Over 2000 Australians Rally for Wikileaks and Human Rights

Over 2000 Australians Rally for Wikileaks and Human Rights

Last night over two thousand engaged Australians descended on the Sydney Town Hall in an undeniable show of support for WikiLeaks and its founder, Australian-born Julian Assange.

Acclaimed journalist, John Pilger; independent Federal MP and whistleblower, Andrew Wilkie; and barrister and human rights advocate, Julian Burnside, addressed the forum that was moderated by Mary Kostakidis.

Speaking to a packed crowd, the panel demanded that Canberra be held to account for its abandonment of the Australian Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange. Drawing strong connections between the cases of David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib, two Australian citizens forgotten and deceived by their government, the panel implored Australians to stand up for their right to diplomatic protection under the Australian passport. And that the crowd did, with innumerable cheers and ovations setting the tone of the public gathering.

Sydney Peace Foundation Director, Professor Stuart Rees, said it was great to see such a large number of people turn out at the Wikileaks and Freedom public forum.

“This was one of the largest public meetings since the 2003 Iraq war protest…
“The audience’s response shows a complete mismatch between the attitudes of the Australian Government and that of the general public.
“In terms of a plea for justice, the biggest ovation went to David Hicks,” Professor Rees said.

The evening ended with a call to action by John Pilger, ensuring that momentum generated at last night’s gathering is just the beginning of an engaged public movement demanding reforms in political transparency and openness and safeguarding the rights of Australian citizens to protection by their government.

The free forum at Sydney Town Hall was supported by The Sydney Peace Foundation, Amnesty International and The City of Sydney.

The Sydney Peace Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation, was created in 1998 as a partnership between business, media, public service, community and academic interests. The Foundation aims to promote peace with justice, and awards annually Australia’s only international prize for peace.

ENDS

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