Sophie Radermecker - Julian Assange - WikiLeaks: Warrior for Truth

WARRIOR FOR TRUTH

by Valerie Guichaoua & Sophie Radermecker

Virtual Words Translations - Natasha Cloutier

With the collaboration of Franck Bachelin

Published by Cogito Media Group.

Copyright 2011 Valerie Guichaoua & Sophie Radermecker The reproduction or transmission of any part of this publication in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, or storage in a retrieval system, without prior consent of the publisher, is an infringement of copyright law. In the case of photocopying or other reprographic production of the material, a license must be obtained from the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright) before proceeding.

ISBN: 978-1-926893-61-7

Cover design: Franois Turgeon and Kayo Tomura
Text design and composition: Benjamin Roland

Cover photo:
Photography by Jillian Edelstein, CAMERA PRESS LONDON

Authors photography:
Arber Kucana

Cogito Media Group
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Suite#305
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Phone : + 1.514.273.0123
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Printed and Bound in the United States of America

From The Authors

We would like to take a moment to thank all of the people who helped us carry out this incredible feat.

First, our contacts, Elisabeth Nataf and Bob Or. Thanks to both of you for giving us the wonderful opportunity to write this extremely interesting book.

Thanks to our publisher Pierre Turgeon for all the confidence he had in us.

The utmost recognition goes to Franck Bachelin, without whom we would not have been able to write this book. He was a collaborator throughout the entire process of this project. Thanks to his thorough research, he was able to provide us with exclusive documents that greatly helped us in our work. His help was essential.

A big thanks to the entire team of Cogito Mdia for their incredible work.

We would like to thank all the people we met:

Xavier Damman, Frdric Jacobs, Jonas Morian, Ian Katz, Ian Traynor, Nick Davies, Christian Engstrm and Henrik Alexandersson, as well as our anonymous sources who prefer to stay in the shadows.

We would also like to thank the people who opened doors for us in Iceland and Sweden: Ccilia, Jonas and Stina in Stockholm, and Leifur and Carl in Iceland.

Thanks to Martina Norell for these precious contacts.

A warm thanks to Arnaud Ozharun who made us beautiful by taking care of us at Natural Mind, and to Letizia Ferrara.

Thanks to all the bloggers who provide analyses and to all Internet users who express themselves online.

From Valrie

Thanks to Sophie for having introduced me to such a passionate project and for being the guardian in terms of taking care that the project should unfold properly.

Thanks to my children Chlo, Pol and Lilou for supporting me during the intense writing of this book.

Thanks to my husband who assisted me while I took a plunge into the universe of Julian Assange. I have a deep appreciation for his wise advice, patient reviewing and extraordinary listening capabilities.

I would like to emphasize my great interest in Joseph Campbell and his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. His inspiration was great in aiding in the understanding the heroes of our times.

From Sophie

Thanks to my two number one fans: my sisters Valrie and Muriel for their unconditional support at all times.

Big hugs to La and Mato who pamper me with their amazement seen through their drawings and to Justine who warmed my heart with her I love yous.

A naughty thought for my granny and a wink to the entire Rader clan.

My thoughts go out to my parents: to my adorable father and my exceptional mother.

To you, who have read so many books in your life, this work is dedicated to you with all my love.

I would also like to warmly thank my friends in Brussels: Aude, Marc, Maria, Philip, Nathalie, Yves, Co, Lio and Emmanuelle.

Thanks to the unexpected people, particularly Charlotte, Richard and Matthaios. A special dedication to my master M.M. who guided me with such kindness.

Finally, a special tribute, full of tenderness to my friend and partner Valrie, without whom I never could have written this book.

Our human stories are linked to myths through an imaginary world. Throughout our lives we go through many stages that open up paths that lead us back to ourselves. Some of us become heroes. It may sound like a big word, but not if it is defined as a person who will mark our lives forever.

The challenge here was to evaluate the accomplishments of a living person. Julian Assange wants to change the world. Without any judgment, we followed his path from his birth until present day. We wanted to understand the man through his story. Not judge him, but rather present him as close as possible to who he is, and especially, what he reveals about himself. We took care to separate his personal story from his mission by highlighting his accomplishments: freedom of the press and freedom of expression on the Internet.

It seems clear to us that Julian Assanges actions should elevate him to the level of hero as defined by Joseph Campbell. In fact, since his commitment to the mission of the Internet, Julian Assange has overcome many challenges that make him an extraordinary man. With his determination to open the channels of truth, he has been through a long process of self-discovery and has uncovered his true personality.

Our goal was to collect and verify enough information so that readers could ask themselves different questions than those that have already been asked by the media. Does Julian deserve to be judged like an ordinary man or does he deserve to be considered a warrior of truth?

By searching the vast immaterial world of the Internet, we found people who were involved and responsible: hackers and bloggers seeking the truth and committed to sharing information. We also noticed that many of them are sometimes better informed than journalists. WikiLeaks has redefined the role of the media.

That is why we introduced the fictive characters of lise and Xavier, inspired by our meetings with hackers and bloggers, as well as what we read on blogs. They represent the individuals who are active online, and we wanted to pay tribute to them as well.

To become a hero, Julian Assange needed troops to support him, people who were also attracted to the adventure that one may call the Internet, to join and reinforce his actions.

As a man, he must also face the accusations made against him. Everyone will be able to either understand and accept him or condemn him after reading this book. Julian Assange is a hero of our time for having dared to go so far in his actions and for having pushed the repressive boundaries of the established rules of the media and the way information is shared with the general public. To commit and act, putting his life in danger for what he believes in seems extremely honorable to us. He shows us that a group of people can oppose a perfectly dehumanized bureaucracy, and it is because of this that we feel his actions deserve to be pointed out.

Will going above and beyond make him a better man? We dont think so. Were only spectators of the Assange affair currently in conflict with the authorities. However, we also have a role to play in defending our freedom on the Internet. Let us be able to mobilize and change the way governments around the world try to regulate the flow of information on the Internet.