Assange hails WikiLeaks role in Middle East revolt

[Joanne98]

Source: AFP

SYDNEY — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Sunday said his site was "significantly influential" in the fall of Tunisian leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, an event he said "no doubt" sparked a Middle East revolt.

Assange, 39, said cables leaked on his whistleblowing site questioning US support for Ben Ali gave citizens the confidence to rise up and influenced the decisions of surrounding nations on whether to intervene.

"It does seem to be the case that material we published through a Lebanese newspaper, Al Akhbar, was significantly influential to what happened in Tunisia," Assange told the SBS programme Dateline.

"And then there?s no doubt that Tunisia was the example for Egypt and Yemen and Jordan, and all the protests that have happened there," he added.



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