Today
for me is a day to focus on Ecuador and the countries of Latin
America that are standing up to the large powers; on Julian Assange,
Wikileaks and all the whistleblowers of the world who are shining a
light on 'the secret crimes of the powerful
It is revealed on RT how close the authorities came to breaking in to take Assange - they seemed to back down at the very last minute.
It is revealed on RT how close the authorities came to breaking in to take Assange - they seemed to back down at the very last minute.
US
war on whistleblowers must end - Assange
Julian
Assange made his first public appearance in two months, ever since he
took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
RT,
19
August, 2012
Julian
Assange made his first public appearance in two months, ever since he
took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
Addressing
the hundreds of people gathered outside the embassy, Assange thanked
them for their support, claiming it was their resolve and presence
that stopped British police storming the building.
"On
Wednesday night, after a threat was sent to this embassy and police
desceneded on this building, you came out in the middle of the night
to watch over it, and you brought the worlds eyes with you. Inside
this embassy after dark I could hear teams of police swarming up into
the building through the internal fire escape," Assange said.
"But
I knew there'd be witnesses. And that was because of you."
The
WikiLieaks founder thanked President Correa "for the courage he
has shown" in granting him asylum, and to all the nations and
individuals who have shown him support.
Assange
also addressed the US government and President Obama, calling for the
"witch hunt against WikiLeaks" to end.
"The
United States must pledge before the world will not pursue
journalists for shining light on the secret crimes of the powerful.
The US administration’s war against whistleblowers must end."
He
also spoke of Bradley Manning, the Army Private who has been charged
with 22 criminal counts over his alleged role in providing Julian
Assange’s WikiLeaks site with sensitive documents that were then
distributed. Manning has been imprisoned for more than 800 days and
has yet to stand trial before a military tribunal.
"On
Wednesday Bradley spent his 815th day of detention w/o trial. The
legal maximum is 120 days," Assange told the crowds gathered
outside the embassy.
"If
Bradley Manning did as he is accused, he is a hero and invaluable to
all of us. Bradley Manning must be released".
Assange
went on to mention Nabeel Rajab, a Bahraini human rights activist,
who was "sentenced to 3 years in jail for a tweet".
Rajab
tweeted critical comments about the Bahraini Prime Minister, calling
for him to step down. Before his arrest, Rajab appeared as a guest on
episode four of ‘The Assange Show’ on RT, hosted by the
WikiLeaks founder. In the interview, he criticized the US-led
invasion of Iraq, as well as US refusals to take action during the
Bahraini protests and the wider Arab Spring.
Assange
also spoke of Pussy Riot, a Russian female punk band, three members
of which have just been sentenced to 2 years in prison for a "punk
prayer" in Moscow’s main cathedral.
"There
is unity in the oppression," Assange said. "There must be
absolute unity and determination in the response"
The
WikiLeaks founder was granted political asylum on Thursday – a
decision that ignited a wave of international responses, with the UK
and Sweden opposing the verdict and Latin American countries strongly
supporting Ecuador’s move.
Here
is Assange's speech in full -
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