look at me, I graduated
from Law school,
I worked, I served in the army,
...in the special forces.
I was wounded.
I completed my studies.
I tired to improve myself...
I learned languages...
I've read Aristotle in the original Greek.
I am sure that I am better
and more worthy...
...than a man who didn't
try to improve himself.
This is my view.
Enough!
I know what WikiLeaks is.
I've formed my own opinion.
It is an absurdist picture of all
of us sitting here...
[ ANDREY SKIRKA,
Editor in Chief "Expert Kazakhstan" ]
...because all are interested
in other people's lives,
...instead of their own.
That is why WikiLeaks came to exist.
It's a totally useless thing.
It just reminds us of how bad we all are...
...paying attention to meaningless stuff...
...such as what one diplomat
told another diplomat...
...and it will change nothing in the world.
We spoke about it yesterday
- remember the book on Aristotle that I gave you...
...nothing has changed since the days of Aristotle
and nothing ever will.
From this point of view WikiLeaks
is an ephemera, a one-day-event.
Now the interest to WikiLeaks
has already vanished...
...because its not important.
It's superficial.
WikiLeaks is a superficial shell.
Such things do not impact
real changes of mankind...
...of human existence,
they don't promote real change...
The landscape is changed
by inspirational things.
For example, we invented a project called:
"how to organize our country"
this was an idea of Solzhenitsyn.
If we launch it right, this project
will inspire people...
...to change their surroundings.
But the WikiLeaks materials
do not inspire people...
...to change the world
that they are living in...
- Well, we are here - it means
that somebody is inspired!
Perhaps you're right.
I don't want to offend you.
So I'll put it this way:
I'm not inspired!
You travel, you are great guys.
But you are wasting your time.
You are wasting your life in vain!
Nothing will come out of it.
[ The next day ]
I'm trying to convince my friend
to start collaborating with you because...
Yerdos is taking a more journalistic stance
than me, he thinks that...
I'm a journalist by profession,
that's why I know for sure...
...that collaborating
with you will bring economic benefits.
I'm not politically engaged...
...but if we speak about money...
Circulation.
Yes, it can help our sales.
I wanted to ask...
...since we met last time,
have you talked to anyone else?
Because if "Expert" is going to participate - and as far
as I understand we are leaning in that direction...
we would like to talk about an approach where there
are not so many other partners.
I know that KazTag is already in on it, but that's OK,
since it's a news-wire.
If "Expert" joins the project,
would it be possible for us...
...to have the material exclusively?
Unfortunately we can't do that...
[ Zjenauzen,
Kazakhstan ]
Hi! Can't we pass, is the road closed?
There are oil-workers on strike here.
They have been on a hunger strike for a week...
According to this police officer, oil-workers are on strike here.
Strange that no journalist told us of this before.
Are you on a hunger strike?
- Yes, it's already the 13th day.
Are you filming me?
- You don't want me to film?
Don't film me...
I'm telling you, I'm afraid...
People want to talk and discuss...
but they are afraid...terrorized...
Recently, almost everybody was nicked...
...the whole crowd was loaded up into
a police van and beaten up...
...five men knifed themselves,
two went to the hospital...
...three refused to go to the hospital...
...now six persons plan to knife themselves.
Why do they knife themselves?
What else can they do?
We've hunger striked...
Nobody came to us,
neither the Mayor, nor the authorities...
We went to the Mayor - no result.
He is apparently also in cahoots...
And the TV doesn't cover it?
The TV? We asked them, but they say:
the Mayor forbade covering it.
They come and film, but they
only broadcast what the authorities say...
...they never broadcast our interviews.
What do the journalits say?
Do they apologize?
What apologies? They say:
we are ordinary guys, just like you.
Our job is to film, and our bosses decide
what should be aired.
Massive unrest has struck Zjenauzen.
In the central square while people were strolling
and enjoying street theatre
...the festivities were suddenly
smashed by a raging mob.
Unfortunately there is no other way
to describe these people.
[ Footage of killed oil-workers
posted on the Internet a few weeks later ]
What the artists and local citizens gathering
to celebrate the main government holiday...
...had done to enrage the mob
is beyond understanding.
It needs to be noted that the police
acted more than professionally.
They attempted to defend the stage, but the rioters
who were cheered on by their leaders...
...outnumbered the law enforcers
and crushed the fence.
After they had vandalized the stage they continued on their
rampage. They toppled the Christmas tree and the yurtas.
Then the most awful thing occurred:
the criminals started burning cars,
...attacking public buildings, burning shops,
private houses, cash machines.
