Not as much as more cables (that's a certain), but the WikiLeaks concept is now growing. I was wondering whether we would see an expansion of whistleblower websites, some with a regional or industry focus, or perhaps rivals might appear. I didn't have to wait too long. The Bulgarian media are reporting of BalkanLeaks, a local site inspired by WikiLeaks, to provide a place for people to leak secret information. Going by the motto 'the Balkans are not keeping secrets anymore', the site already has received and posted documents detailing shady gas deals, a conflict of interest involving the person who compiled the memorandum on Bulgaria's new Belene nuclear power plant, plus information about the anti-corruption police and powerful mafia figures.Initial journalistic investigations into who is behind this Balkan WikiLeaks have pointed to a Bulgarian journalist resident in France, Atanas Chobanov. He has admitted that he is part of the BalkanLeaks team but claims that it was not his idea, though he has accepted the role of spokesperson due to his long-standing commitment to free speech.
Chobanov pointed out that the information received so far shows that there is an interest in Bulgaria and the Balkans in having such a site, and that at this stage the most important factor is safeguarding the anonymity of sources. He also added that soon on the site 'interesting details about Bulgaria's judicial system' will appear.
The server hosting this site happens to be the same one that hosts WikiLeaks in France. The company recently refused to bow to French government pressure to close down WikiLeaks from its servers.
This promises to be a very exciting website as the level of transparency in the Balkans is not very high. Nevertheless, the large number of mafia opponents and journalists murdered in the past two decades throughout the region forebodes a larger risk for those who leak such sensitive documents.
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