Jordan websites posting WikiLeaks cables in Arabic

AMMAN: Two Jordanian news websites said on Tuesday (21 December 2010) they have started to translate into Arabic WikiLeaks-released cables issued by the US embassy in Amman about Jordan and the Arab region.

"AmmanNet.net and 7iber.com (ink in Arabic) began this week posting... full translations of these cables," a statement said.

Mohammad Ersan, manager of AmmanNet said the project "aims to keep the Jordanian public in particular and the Arab audience in general up-to-date with leaks of these secret cables."

Ersan hoped this would help create a sort of "Jordanian WikiLeaks, by encouraging anyone who has important documents to publish them... especially with the lack of transparency regarding some issues in Jordan."

"AmmanNet and 7iber.com call on experienced and skilled translators to join the project..." the statement said.

The whistleblower website WikiLeaks has enraged Washington by releasing thousands of US diplomatic cables, and US Vice President Joe Biden described its founder Julian Assange as a "hi-tech terrorist."

Source: AFP