Wednesday 1 May 2019

We are all Julian Assange!

DiEM25.

On Thursday, May 2, 2019, we will demonstrate just a few meters away from the UK and US embassies – the two countries that hold the future of WikiLeaks founder and DiEM25 Advisory Panel member Julian Assange and freedom of press in their hands. Please tell everyone you know about the protest!

You see, Germany is not – and should not be – an innocent by-stander.

As we already know from Edward Snowden’s revelations on NSA spying on Germany, the sovereignty of Germany – its journalists and the privacy of its citizens – is also under threat. The May 2 court hearing in London is more than just about Julian Assange. It’s about our right to know. It’s about you and me.

And while Chelsea Manning remains in prison, precisely because she rejected to testify against WikiLeaks, the protection of whistleblowers has never been more important – and urgent, all across Europe, including Germany. The stakes are global.

It’s highly likely that the US is preparing to file more charges against Julian. The current indictment is but an attempt to criminalise long-established source protection practices and journalists working with whistleblowers aiming to disclose classified information for the public interest.

Scores of press freedom organisations, news outlets, United Nations representatives, politicians and public figures have denounced Julian’s arrest and his possible extradition and have warned of its worrying implications.

Whatever the outcome of the court hearing, the very fact that Julian is being kept in solitary confinement at the “British Guantanamo” Belmarsh prison, is enough for us to gather at the Brandenburger Gate to protest against the inhuman conditions he is facing now and to loudly say Stop the extradition of Julian Assange!

Join us to lend our voice to Julian and to the journalists, whistleblowers and freedom of press activists around the globe who’s lives are at risk for defending our right to know. If you don’t live near Berlin, spread the word and spread the petition against Julian’s extradition.

The “We are all Julian Assange!” protest will begin at 12:00 with speeches by German theater director Angela Richter, Whistleblower Network chairman Annegret Falter, biologist and founder of EcoLeaks Esteban Servat, and myself. The speeches will be followed by a reading of a short statement by Edward Snowden brought by Angela Richter from Moscow to this special DiEM25-led public demonstration.

For Edward Snowden, our demonstration is not just about “a man who stands in jeopardy, but the future of the free press”.

And last but not least, a DiEM25 and Demokratie in Europa message to all German voters: don’t vote for any party at European Elections that is not ready to stand in the protection of whistleblowers, freedom of press, and, more specifically, to oppose Julian’s extradition to the United States.

Laibach - the Whistleblowers:

There is no future for Europe – no democracy – without the freedom of press.

Looking forward to seeing you at Brandenburger Gate (Pariser Platz) on May 2 at 12:00.

Jimmy Dore on Assange:

5 comments:

  1. If I lived in Berlin, I'd take my cellphone out of the refrigerator and go! ;)

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  2. Do you keep your butter in the bread box? ;-)

    In the US, organising support for Assange may be harder to organise, what with the hordes of faux-feminists still frothing at the mouth over the leaked H. emails.

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  3. Replies
    1. Watch that Jimmy Dore that I've added!

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    2. A little long, but he's certainly on point!

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