Assange supporters gather at UTS

The fate of the white haired controversial figure behind WikiLeaks was discussed at a meeting in Sydney as he faces political persecution and a possible US extradition for publishing classified information.

People spilled out the door of a squashed lecture hall in support of Julian Assange at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) last Friday, February 17, which was hosted by SBS broadcaster, Mary Kostakidis.

Speaking to the mixed crowd and referring to Mr Assange as a pioneer of freedom of information, Ms Kostakidis said: “WikiLeaks has empowered us. What will we do to defend them?”

This question was the central concern of a panel including Mr Assange’s mother, Julian Assange, historian, Humphrey McQueen, Australian Greens Senator, Scott Ludlam and key member of Mr Assange’s legal team, Jennifer Robinson.

The meeting focussed on the plight of Mr Assange, an Australian citizen, after the UK Supreme Court on February 2 heard his final appeal against extradition to Sweden for questioning over allegations of sexual assault.

According to the Support Assange and Wikileaks Coalition, an unsuccessful result in the UK could mean Assange’s extradition to Sweden within 10 days and from there his transportation to US under a legal device known as “temporary surrender”.

However, Ms Robinson said the US attack on Mr Assange for his publishing activities, in which US Vice President Joe Biden labelled him a ‘high- tech terrorist’, is legally flawed and unsubstantiated.

“What Julian does with Wikileaks is not only right, it is morally right, it is ethically right and it is legally right,” Ms Robinson said.

“Our own Prime Minster [Julia Gillard] has accused him of illegal conduct, prematurely, prejudicially and prior to announcing a full scale investigation which of course resulted in the outcome that the Australian Federal Police disagreed with her.

“Thankfully there are some sensible politicians in this country and they have denied what our Prime Minister said wrongfully…Malcolm Turnbull, George Brandis included.”

WikiLeaks was forced to halt its publications in November 2011 following the financial blockage imposed by financial institutions including the Bank of America, PayPal and MasterCard, who responded to calls that WikiLeaks was an illegal operation.

“If the Government was to implement that kind of ban, it would be challenged constitutionally. But instead we have these massive private corporations enforcing what is censorship,” Ms Robinson said.

“[This] strikes at the heart of free-speech protection.”

Ms Robinson said WikiLeaks operated like any other major media outlet by receiving information and publishing it.

The difference is in the nature of the information, as exemplified by the public outcry following the Collateral Murder video in 2010 which showed footage from the July 12, 2007, Baghdad airstrike in which Iraqi journalists were among those killed by a US Apache helicopter.

Opening up his argument for the support of WikiLeaks, Senator Scott Ludlam quoted former Australian Prime Minister, John Gorton, who famously said: “We will tolerate dissent as long as it is ineffective.”

“March up and down, you know, drop a banner [those in power] will tolerate it,” Senator Ludlam said.

“As soon as it actually starts to bite and look as though perhaps things might start to change, the tolerance starts running really thin and suddenly you find yourself under attack.”

“Why we packed out this room tonight is to be here in defence of an organisation that has provided and enabled some of the most effective and interesting dissent in modern history.”

This sentiment is shared by Greens Councillor Irene Doutney, who listened to the words of the panellists from her position on the lecture room floor.

“For me what came out of that meeting was the fact that we’re dealing with power and power is just reacting in a more repressing way,” Cr Doutney said.

“[Julian Assange] and WikiLeaks is an example of what happens when people try to digress from the power…trying to expose all the dark knowledge that governments possess.”

This ‘dark knowledge’ is something Mr Assange’s mother, Christine Assange, said she found when she dug around the abyss of the internet for facts against her son’s sexual assault charges.

“It was like slipping through a wormhole. Going from one reality what I believed was this, through into a shadow reality; the corruption of power.

“It’s a very frightening journey and I understand why people don’t want to look at it, it’s like looking into the abyss,” Ms Assange said.

“WikiLeaks took the mask off power and power is very very angry.”

Ms Assange said she has compiled and published a list of facts surrounding the Swedish case that exposes a conflict of interest, without the help of the Australian media or government.

“[After investigating] my eyes got bigger and bigger everyday and I am not finding the facts in the mainstream media, I am finding them in the rabbit hole of the internet.”

She is urging Australians to become learned in the details of her son’s case and contact their local Members of Parliament to voice their concerns on democracy and freedom of information.

By Kristie Beattie