Dem Party chairman says don’t fear WikiLeaks

The Jakarta Post, Sun, 12/19/2010

Democratic Party chair Anas Urbaningrum said the government should not consider WikiLeaks’ wires regarding Indonesia a threat.

"If there is unflattering information from WikiLeaks, all the government has to do is clarify the content. The information may not be the ultimate truth anyways. They are the opinions of United States diplomats," Anas said Sunday, as quoted by kompas.com.

The whistle-blowing website has been leaking documents that reveal information about many countries, including Indonesia. One wire stated U.S diplomats believed the 2004 murder of human rights activist Munir Said Thalib involved the National Intelligence Agency (BIN).

Another stated that the Indonesian government planned to use the visit of U.S President Barack Obama in November as a bargaining tool to persuade the U.S. to lift the ban on training a special army unit that had been accused of human rights violations.

Anas said there was a moral message behind the leaks.

"There are no policies that can be hidden.

Transparency is always required, unless it is something that is confidential in nature. Every country has confidential information that protects their national interests," he said.