Instead of celebrating independence day,
the citizens of Zjenauzen had to save themselves...
...from the merciless mob.
I got fired because...
...I wrote an article about...
...the conditions of work that Swedish journalists have
when they work in Israel and Palestine.
The journalists that I interviewed were very frank with me
and they told me about the different
things that they couldn't report upon.
The things that they could.
The censorship that they experienced at their work place.
When the material was published
two of the six journalists that I had interviewed
retracted their statements.
So you think they sincerely thought that
you misunderstood them
or took things out of the context?
I think that if somebody does an interview with you
and then you're entirely open and frank about it
after a while maybe you realise that
this is going to be shown on television
your boss is going to see this, your mother is going to see this
and you start understanding the consequences.
It is not just a conversation between you and your friends.
But anyway I just thought about it because
I think to an extent I made a very big mistake with that article.
and the mistake that I did was that...
...I did a very typical journalistic work...
...about journalists.
And the standards for doing journalistic work about journalism
has to be a hundred times higher.
Because they will immediately backfire
and they will start criticising what you do
in a completely different way than if it's a regular person.
Because a regular person does not have the power to...
...to say no.
Here is a cable which is marked 'Secret / Noforn'
and that means that not even allied states are allowed to read it.
And it's about a meeting between the US Ambassador
[ Location:
Kyrgyzstan ]
and the Kyrgyz Foreign Minister.
So here it goes:
The Ambassador and the Kyrgyz Foreign Minister
met at the Ambassador's residence mid afternoon.
President Bakiyev, the dictator that was
just kicked out in the revolution a few months ago
told him that he was authorised
to sign the agreements on the US military base
but the agreement must be kept secret.
The Foreign Minister said that
ha needed time to work with public opinion and the parliament
before he could roll out the new agreement publicly.
He asked for our assistance in preparing the Kyrgyz public opinion
specifically by placing articles in the local Russian language press.
[ Protest in front of Presidential Palace in Kyrgyzstan ]
[ Footage from revolution in Kyrgyzstan
recorded a few months earlier ]
I was fascinated about power.
I wanted to get to
the top floor of the palace.
I served my Government
- not President Bakiev.
I wrote his speeches.
And he read them.
Because I can write beautifully,
especially in Kyrgyz.
The President read his speeches...
...but nobody believed what he said.
I felt this all the time.
I even had difficulties looking
people in the eyes...
...especially during the last months
of his regime.
I was on the 5th floor of the palace...
...when I saw all the bloodshed
with my own eyes.
They attacked from the square...
I ran from the back of the Palace.
It's a long story...
But on the following morning
a weight was lifted from my shoulders.
Because I had found my liberty.
[ SULTANBEK JOUMAGULOV,
Director "Radio Liberty" ]
The Kyrgyz society is
different from it's neighbors,
...it's a vibrant society.
Demonstrations and all of that...
is far from negative.
I'ts just the other side of the coin.
It's a society heading somewhere,
trying to achieve something.
I think that the West
has also gone through...
...a period of demonstrations
and turmoil, right?
I think that Kyrgyzstan, will soon...
...I want to accentuate it again...
...will become a model
for other countries of Central Asia...
...unless someone interferes.
Do you believe this?
- I do!
It's just that many have told us
that this is temporary...
No, I believe in this.
What is happening...
The fact that Radio Liberty exists...
with its TV-project...
It doesn't exist in the other countries,
not in Dushanbe, not in...
- That's true but...
And that is not a merit to our staff.
It is a merit to the whole
Kyrgyz society.
It is not a merit to the President.
The society demands it.
The society wants it.
- In that case, are there in
your opinion any questions...
...that you would not be
able to publish?
Anything at all?
I mean is there any censorship
or self-censorship on your station?
You mean Radio Liberty?
- Yes
We don't have any forbidden topics.
We are absolutely free.
But we have the statutes
of Radio Liberty.
...and that is that we must abide by the ethical
standards of international journalism.
If you would want to...
...we would be able to provide you
with the archive on Kyrgyzstan.
Would that interest you?
Absolutely, that would be
very interesting.
And you would be able to use it?
Absolutely, absolutely,
Absolutely.
Yes we can.
Honestly speaking I didn't expect...
...our interview to be about...
...WikiLeaks.
I thought that we...
...that I would tell you about
freedom of speech in Kyrgyzstan.
The agreement from the side
of Radio Liberty...
...will be arranged by
my boss...
...who is in Prague.
[ The next day ]
Should we hurry up?
