Pro-WikiLeaks protests in Australia

[Joanne98]

Source: Aljazeera

Pro-WikiLeaks demonstrations have been held across Australia against the arrest of Julian Assange, the whistleblowing website's founder.

In Sydney, around 500 demonstrators gathered on Friday, to push for the release of Assange, who is in a British jail fighting extradition to Sweden on sex crime allegations.

A group of WikiLeaks supporters also staged a rally in Brisbane, calling on the Australian government to respect freedom of expression.

WikiLeaks, which has provoked fury in Washington with its publications, vowed it would continue making public details of the 250,000 secret diplomatic US cables it had obtained.

Assange, an Australian citizen, has been in a UK jail waiting for news on whether or not he will be extradited to Sweden in relation to a number of allegations of sexual crimes made against him in that country.

Those who attended the rally in Sydney also condemned the Australian government for its stand on the issue.

"To say to the Australian government, the Gillard Government ... behaviour in the last two weeks has been utterly outrageous, outrageous," Antony Lowenstein, one of the organisers said while addressing the crowd.



Read more: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2010/12/20101210131224247432.html

---

[Bragi]

1. Good for them!

At least they have the cohesion and dignity to stand together and shout with one voice.

[GliderGuider]

2. "Julian Not Julia" Love it!

:evilgrin: :toast: :bounce: :fistbump: :woohoo:

[earcandle]

3. More people please! Keep up the hard work, freedom requires it!

[mallard]

6. You guys are either falling for the ..

Wiki-piss, or downright selling it ... way above 'farce value'!

[GliderGuider]

7. Wiki-piss

in your cornflakes this morning?

[ronnie624]

8. "You guys" are never very clear about your position on this issue.

You can't quite articulate what it is that you're opposed to. You're limited to simply expressing your dislike through vitriol.

Government does not have an inherent right to keep secrets. Rights belong to people, according to the framers of our constitution. The founders made it clear, that transparency in government and the free flow of information are cornerstones of democracy.

[kgnu_fan]

4. Kick!

[tpsbmam]

5. Precisely what we should be doing here! K&R nt