WikiLeaks' information

This is exactly the same as what I wanted to say.
私のウィキリークス問題に対する考えを代弁してくれました。
（スラチャイ記）

2010/12/10
--The Asahi Shimbun, Dec. 9
EDITORIAL: WikiLeaks' information
ウィキリークス―公益の重みで判断したい

WikiLeaks, a website dedicated to disclosing secret information about governments and corporations, has been releasing U.S. diplomatic cables.
　内部告発サイト「ウィキリークス」による米国の外交公電の暴露が続いている。

Meanwhile, Julian Assange, the founder and editor in chief of WikiLeaks, has been arrested by British police on suspicion of sex offenses in Sweden amid growing hostility from the governments of many countries.
　多くの国の政府から敵視されるなかで、創設者で編集長のアサンジュ容疑者が英警察に逮捕された。スウェーデンでの強姦（ごうかん）容疑である。

Whether his arrest is appropriate or not can only be determined by the results of the authorities' investigation.
逮捕の当否は捜査の行方を待つほかない。

But the evaluation of WikiLeaks' disclosure activities should be separated from the charges against Assange and made from the viewpoint of whether the information it publishes ultimately serves the interests of citizens. In other words, is the information important for the public interest?
　けれども、ウィキリークスの情報発信活動への評価は、編集長の容疑とは切り離し、公開する情報が最終的に市民の利益になるか、つまり公益の重さを中心に判断すべきである。

In April this year, WikiLeaks received international attention by posting video footage of a 2007 incident in Iraq in which U.S. military helicopter crew mistakenly shot and killed civilians, including reporters for the Reuters news agency.
　イラクで米軍ヘリがロイター通信記者ら民間人をテロリストとみて誤射、殺害した映像を、ウィキリークスは今年４月に暴露し注目された。

The website then exposed other disturbing facts about the Iraq war, including that civilians account for 66,000 of the 109,000 casualties of the conflict.
ついで、イラク戦争の犠牲者約１０万９千人のうち、民間人が約６万６千人にのぼっていることなどを明らかにした。

All these revelations have cast fresh light on the harrowing realities of the war the U.S. government has been concealing. As a member of the journalistic community, we applaud WikiLeaks for these achievements.
　いずれも米政府が隠してきた戦争の悲惨な実態であり、功績はジャーナリズムに関わる者として評価したい。

The publication of a cache of a quarter million confidential U.S. diplomatic cables that started late last month has revealed views and concerns about the future of the Korean Peninsula secretly held by countries and exposed North Korea's exports of ballistic missiles.
先月末に始まった２５万通におよぶ外交公電の公開も、朝鮮半島の将来像をめぐる各国の思惑や、北朝鮮による弾道ミサイル輸出などを明らかにした。

The Western newspapers and magazines that received in advance the diplomatic documents, including the Guardian of Britain and Le Monde of France, published reports on the material after independently assessing the content and credibility of the documents.
　外交公電の大量公開では、ウィキリークスから情報提供を受けた英ガーディアンや仏ルモンドなど欧米の新聞や雑誌は、それぞれが文書の内容と信頼性を吟味したうえで報道した。

It can be said that so far this cooperation between the online site and news media has struck readers as an effort to serve the public interest and played a positive role in disseminating information that helps serve democracy.
現時点までこのネットとメディアの協業は、読者に公益性を感じさせ、民主主義に資する情報を流通させる役割を果たしているのではないか。

There is no denying that the publication will make it harder for officials of many countries to carry out their missions and gather information in their traditional ways.
　各国政府の担当者がこれまでのやり方での外交や情報収集をしづらくなるのは事実だろう。

There are also concerns that the disclosure of sensitive information not meant for publication could provoke strong reactions from the public of a nation, making it difficult for the country to take reasonable diplomatic actions.
また、公開を前提としていなかった情報が国内世論をあおり、その結果、理にかなった外交政策の遂行が難しくなる恐れはある。

Making the important truths about international relations known to the public, however, is crucial for democracy, which means citizens determine the stance and course of their country.
　だが、国際関係の真相を知ることは市民が国のあり方や針路を決める民主主義に欠かせない。

History is littered with examples of politically powerful people and institutions concealing inconvenient facts under the pretext of national interests. Just remember how hard the governments concerned tried to protect secrets about the Vietnam War and talks between Japan and the United States over the return of Okinawa to Japanese sovereignty.
政治権力が国益を盾にして都合の悪いことを隠してきた歴史は、ベトナム戦争や沖縄返還交渉を思い出すだけでもきりがない。

On the other hand, it creates serious risks to publish on the Internet huge amounts of classified documents containing national secrets.
　一方で、国家機密を大量に入手してネットを通して世界中にばらまく手法には、危険も大きい。

Negotiations for the settlement of a conflict could collapse if the secret aims and thoughts of the countries involved are disclosed during the process. Information sources and cooperators may fall into danger.
紛争を収める交渉のさなかに、当事国の思惑が暴露されればまとまる和解も壊れかねない。情報源や協力者に危害が加えられる恐れもある。

WikiLeaks has also published a list of facilities around the world regarded by the U.S. government as critically important for national security. But such information could be used by terrorists deciding what targets to attack.
米政府が安全保障上で重視する世界の施設の一覧も明らかにされたが、テロリストに重要度を知らせることにもなりかねない。

Material related to private-sector organizations and activities could violate the privacy of the people involved.
　民間におよぶ情報は市民のプライバシー侵害の恐れもある。

When something illegal is going on in secret, there can be ways to expose it through a narrowly focused publication of related information to avoid collateral damage.
不正行為が存在するならば、その点だけを選んで告発する手法がとれる局面もあろう。

Both the whistle-blowers and news media should always carefully guard against the danger that exposing secrets could deviate from the cause of information disclosure for the public interest.
暴露そのものが自己目的になって情報公開という大義から逸脱する危険を、発信者もそれを伝えるメディアも、常に細心に警戒する必要がある。