We're on our way!
Hello, Dmitri!
- Yes
Well... our people have said that
we can't sign the memorandum...
...since we...
we in principle don't...
...we can't get involved
in any limitations...
But listen, this memorandum,
first of all it is not legally binding,
...it's a gentlemen's agreement.
And secondly there is an important issue
about your responsibility.
And it says that if you do not fulfill the clauses
the partnership is just cancelled.
In other words there are
no liabilities.
Well, yes... but it's just that...
...apparently we technically can't
sign the memorandum.
All of these materials will be published
sooner or later anyway.
Sure they will...
...but it's just a question of who is going
to publish them.
...it's a question of time and...
You see, there are most likely
some sensitive issues...
I mean, we are
...nonetheless...
...an American...
...maybe that's why.
Well, Radio Liberty is financed
by the US State Department?
By the Congress.
[ Location:
Afghanistan ]
Here is a cable about a meeting that the US Ambassador has
with the Governor of Mazar-e-Sharif here in Northern Afghanistan.
This is what the Governor says:
He let loose with a litany of complaints
about the Swedish presence in Afghanistan.
He described the relationship to the Swedish military as cold
saying that the only times that the Swedish commanders visit
are when they first arrive in Mazar
and when they pay their farewell calls.
Nor did he spare criticism for the Swedish media
who he claimed never bothered to talk to politicians
or ordinary people during visits to the military base
and thus only heard positive accounts of its work
instead of hearing the views of the local residents.
Then the cable goes on about basically all other Afghani politicians
[ Swedish Military Base
in Afghanistan ]
asking that Sweden leaves Afghanistan.
It kind of leaves you thinking, why is Sweden here in that case?
[ ANNE-CHARLOTTE MALM,
Swedish development advisor in Afghanistan ]
The right to vote I think is very appreciated.
And the people want democracy.
But it's difficult in a country with so poor education.
And so little experience in democracy to obtain democracy.
My colleagues and I are responsible for this section
in Northern Afghanistan.
And we have this special task
to find synergies...
...between the Armed Forces and humanitarian aid
and to cooperate with the Army.
To find synergies with the Army?
What does that mean?
Well, that's a good question.
And we have tried to find an answer to it.
Because this is what
the Government is telling us to do.
But they are not really
explaining what it means.
But what do you think is the purpose
of the US Military presence in Afghanistan?
I don't want to speculate on that.
But do you think that there is a risk that your task
which might be good hearted and important...
...is used to bribe the locals to support
that which you don't want to talk about...
...to support a military presence, which might be
about something completely different?
I don't know...
Let me give you a list
of projects that we support...
We also fund the Institute
For War and Peace...
...Reporting. How lucky
that I noticed the mistake.
Hello is the IWPR?
My name is Johannes, I just got your telephone number from
Anne Charlotte Malm at the Swedish Military Base here in Mazar-e-Sharif
we are just heading off towards your office
together with Enayat, a local journalist who will help translate.
Alright, see you soon.
When I knew that there was an attack on the United Nations
I was just driving to the UN compund, in my car
[ ENAYAT NAJAFIZADA,
journalist ]
and when I got there, there was hundreds of people at the UN
and the police were not letting journalists in.
But I got some information and I sent it to my office in Kabul.
It was a really hard day for me
because everyone was calling me to help them.
How does it work...?
It was very good in terms of finding money.
But in terms of humans who got killed it was a sorrow.
I was very angry and it was sad.
But in terms of the news it was for the first time
that the UN in Afghanistan came under attack.
There were journalists calling me from London
from BBC, from CNN
asking 'hey we need to hire you for a day'.
Even from Sweden, Aftonbladet.
And then I was telling them I don't have time
but they were paying very well when I was working for them
So what do you do then? You tell them on the phone what's happening?
Yeah on the telephone, I was writing on my laptop,
and I was sending them emails.
I earned more than ten to twelve thousand dollars.
You mean per month?
- No, just in a couple of days
How much!? Ten, twelve thousand dollars!?
Yes, sending videos, selling videos, selling pictures, text.
Only for two days when I worked with a Swedish guy
I took three thousand dollars.
Therefore Aftonbladet and everyone is very angry with me.
Why are they angry with you?
- Because I am taking their money.
No they are not angry at you.
- They are sometimes angry.
Frontline reporting
Civil society building
International justice
Human rights
Womens rights
Truth
Good governance
Freedom of information
Peace
Democracy
Democracy
IWPR
IWPR
IWPR makes a difference
The greatest guarantor of Freedom is Truth.
