Over 200 people turned up for a Human Rights Day rally in Hobart in support of free speech, Julian Assange and the Wikileaks website on Saturday.
Meeting on the Parliament House lawns the rally heard speakers from the Democrats, Socialist Alliance, and a message of support from Independent MP Andrew Wilkie.
December 2010
Free Julian Assange! Drop All Charges!
Hundreds of people took to the streets around Australia for Human Rights Day and to protest the persecution of Wikileaks editor Julian Assange and the attempts at suppression of the Wikileaks website.
Rally reports: Sydney rally, photos | Melbourne rally | Brisbane rally | Perth Rally photos 1, 2 | Adelaide | Hobart |
Youtube videos: Brisbane 1, Brisbane 2 | Melbourne: Robbie Thorpe, Indigenous Activist, Rally, Rap news | Sydney - Keith Dodd, Lee Rhiannon
More rallies are scheduled around the world in December and January. Activists in Australia have setup the www.rally4wikileaks.com website to mobilise global support of wikileaks or visit the Justice for Assange site. You can do your own report on the leaked cables by checking one of the thousand (and growing) wikileak mirrors and do a report for Operation Leakspin.
Statement - The Australian and Melbourne Indymedia Collective stand in solidarity with Wikileaks and its spokesperson Julian Assange and condemn their unprecedented persecution. Donate to Indymedia
WikiLeaks cables cast fresh light on coup against former Australian PM Rudd
By Patrick O’Connor
8 December 2010
Documents Released by WikiLeaks Could Serve as Evidence In Ongoing Congressional Investigation Focused on State Department, CIA
Documents made public recently by the nonprofit media organization WikiLeaks seem to show that U.S. State Department diplomatic employees are being asked to essentially serve as spies charged with gathering specific intelligence on foreign leaders.
Peace and Catholic Worker activist Ciaron O'Reilly, managed to hold a solidarity speakout outside Westminster Court in London while Julian Assange was denied bail! In this account he details a relatively impromtu act of solidarity for a fellow activist from Queensland. Watch Youtube video or download video at end of story (This is an abridged account from Ciaron's email and article on UK Indymedia - Takver)
Hackers have launched a DDOS attack on the Mastercard.com website, following its announcement that card holders may no longer use their cards to donate to the besieged likiweaks.
The action follows an attack yesterday on the Swiss bank Switzerland Post Finance which announced that it had frozen the funds in Wikileaks spokesperson Julian Assange's Defence account.
The persecution of Julian Assange and wikileaks for publishing diplomatic cables, and information on the Afghanistan and Iraq wars is just the latest in government suppression of freedom of speech and human rights and liberties, which past generations have fought for including the men and women of the Eureka rebellion in Ballarat in 1854. I have just returned from Ballarat where I was part of the commemoration of the Eureka Rebellion in 1854 - the 156th anniversary. The struggle for democratic rights and liberties and against corrupt government continues in 2010.
The Australian and Melbourne Indymedia Collective stand in solidarity with Wikileaks and its spokesperson Julian Assange and condemn their unprecedented persecution. In making this statement we join other members of the IMC networks including IMC Brazil and IMC Sucre. Around the world and Australia people are joining the movement in support of Wikileaks. Australia wide protests have been called in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart. A new website has been site up too promote these rallies at www.rally4wikileaks.com Globally resistance is taking the form of over 500 websites mirroring Wikileaks and Operation Payback taking down a bank that froze Julian Assange’s defence fund. The Indymedia Network is hosting one of these Mirrors. As Assange has now been taken into custody and Wikileaks sustained ever more attacks on its ability to function, it is not overstating it to say the freedom of whole internet is now at stake. Will we allow Wikileaks and Julian Assange to be destroyed for daring to tell the world the truth about wars and the criminal deeds of governments around the world?
