Quando se queria manter secretos os relatos do Parlamento inglês

A propósito da polémica que decorre desde o início do mês, desencadeada pela divulgação de mais de 250 mil documentos reservados ou secretos do Departamento de estado norte-americano, vale a pena recordar este episódio histórico passado com o Parlamento de Londres, na segunda metade do século XVIII:

In 1771, that great lover of liberty, John Wilkes, and a number of printers challenged the law that prohibited the reporting of Parliamentary debates and speeches, kept secret because those in power argued that the information was too sensitive and would disrupt the life of the country if made public. Using the arcane laws of the City of London, Alderman Wilkes arranged for the interception of the Parliamentary messengers sent to arrest the printers who had published debates, and in doing so successfully blocked Parliament. By 1774, a contemporary was able to write: "The debates in both houses have been constantly printed in the London papers." From that moment, the freedom of the press was born.

It took a libertine to prove that information enriched the functioning of British society, a brave maverick who was constantly moving house – and sometimes country – to avoid arrest; whose epic sexual adventures had been used by the authorities as a means of entrapping and imprisoning him. The London mob came out in his favour and, supplemented by shopkeepers and members of the gentry on horseback, finally persuaded the establishment of the time to accept that publication was inevitable. And the kingdom did not fall.

Ler toda a peça: WikiLeaks may make the powerful howl, but we are learning the truth