We have been working with the WikiLeaks materials
in different parts of the world, in different countries
and we are looking for a media partner in Afghanistan.
Somebody who would be interested in taking and
[ BABAK QAYUM,
"Institute for War and Peace Reporting" ]
working with the WikiLeaks material here.
If you think it is something that you can work with
then we would be willing to give it to you.
There is no doubt that you are trusted to work on these stories
but we have a problem.
The problem is that we ourselves had a newspaper here
it was a daily paper, with activities in the past years...
And there was a group of journalists that were working for it.
But some people made a plot against them
and one of their colleagues was sentenced to death.
He is very afraid.
I will sign for the information.
But if you sign it, it means that you will be
the person that gets the material.
I will be the one.
And then I will give the information to him.
In that case you will be the one in control of the material.
I will be the one, because I can speak English
if you ever want to be in contact with me I will be available.
He is very old.
The weather is very hot.
It is because I don't understand English...
He was a communist.
He is a joker...
And he is very afraid that you are going to plot against him.
No, I am making jokes!
Let me make another joke - he was a member of KGB.
He was a member of the CIA.
OK, I will put a signature on another paper
and I will put the name of my organisation on it.
It's called Otash. Fire. We are Fire.
I was against the Governor
my brother was prosecuted because he was critical of the Governor.
I will do this, but I will give the information to him
in order to help him to use it in his reporting.
Please give the information to Enayat.
Enayat, please sign it.
Hi Julian this is Enayat I am an Afghan journalist
based in Northern Afghanistan.
I just met Johannes this morning
at a ceremony in the PRT ISAF base in Mazar.
I didn't know that...
...however when I heard initially
that having access to this information would help me
as an Afghan journalist
to disclose the faces of warlords
the faces of those who have committed crimes
the faces of those who have committed genocide.
But later on when I knew that having these materials
could be dangerous
since Afghanistan is an insecure country
and there is no guarantee for the life of a journalist.
Therefore it made me a little bit impressed
and it made me a little bit stressed.
Therefore I don't know how to deal with this material
but I know these materials are very important
in order to help the journalists
in order to enable them to do their stories
because all these documents are a proof.
By having these documents they can do their stories.
One of the most important things for journalists is that
they are facing a lack of proof and information.
I don't know, I'm still thinking of how to deal with this.
Well, the country that you are in is somewhat unique
as far as the US is concerned.
We don't quite understand what the risk situation is in your country
and how much pressure can be
meaningfully applied to you and other people.
For example, if you immediately said:
I have this material.
And you said this publicly in many papers
And that we're going to show what is really happening here.
And I got this and I don't care
what the US Government thinks about this
and they can go to hell.
And you said 'and its just me that is doing this
and no one else'.
that would be a very strong motivation
for them to crush you.
Yes, as far as I know
US Forces are more than our Army by numbers.
It is clear that this is another US...
...in terms of having forces.
And you know they have access to all information
to every Afghan everywhere.
I'm sure there is some information, there are some reports
about what the US really wants.
Do they want to continue this war
in order to have it's profits?
I'm sure that if a group of journalists came together
we would be able to handle it.
But if it's only me
I'm sure it's difficult for me.
It's not an easy job.
Here's a cable about the Turkmeni President and Jebediah Bush
[ Location:
Turkmenistan ]
the son of President George Bush Senior.
It's called 'Meeting with the President'.
TX Oil Directors, including Jebediah Bush
the son of the 41st US President
met with the President of Turkmenistan.
The purpose of the meeting was to explore possible
business opportunities in Turkmenistan's oil sector.
They immediately recognised the emphasis of
form over substance in Turkmenistan.
They were both surprised and impressed by the rapid
pace of construction in the capital.
The Oil Directors worked to build a more personal
relationship with the Turkmen officials
in the hope that it would lead to some of the proposed projects.
The Presidential Meeting was featured on the front page of
'Neutral Turkmenistan' newspaper on the following morning.
This is the main office of 'Neutral Turkmenistan'.
The main office of the most important newspaper in the country.
Which is founded personally by the President.
Who sent you here?
Who ah...
Well, I know what visas are and all that...
...so I'm just curious who sent you here?
We came by ourselves, I don't know...
Did you come as tourists?
Who invited you?
We have a question that can only be resolved
with the help of a local journalist.
Well, you see, I'm not a journalist.
I'm a Member of Parliament.
- Yes, but...
No, no, no. I'm just explaining who I am.
Since our President is...
...the publisher of our newspaper...
