WikiLeaks feels like a glorified form of paparazzi

JULIAN Assange gave us WikiLeaks. The rebel world celebrated because, to them, WikiLeaks is truly what freedom of speech is about.

If we all believe in that freedom, the logic goes, we want it in as limitless a form as it can present itself or be presented by Assange.

Right? Wrong.

If I decided that my neighbour was horrible and discussed it with my wife in the privacy of our home only to have my wife convince me that it was not a good idea to poison that neighbour's dog, and my son told someone who, in turn, told the whole street, I would punish my son severely for that transgression because it does not do anybody any good. It just ruins my reputation.

Your right to free speech extends as far as where, for example, the next person's right to privacy begins, and wisely so.

You can say whatever you want about me if I give you permission to do so unless you can prove beyond reasonable doubt that it was for the better good of humanity at large or some such important reason to do so without my permission.

Rights have limits.

Who is Assange to single-handedly decide which government communiqués are in the public interest?

Why does Assange think it's important for me to know who ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema convinced to support President Jacob Zuma for what reason and when? Where does that leave the ANC's right to have private discussions to get to certain decisions?

If you are threatened by George Orwell's "Big Brother" and think it is an unwarranted invasion of our privacy for any government to know everything about our lives even before we act out our thoughts, why is it right for Assange to expose private government thoughts?

What disasters has Assange's exposés helped the world avoid? What has his leaks told us except that some governments have crazy thoughts? What good is that anyway?

I understand that maybe those two Swedish women were angry that neither of them was the main Assange squeeze. As William Congreve wrote in his 1697 play The Mourning Bride: "Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned."

The charges against Assange might be trumped up. That is wrong. We must never use unsavoury means to stop people that we find disagreeable. But should there be a legal manner to do it in, why should Assange not be stopped? Who wants a world without secrets? Wikileaks feels like nothing but a glorified form of paparazzi journalism. Assange is not my hero.

• This is a column written by Eric Miyeni