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Wikileaks Press Release
Tue Apr 8 18:57:58 GMT 2008
BRITISH GOVERNMENT REQUESTS WIKILEAKS CENSOR ATOM BOMB REPORT
The U.K. Foreign & Commonwealth Office has requested that Wikileaks
censor a report 1947 report on how Britain should acquire an atomic
bomb. The extraordinary request comes from the Head of the Counter
Proliferation Department, Regional Issues, who stated in a letter
to Wikileaks legal section:
"I have had an initial assessment from our experts. They are
extremely concerned by the drawing you have posted on your website and
assess it is of serious proliferation concern, and possibly
terrorism concern."
Wikileaks own expert's who were consulted over the material did not
share this view and the British government was asked to give more
detail as to why the material should be censored. However in a
manner British public servants have become notorious for, the Head
stated, on March 19:
"I am away over Easter but if you could give me until 2 April,
I'll send you something then."
In response to the Holiday demands Wikileaks's Spokesman Jay Lim
told the Foreign Office:
"Without wanting to be uncharitable, if FCO's experts believe
this particular document to be of "terrorism concern", we do not
find them to be credible and may I suggest, neither will anyone
else.
Similarly after consultations it strikes us as extraordinary
that the FCO claims the Wikileaks documents are a proliferation
issue worthy of censorship, but, apparently, not worthy of
assigning a staff member to address the issue during its Easter
break.
May I suggest that the FCO is engaging in busy work, pending
some hyperthetical White Hall telephone call in response to the
press attention our analysis of the document has received? The
document has been available in one form or another since 2002,
and on the internet since 2007. What has the FCO being doing
in the mean time? Or are we meant to believe that states seeking
to become atomic powers only read the popular press?
While we will always keep an open mind on such an important
issue, until we see some clear indication that the FCO takes
its request that Wikileaks engage in an unprecedented act of
self-censorship seriously, by telling us why we should censor,
this request will not be acted on by Wikileaks."
However as of April 8, Wikileaks had not received the promised rationale.
It appears that in the British Public Service, suspected Armageddon can wait for
the Easter Bunny and the long weekend.
Do Pakistan, India and North Korea will schedule their atomic tests accordingly?
See the following correspondence and
http://wikileaks.org/wiki/How_Britain_got_the_bomb
From:
Isabella.McRae@fco.gov.uk
To:
wikileaks@sunshinepress.org,
legal@sunshinepress.org
Subject: Nuclear bomb design information
Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:07:03 +0000 (GMT)
Dear Wikileaks,
We have recently been alerted to the fact that you have put censored
nuclear bomb designs on your website. Grateful if you could remove
these as soon as possible, as I hope you agree that some censorship
at least is in the public good. These designs could aid countries
wishing to develop nuclear weapons, hence the desire to keep them out
of the public domain. The page I am specifically referring to is:
<http://wikileaks.org/wiki/First_atomic_bomb_diagram>
Please let me know if you agree with me, and if you have decided to
remove them.
Kind regards,
Isabella
Isabella McRae
Head, Regional Issues Section
Counter Proliferation Department
Tel: 020 7008 2253
Fax: 020 7008 2860
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Originally Posted by pos(t)er