...he appointed me...
...because...
...well there is no because, he just appointed me.
[ VLADIMIR GUBANOV,
Editor in Chief "Neutral Turkmenistan" ]
When you real about Turkmenistan,
you know what they write.
You know it, I know it:
that Turkmenistan is a country where there
is no freedom of expression whatsoever.
That there is no criticism, only love
and admiration. Is that so?
You know what I respond to that? Do you think
you are the first person to say such a thing?
You know what I respond to that?
I recall that American President...
...in those terrible years of the last century,
...who spoke to his people and said:
'Smile, god damn you!'
Don't hang down your head.
Just smile!
But don't we search for truth
in a diversity of opinions?
Diversity of opinion?
Look, I'm an experienced man and I'm trying
to understand where the truth is...
I can't.
Do you understand?
You read this - it seems right.
You watch this - it also
seems right.
It seems as though all
is confirmed by facts.
But try and solve the puzzle.
Well, that's it. I'm sorry
but I have a... newspaper!
Why is the president on
all of your front pages?
Is that by law?
I don't even know how to answer
... well, you see...
...there is no demand of harsh
criticism by journalists.
[ VLADIMIR KOMAROV,
Wed Editor "Neutral Turkmenistan" ]
- So you have criticism of the system from the top?
No, not the system- rather
specific workers or organisations...
...that don't fulfill their quotas.
So the journalist is an
echo-chamber for the people?
Obviously it doesn't sound good when you put
it that way... but we have other tasks...
Let me just show you
some pictures of our nature.
And you can judge for yourselves.
The desert.
...here it is still in spring,
...but it is starting to wane.
Look at all this beauty.
Where else can you see...
...such amazing canyons.
In the Soviet days
I was younger, of course,
...all of this was much
more interesting.
I lived for journalism.
Now I have settled down.
I choose my topics
I don't jump on everything.
Now I'm a friend of nature.
It interests me more.
Well, you have to agree
that it is more pleasant...
...than digging around in...
...in ...excuse me...
some kind of shit...
...trying to prove something
to someone.
Sorry for not being contactable for a while
we've understood that quite a few people have
been engaged in our search and rescue mission.
We've had the Swedish Ambassador in London
and we had the Foreign Ministry in Sweden
and Dimitry's editors...
...and the former Ambassador to Uzbekistan all engaged.
I think we got them just...
Oh, and Jan Helin as well...
...it was just at the fail safe point when we pulled them back.
Twenty-four hours and there would have been a public stink.
On the positive side
we can give you some small good news
we were actually deported from Turkmenistan.
Excellent!
Journalists!
I think this, this for instance
should journalism be lucrative or not?
Is an issue that is very interesting for us.
But I'm not sure this is the right place to propose it...
[ Location:
Ellingham Hall,
England ]
It's not an issue, it's just...
these particular people
we are working with, who the fuck are they?
Why do they do anything?
Why would they work with these cables
why would they not work with these cables?
Many of them for money!
Yes, then this needs to be said!
They do this for the money!
Everybody does things for money!
Why are you judging that?
Who said that I was judging that?
You are judging it!
No, no, no, you are judging that.
This movie is judging that!
I'm just saying that we need to be concerned
that we are not going around places
saying that we are better than you
because I've had the situation and I've fucked off
And you're still there.
This is what I don't like.
I don't like this approach.
Where have you seen that?
Well I've seen it when you go to people
you knock on their doors
then suddenly you are WikiLeaks
and then when they have a strong reaction you're like...
A strong reaction? When they say they won't publish the cables?
What are we going to do, force them?
No, you have to call before...
But why? Then you'd get a totally different opinion
then you would only get the response that they want to give
as opposed to showing the audience what they will say.
But do you not think it is an interesting question
to see if media around the world will do this
and who will and who won't?
Do you really not think that is an interesting question?
Do I think that it is an interesting question?
No...
That they are too scared to publish US Government documents
is not an interesting question?
No, even if they are scared there are many other criteria.
What criteria is there other than fear?
Interest, newsworthy-ness...
No, no, no, you could write a script...
every news organisation that has a website
has a website developer
who can just go, puff like that
and they get free hits in Google.
It is very, very profitable to publish cables
because you don't have to write cables.
It is free stories!
The point as far as I see it is that
there are boundaries to free speech
in the same way
that there are boundaries to our thoughts
and to our language
and 'newspeak' is basically what we are dealing with
and these boundaries, they look different in different countries
but they always exist in either one way or another
and that is called either censorship or conformism
or self censorship or whatever it may be.
