Will Wikileaks Require Wikilawyers?

If they will, then their first client is ready and waiting for them. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to sue over the Wikileaks documents:

In a harshly worded response to diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Wednesday that he would file legal action again U.S. envoys he accused of making false claims against him.


Speaking during a municipal ceremony in Ankara, Erdoğan called on the U.S. administration to take action to discipline the diplomats who “slandered” him in the leaked State Department documents.

Of course, there is no better way to draw attention to something you prefer not being seen than by making a fuss--but Erdogman apparently does not care.

All he cars about are the claims that Erdoğan had eight secret accounts in Swiss banks or that Erdoğan had been accused of reaping personal gain from a billion-dollar privatization.

Instead, Erdogan is calling for the proper level of respect in checking out reports before making slanderous accusations:

Calling the opposition “opportunist” for repeating slanderous remarks made by foreign diplomats, Erdoğan accused his political rivals of being dishonorable, while also lashing out at media outlets that reported the claims.

“An honorable media [outlet] or media member should first ask the person these slanders are made against [about the claims],” he said. “If the subject is the prime minister, you should ask: ‘Esteemed prime minister, is this true?’ If the prime minister tells you, ‘No, I have nothing to do with it,’ then you should not write about it. But if you write it without asking, without investigating [the validity of the claim], with the purpose of defaming, that is immorality, worthlessness.”

Erdogan apparently has forgotten his own comments, such as when Erdogan recently accused Israel of the premeditated murder of women and children:

Turkey would not remain silent if Israel attacks Lebanon or Gaza, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said during a visit to the Lebanon. “Does it [Israel] think it can enter Lebanon with the most modern aircraft and tanks to kill women and children, and destroy schools and hospitals, and then expect us to remain silent?" Erdogan said at a conference in Beirut. "Does it think it can use the most modern weapons, phosphorus munitions and cluster bombs to kill children in Gaza and then expect us to remain silent? We will not be silent and we will support justice by all means available to us."

Must have been an oversight.
Good luck with those lawyers.

Technorati Tag: Erdoğan and Wikileaks.