When asked what would happen if he was “taken out,” either physically or technically, WikiLeaks chief Julian Assange said in an online chat that more than 100,000 people have encrypted copies of leaked material and “if something happens to us, the key parts will be released automatically.”

Assange also maintained that not “a single person has come to harm as a result of our activities,” and that he wished to go home, but cannot because his government was working to hand him over to the Americans “merely so that Australian politicians and diplomats can be invited to the best U.S. Embassy cocktail parties.” — PZS

Julian Assange and various chatters on the Guardian website:

Fwoggie

I’ll start the ball rolling with a question. You’re an Australian passport holder. Would you want return to your own country or is this now out of the question due to potentially being arrested on arrival for releasing cables relating to Australian diplomats and polices?

Julian Assange:

I am an Australian citizen and I miss my country a great deal. However, during the last weeks the Australian prime minister, Julia Gillard, and the attorney general, Robert McClelland, have made it clear that not only is my return is impossible but that they are actively working to assist the United States government in its attacks on myself and our people. This brings into question what does it mean to be an Australian citizen. Does that mean anything at all? Or are we all to be treated like David Hicks at the first possible opportunity merely so that Australian politicians and diplomats can be invited to the best US embassy cocktail parties.

[…]

Daithi

Have you released, or will you release, cables (either in the last few days or with the Afghan and Iraq war logs) with the names of Afghan informants or anything else like so? Are you willing to censor (sorry for using the term) any names that you feel might land people in danger from reprisals?? By the way, I think history will absolve you. Well done!!!

Julian Assange:

WikiLeaks has a four-year publishing history. During that time there has been no credible allegation, even by organisations like the Pentagon that even a single person has come to harm as a result of our activities. This is despite much-attempted manipulation and spin trying to lead people to a counter-factual conclusion. We do not expect any change in this regard.

[…]

rajiv1857

Hi. Is the game that you are caught up in winnable? Technically, can you keep playing hide and seek with the powers that be when services and service providers are directly or indirectly under government control or vulnerable to pressure like Amazon? Also, if you get “taken out”—and that could be technical, not necessarily physical—what are the alternatives for your cache of material? Is there a ‘second line’ of activists in place that would continue the campaign? Is your material ‘dispersed’ so that taking out one cache would not necessarily mean the end of the game?

Julian Assange:

The Cable Gate archive has been spread, along with significant material from the US and other countries to over 100,000 people in encrypted form. If something happens to us, the key parts will be released automatically. Further, the Cable Gate archives is in the hands of multiple news organisations. History will win. The world will be elevated to a better place. Will we survive? That depends on you.

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