We have a unique opportunity to
actually just show where these boundaries are.
It doesn't necessarily mean that this boundary
is better than that boundary...
Yes, or every boundary that there is...
But people are usually unaware of where these boundaries are.
The easiest way of getting hold of them is by asking a person
and they will say 'well I cannot write about the king'
or 'I cannot write about sex' or whatever.
But most often they will lie.
They will not tell you that there are any boundaries
they will say 'we have no boundaries whatsoever'.
And this is what you will get when you interview
any journalist in the United Kingdom
or in Brazil, or in Sweden or wherever.
So what we have here are the tools
for actually catching these boundaries.
If you push any organisation, they will have boundaries
- any organisation!
Yes! So what are they?
All of them...
What are they?
Is this being filmed now?
Are you filming now?
He is filming now.
Can we discuss things before we film?
Well, I'll discuss things and you'll see its all very easy.
It's not as suspicious as it sounds.
[ The Guardian is
opening its doors ]
With the Guardian you've got a paper
that's been around for nearly two hundred years.
[ ALAN RUSBRIDGER,
Editor in Chief "The Guardian" ]
It is completely solid in its traditions.
It's internationally engaged
It's at the forefront of digital innovation.
We're doing something that is almost unique in journalism
there is no one else that looks like us.
I'm very happy to talk, but...
...I just need to establish the...
...so you're talking to me for a film
which is documenting...
We're documenting how we roll out...
So this is...
So essentially you're interviewing me...
Yes. Something that surprised us
the Guardian removed, redacted
a substantial amount of US Government cables
that we had provided the Guardian.
For example in Uzbekistan, in Tashkent
the US Government cable said that
there was a connection between the Karimov family and the Mafia.
But the Guardian version of the cable which was then given to us
protects the identity of the mob-boss.
So, why did the Guardian do that?
I don't remember the document itself so I can't...
You can speak more generally than that
I would guess...
...that...
...the libel courts of London
have been used extensively by...
...people from the former Soviet Block...
...to protect their reputation.
There's quite a lot of case law built up around that.
Some of these people are very rich
and can spend millions on fighting cases.
Also, In Kazakhstan there was a cable which said that
ENI...
...an Italian energy company operating in Kazakhstan
according to many sources connected to the US Embassy was corrupt.
So this is not an allegation against an individual
rather an allegation against a company.
In Great Britain, what is the situation?
The law in Great Britain is that a company can sue.
and two or three years ago
we were sued by a very large company.
Was that Texaco?
Tesco.
And that was a classic case where the burden of proof was on us
and very rapidly we got to easily a million pounds
in total costs trying to defend that.
So yes, the law in Britain is that companies can sue.
We have a partner in Bulgaria.
They are extremely interested in a cable
that came out about Bulgaria.
detailing some of the penetration of the Bulgarian state
by Bulgarian Mafia.
I have to go at about five past...
That cable was some five thousand seven hundred words
the Guardian redacted it down to some two thousand words.
It removed all the names of alleged Mafia members
and the names of all the companies.
But one name remained, which was the name of a Russian
who was the subject of the Guardian story.
There was an unfortunate side effect of this, which was that
it made this Russian individual look like he
was the subject of the entire cable.
From memory...
...we had a kind of rubric at the beginning of the series
where we tried to explain what we were doing.
we tried to explain why we had redacted some...
and again from memory...
there are difficulties in publishing this
for among them legal considerations.
If your point is that we could have...
...been more explicit in explaining
both why we were doing things...
and the nature of the material we were cutting out
that's probably a fair point.
Were you approached by the British Government?
or US Government?
Before November the 29th?
We had...
It was decided that
the New York Times would approach
the US Government proactively.
Separately, we had two sets of communication
with the American Government
one was via the Embassy in London
who come along to see what we would tell them
which was not very much because
we already had the channel through the NY Times.
The second channel was a phone call setup by the State Department
but also involving other agencies.
Their primary aim was to discover
what documents we were going to use.
If you take away the Army entirely from a country
then wait for ten years
will there be a change in the country?
If there is no change, then you might be able to say
that the Army is actually not a powerful institution.
But we actually know that
if you take away the entire national defence force
and wait long enough
the country will be run over by a neighbour.
And we have this powerful institution
powerful enough to set agendas, to set values
to provide examples of behaviour that is punished
and behaviour that is approved.
The institution that sets all perceptions of the world
other than the ones which you immediately encounter
and perhaps those of your family and close friends.
A tremendously powerful institution
now has competition through a different mechanism.
