Thursday 2 December 2010

WikiLeaks

 Do you know what WikiLeaks is? It is a very famous web site that was set up by an Australian called Julian Assange. He put a lot of secret documents about the Iraq and Afghanistan wars on the internet for the whole world to see.

Iraq is a vry rich country that has a lot of oil but the people there are very poor. Iraq has a government but America controls the country. Julian Assange showed many pictures of American soldiers killing Iraqis in the streets. Those Iraqis who were killed did not carry guns to defend themselves. 

The secret documents also showed that other countries helped Israel kill hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza during the Israeli attack not long ago. 

Now the international police want to find Julian Assange at any cost. They say that he raped a woman earlier in 2010. It is clear that the police want to shut him up for a very long time. This may include killing him at some stage - you never know.

WikiLeaks put hundreds of thousands of secret American documents on its web site and people in many countries became aware of the killings that the Americans have done in Iraq and other countries.

It showed that some kings and presidents were asking the Americans to attack Iran and kill hundreds of thousands of civilians there.

Now Julian Assange is in a secret place. He is in hiding. He doesn't want America to find out where he is because he fears for his life. Australia wants to put him in prison because he told people things that he shouldn't have.

One government official in Canada wants a plane to drop a bomb on Julian Assange to kill him.

Julian Assange became a hero in many countries after people knew the truth about their rulers. They say he is a whistle blower. Many of the rulers in these countries are dictators. The problem is that those rulers are very powerful. They control the army and police forces and they also have a lot of power. They get support from America and the West as well, so it is not easy for them to go.

If you want to be rich, you can tell the American government where Julian Assange is. You will get millions of dollars as a reward for your service and you will not have to work for the rest of your life.

Answer These Questions:
  1. What country does Julian Assange come from?
  2. Why is he so famous nowadays?
  3. What is WikiLeaks?
  4. What did Julian Assange put on his web site?
  5. How did the official from Canada want to punish Julian Assange?
  6. Why does the American government want to kill Julian Assange now?
  7. What will you get if you tell the American government where Julian Assange is?
  8. What did Julian Assange show on his web site about the war in Iraq?
  9. Is Iraq a rich country?
  10. Why is Iraq a rich country?