Welcome to the 200th week of Julian Assange Sydney Town Hall gatherings.
Governments use propaganda to corrupt democracy. It is impossible for the public to make sensible political decisions on the basis of government propaganda, which invariably comprises false, biased or incomplete information. If we are to achieve a degree of democracy, we must be able to resist being unduly influenced by government propaganda. Julian Assange was able to circumvent the effects of government propaganda by publishing genuine documents showing us exactly how our governments behave. Julian’s act of informing people truthfully produced great embarrassment for many at the highest levels of government and media and brought them into disrepute.
The response of governments and media was to manufacture propaganda designed to discredit Julian. An onslaught of negative propaganda against Julian has blindsided the public enough that the UK government has been able to detain and politically persecute him on behalf of the US.
The success of propaganda depends on how much people engage with it. When we plug into propaganda, we are affected by it, whether we agree with it or not. Present-day propaganda is highly sophisticated and can be used to limit the scope of discussion and distract us from what we really need to be doing!
We need to disengage from government propaganda and counteract it with the truth! Truth is powerful, and in our possession, we may use it to generate the unity that must arise to defeat corruption of democracy. Truth tells a compelling story! The truth about Julian Assange places him in a very positive light. Because the truth about Julian is seldom mentioned by politicians and the mainstream media, many people know very little of it. Our voicing of this truth may be why Julian has not yet been extradited to the US. More of us voicing more of the truth is what we must do to free Julian Assange!
Here is some truth about Julian Assange: He is a political prisoner. All available evidence shows us that everything he did was both ethical and legal. Julian is a journalist and a publisher! Julian showed the world how governments could be made transparent by protecting whistleblowers through his innovative use of digital encryption. Everything Julian published was genuine and in the public interest. Julian Assange is brave. His journalism exposed war crimes and high-level corruption. Julian personally redacted names to protect innocent people and no one has been harmed as a result of his publishing. In 2011, Julian and Wikileaks were awarded the Walkley award for Outstanding Contribution to Journalism, Australia’s highest journalistic award. Julian’s journalism has revealed crimes the powerful desperately want to keep hidden from public scrutiny. His journalism has been invaluable for justice and has been used as decisive evidence in courts of law. According to the United Nations Working Group on arbitrary detention, Julian has been detained arbitrarily, since the 7th of December, 2010. In addition, Nils Melzer, while in the role of United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and other cruel and inhumane treatment and punishment, let the world know that Julian’s treatment amounts to torture. He should be free, and he should have always been free. Julian Assange’s arrest by the UK police broke international law. Julian’s inalienable habeas corpus rights have been denied to him, for 13 years. It is against UK law for anyone to be extradited for political reasons.
Julian is still not free and he is still being smeared by politicians and the media, but levels of public awareness and support are now much higher than when we started turning up at Sydney Town Hall 200 weeks ago. Julian Assange needs everyone’s support! Join us in spreading the truth and help free Julian Assange.
Free, free Julian Assange! Free, free Julian Assange! Free, free Julian Assange!