So there must be change as a result.
To suggest that there is not change as a result would be to say
that these media institutions themselves
had no meaningful power previously.
[ Location:
Washington DC,
USA ]
Good afternoon, you probably have seen
either in person or on TV screens
the State Department briefing that we just finished.
I won't repeat everything I said at the start there but
the most significant response to what has happened is
exactly what Secretary Clinton
is doing in Astana, Kazakhstan as we speak.
She is there working constructively on co-operation and security
In a very important part of the world.
Clearly the unauthorised release of these documents
represents risk to the United States
and to others with whom we collaborate.
[ P.J. CROWLEY,
Assistant Secretary of State USA ]
This is why we condemn what WikiLeaks has done.
From Kazakhstan through Russia, into here
and through most of the geography in between.
I'm going to interview you as much as you interview me.
And we have followed the path...
...from the different countries where
the Wikileaks material has been published.
Only looking from the outside
without having any particular knowledge about it
you get the impression that all these private US institutions
have acted from being pressured in one way or another
by the US Government. In order to block flows of money...
No, no that's not true!
That is absolutely not true.
In my time in Government
at no time did Government tell
any private company what to do
there have been rumours and suggestions of that
and to be honest there has been no evidence
by those who have questioned this.
Companies protect their own reputations
it's not for the Government to tell a company
what it should and shouldn't do.
They have taken actions because they
they see it as in their interests to do this or that.
But how would you look at it if the same thing
were to happen to the New York Times?
If the New York Times were all of a sudden
stopped from getting funds...
and they would have their offices closed down.
You're painting a hypothetical, but I can't follow it.
You can paint a hypothetical where they are
in the exact same position as for example WikiLeaks.
The New York Times decides to publish everything that they get.
No, I mean...
...there's a very sharp distinction here
you have two actors who are in the business of
communicating with a broader public.
One actor made clear, the New York Times
and other publications
we are going to report on what we have
we want to do it responsibly
and we want to do it in a way that is respectful of...
...the danger that this might cause to specific individuals.
And the New York Times voluntarily withheld
certain documents and certain names
because they recognised as we did
that the pubblication of these documents
the publication of these names
would put real live human beings at risk.
[ Location:
New York,
USA ]
[ First day of Occupy Wall Street demonstrations ]
Whose street?
- Our steet!
Occupy Wall Street!
Occupy Wall Street!
The New York Post sent a very intrepid reporter down there
to sleep overnight!
You spent Thursday night in Zuccotti park?
- I did!
Live to tell about! What was it like?
It was a scary place
I mean Zuccotti Park right now is it's own country.
Listen, you're a tough Queens girl right?
You grew up in Queens, you're not afraid of this stuff.
You went down there. What surprised you the most
about what was going on in Zuccotti Park?
What surprised me the most about what's going on there
is that it's totally lawless.
Did you disguise yourself? Did you try to look like a protestor?
Were you going undercover?
You weren't advertising that you were with the Post, right?
When I spoke to people I told them that I was a Post reporter
so it was no secret.
And how did they recieve you?
Well... some people didn't really like
that I was a Post reporter to be honest.
What's very disturbing to hear though
you write from your article
"the threat of rape is very real here for men and women".
How did you sleep that night?
I didn't!
Too cold? Or too many characters?
Too many characters I think...
Candis Geovi from the Post, thank you very much.
Hi! How are you?
So like I said, once you start the interview
close the doors and don't come out.
It's General Assembly at the United Nations
and we have important people coming through.
[ BILL KELLER,
Editor "The New York Times" ]
The UN General Assembly opens this week
so there's a lot of presidents and foreign ministers
and some of them troop through here.
Really? Is that customary?
Yeah, it's pretty typical.
When they're in town, some of them invite themselves
and some of them we invite to
meet with the editorial writers and things.
And how does that usually work out?
They're usually pretty predictable
once in a while one of them makes news
but it's good to just give them a chance
to come over and air their views.
It kind of makes you into an Embassy...
We're the Embassy of the New York Times...
you may have discovered this yourself
foreign news organisations don't always get
the kind of access they would like to officials in Washington
if you want to ask the Military or the White House
to respond to classified information...
...it can be difficult if you're a representative
of a foreign news organisation.
I think that's a shame, but it's a reality
so I think they felt
we would be in a better position to
confront the administration with what we had
and solicit some kind of reaction from them
which turned out to be the case.
And your counterpart, was that PJ Crowley, or some other people?
The first couple of meetings
I think they went over and had them in person
and there were representatives of the State Department.
