This clear and passionate speech goes to the heart of why it is so vital that we all - especially PM Albanese - stand up for Julian Assange. If we want to be free, we need to free Assange. Lorine (or Anita) is the effective convenor of the Friday Night Flinders St Station Vigil for Julian Assange. She has been doing this for years now, in all weather, and has built up a regular crew of speakers and poster-bearers. She is a real Australian hero.
Transcript of Lorine Anita Brice's speech
Our courageous journalist, Julian Assange. He is an Australian. In fact, Wikileaks started here, in Melbourne, not very far away from here. And Julian had the only dropbox at that time. He was the one who devised the dropbox where, if whistleblowers and anyone that wanted their reporting on crimes that should be exposed, could put it in that dropbox and it would be anonymous. Nobody would know who put it in there. This is the cleverness of Julian Assange. And this is the humanity of Julian Assange. He gave everybody a chance. If you needed to expose any corruption, that you could do it and if it needed to be put out to us, Julian Assange would look at it and [inaudible] and publish it.
He is a very courageous journalist. That’s why they put him in Belmarsh Prison. And they are making his life hell, because they know that he will bring us the truth.
So, everybody, why don’t you stand up for Julian Assange! Free Julian Assange.
[Passers by in football regalia call, Free Julian Assange!]
You people are going to go and barrack for a team, and you say, “Go Cats!” and we say, “Go Julian Assange!”
There won’t be anybody who would be as courageous as Julian Assange. If there is no Julian Assange, there is no democracy. We won’t have the free speech and we won’t have the free press. Because they [inaudible] are trying to stop the free press and the free speech.
So, if Julian Assange is free, we will be free!
So, what do we say? We say, ‘Free, free, Julian Assange!’
Our Prime Minister is going to the UK because Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth died and these people have been in the ceremonies for the king – Charles. And they’re going to join in some ceremonies which are [inaudible]. But while they’re doing that, they must not forget the very important, the very important person, who is Julian Assange.
They should demand that they free Assange.Albanese should go and visit Julian in Belmarsh Prison, like our courageous Whish-Wilson and Christiansen, and all the others that went down and visited Julian, to demand that they free Assange.
So, that’s what should happen. We must talk to our Prime Minister and say, visit Julian in prison. And visit UK Parliament, and tell them that we want our journalist back in Australia. We want his freedom, so that we are all free.
What do we say? Free, free Julian Assange! No extradition! Free Assange! Free him now!
Add comment