On December 15th, Kate Ausburn published a report about a Sydney Wikileaks demonstration on her blog.
I spoke at the rally which was chaired by independent author and journalist Antony Loewenstein.
In my speech I talked about how Wikileaks was a threat to the spin, secrecy and spectacle of our contemporary democracy.
The demonstration was a peaceful one while everyone was standing outside Sydney Townhall, As Kate describes it in her blog:
"Following the speakers, the crowd marched down the footpath of George Street in the CBD, towards the US Consulate General in Martin Place. Police instructed rally-goers to cross the street at the intersection of George St and King St.
Despite complying with police orders, several officers forcefully confiscated banners from activists in the middle of the busy intersection and shoved several activists to the ground. The dog squad were released and mounted police were close-by.
Police damaged and removed at least one banner that read “Defend Wikileaks, Free Julian Assange.” Two activists were also dragged across the street by police and were threatened with arrest. Senior Constable O’Neill from St George police identified herself but refused to provide a reason for removing the activists from the rally.
“Citizens were violently brutalised by the NSW police in the act of arrest, in order to enforce traffic violations that amount to a $57 fine,” Patrick Langosch said. ( Langosch was one of the organisers).