I assume the intelligence agencies we there.
I know that the CIA was represented.
I don't remember if the Military was there
because at that point it was mostly non-military matters.
After the first couple of conversations
they just had a daily phone call basically.
There was none of this 'everybody gathered in a room'.
They would say:
'We really think you should hold back this particular cable'
'and here is why'.
Then we would discuss it and decide whether to withhold it or not.
In many of the countries where we have been travelling
talking to either editors or politicians
there has been a concern that
these materials can have a destabilizing effect.
Did you consider the consequences of publishing them?
We considered it yeah, and we talked about it a lot.
Yemen is a good example of that
because the State Department's argument was that
these could be destabilising
but I kind of think it's not our job
to decide what is destabilising
or to preserve the stability of countries elsewhere.
Would you have acted differently had the material
been of such character that it would have
potentially destabilised your country?
It's hard for me to imagine what that would be...
You had an example a few years ago
with the warrantless wiretapping.
Yes.
Can you explain how you reasoned at that point in time
when you didn't publish the material?
When I didn't or when I did publish them?
When you didn't...
When I didn't publish them...
The concern wasn't whether it would destabilise our government
the concern was whether or not it would
be of significant value to people
who want to attack us.
Had it been your choice
and if you were the sole owners of this material...
you would not have published them?
The whole thing? No.
First of all because there are...
in the documents that we posted
we redacted many names of people
who would have been put in danger.
We have not studied all the documents
to know how many more people might be endangered
to post the whole thing I think would be irresponsible.
Let's say you would have redacted the names
of those who would have been in danger
and published it all on your site
would that be indictable?
Probably not...
but we had decided how to handle the material
regardless of the legal consequences
just on journalistic grounds...
...and we only wanted to publish...
Do you need the room?
You need me or the room?
I was going to send you a 'hero' gram
but then I heard you were in here man
[ ARTHUR SULTZBERGER JR.
Chairman "The New York Times Company" ]
That was fabulous!
Glad you liked it.
Oh shit yes!
It made the Drudge Report, so I'm getting a lot of traffic!
It's been a deep improvement in traffic this morning.
It's not the kind of traffic you necessarily want
because a lot of people use the word scum-bag.
It's a technical term!
We're talking about our favourite subject...
...WikiLeaks.
This is Arthur Sultzberger, he is the publisher.
To Arthur- Thanks for a memorable Ed Board meeting!
I've just gone back to the writing life
and my first op-ed column was published this morning
it was a somewhat...
half hearted defence of Obama
against...
...disenchanted liberals.
and you know what the Drudge Report is?
The Drudge Report is a website
a very conservative website
that basically aggregates headlines from all over the place
but with a kind of right wing commentary.
It's got a huge following.
So, if Matt Drudge, the guy who runs this website...
...finds something that you've written and puts it on his homepage
with a snarky comment
it drives traffic amazingly.
I mean driving traffic is nice, but the traffic that he drives
is mostly you know...
...'you scum bag, you idiot'.
But traffic is traffic.
[ In February 2013 Private Manning
admitted to leaking material to
WikiLeaks after failed attempts to
share it with both the Washington Post
and the New York Times: ]
[ "The more I read the cables,
the more I came to the conclusion
that this was the type of information
that should become public." ]
[ In July 2013 Private Manning was
convicted by a US Military court
on five counts of espionage and
sentenced to 35 years in prison. ]
Here it says that in the year two thousand
you sent your son to a school in Karachi.
Yes, it was in Karachi.
Does it say that he was ten years old?
That's wrong, he was eight years old.
...and it says that you were on your way to
visit your son in the spring of 2001...
when you illegally crossed the border into Afghanistan...
...and were captured by the Northern Alliance
because you had no passport
[ Mediastan ]
Trascrizione lovvaH
...animeDB...
When they interrogated me in Guantanamo,
they asked me how I crossed the border without a passport
I told them that I didn't have a passport. But that I had a beard.
In 2001 a beard was like a passport in Afganistan.
Then if you had a turban, that was your visa.
Nobody asked for documents.
No, seriously. That's what I told the interrogators.
And that's the whole truth.
[ The Pentagon admitted that no one had
been harmed by the WikiLeaks disclosures.
Yet the US espionage investigation
into WikiLeaks and its staff continues.
As does WikiLeaks publishing activities. ]
[ As of September 2013, Julian Assange
remains a political refugee at the
Ecuadorian Embassy in London. ]
[ Mediastan ]
Trascrizione lovvaH
...animeDB...