Assange holds video conference with Marzouki

Today internet activist and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange conducted an interview, via video teleconference, with Tunisian president Moncef Marzouki. According to Ghassen Dridi, communication adviser for the Tunisian president; Wikileaks is organizing the discussion with Tunisian interim President Moncef Marzouki as a part of a series of interviews with international leaders. The interview sought to highlight Tunisia's role as the country that triggered the chain of democratic uprisings, often referred to as the "Arab Spring." During the interview Assange asked the Tunisian president about his role as a human rights activist prior to becoming Tunisia's first democratically appointed president. President Marzouki answered, "I am still the human rights activist that I once was, though it is hard to keep up with activism. My career as a politician makes things tough for me." Touching on the subject of the ongoing crisis in Syria, Marzouki emphasized Tunisia's opposition to military intervention as a means of settling the unrest. The Tunisian president asserted that, "even arming the opponents of Assad's regime would endanger lives of Syrian citizens. Nobody can calculate the outcome of this act." Since its inception in October 2006, Wikileaks - a non-profit media organization created for the purpose of anonymously disclosing confidential information - has been responsible for leaking thousands of classified documents primarily associated with the U.S. government's international activity.