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Thank you so much for coming to this rally. Your presence here and your support in homes, workplaces, online and elsewhere

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is exactly what is needed to keep us strong. I really wish I could be with you in person.

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I can't wait to be back in Melbourne, where I have fond memories of taking a tram up Swansea street,

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dropping in at Trade's Hall, and having my favorite coffee at the new International bookshop.

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Though we are far apart at the moment, I follow news from home regularly.

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I've been heartened, not just by the stories of support for our organization, but the stories of courage and kindness

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every day Australians are showing to one another during the floods. That too is a matter of confort

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to all of us who believe in basic human decency.

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As a journalist, I am used to reporting the news, rather than addressing rallies. But these are not ordinary times.

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The times we are going through at the moment constitute a generational challenge

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The US civil rights struggles of the 1950's also constituted a generational challenge,

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as did the peace movement of the late 1960's, autonomous (?) movements in different periods of the 20th century,

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and the awakening of environmental consciousness that has taken hold in recent years.

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For the internet generation, this is our challenge, and this is our time.

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We support a cause that is no more radical a proposition than that the citizenry has a right to scrutinize the state.

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The state has asserted its authority by surveilling, monitoring and regimenting all of us,

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all the while hiding behind cloaks of security and opaqueness.

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Surely, it was only a matter of time before citizens pushed back and we asserted our rights.

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This brings me to another point. We at Wikileaks recognize the difference between secrecy and privacy.

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Individuals, not governments, have the right to privacy. Strong powers must be held to account

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while the weak must be protected. We believe in transparent power, not in transparent people.

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We publish material that is in the public interest. For us, as the European Court of Human Rights

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and the British Court of Appeals has held, the decisive factor in balancing the protection of private life

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against freedom of expression should lie in the contribution the material has to make to the debate of general interest.

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It is surely a matter of public interest that Australian politicians secretly briefed foreign embassies,

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in effect providing them with political intelligence on the Australian government, while concealing these vital facts

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from those who actually elected them to office.

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Wikileaks has brought this important information to the public.

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It is surely a matter of public interest that the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton,

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has been running a secret intelligence campaign directed at the leadership of the United Nations,

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demanding passwords, DNA, personal encryption keys, credit card numbers,

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e-mail addresses and so on. That targeting is illegal under the 1946 UN Convention on Privileges and Immunities,

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and illegal under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

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And it is surely a matter of public interest that the Labour government has been secretly working

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to shield from prosecution Indonesian military figures who killed strangers (?) in East Timor.

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Wikileaks brought this information out to the public as well.

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It would appear that the Labour government today is doing what Labour did in 1975 regarding East Timor:

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talking about human rights while trying to downplay a tax on journalists.

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Because you and I should be in no doubt of one thing: we are a media organization,

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I am a publisher, I am a publisher and I am a journalist. I've been a member of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance,

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Australia's peak journalist's union, for years. I published my first book when I was 25.

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There has been outrageous and illegal calls to have me and my staff killed, clear cases of incitement to violence.

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And the Australian government has condoned this behavior by its diplomatic silence.

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I find it interesting that some politicians have no intention of applying the precautionary principle

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when it comes to the environment, but assert it when it comes to our reporting.

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They conjure up hypothetical scenarios, claim that somehow, some day, our stories might somehow harm someone somewhere.

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But we have a 4-year publishing history, a history of not harming a single individual anywhere.

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They provide no evidence of actual harm. So I say to you: that which is asserted without evidence

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can be dismissed without argument. And it is interesting how some politicians single out my staff and myself for attack

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while saying nothing about the slaughter of thousands by the US military or rather dictatorships,

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and saying nothing about other, much wealthier, powerful news organizations that published material in partnership with us.

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It is cowardly to bully a small media organization, but that is what is happening here.

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We are eternally grateful to your strong support in helping us stand up to the bullies.

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Julia Gillard should be taking active steps to bring me home and to protect our people.

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She should be contacting the US embassy and demanding that it back off.

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As for the future, we are as determined as ever. With your help and support, we will make our way through this storm

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and continue to publish and hold powerful and abusive organizations to account.

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I want to assure you that we will not mimic the timidity and subservience to power

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that some other media organizations have. If that is what it means to go mainstream,

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then we are happy staying where we are, at the front line of the truth.

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We will, as Don Chipp dreamed, "try to keep the bastards honest."

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We have been deeply moved by the concern Australians have shown for us. But I ask that you turn your concern into action.

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Insist that the attacks on my staff and organization stop. Insist that I be allowed to return home.

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Insist that the Australian government come clean on all its interactions with foreign powers in relation to our organization.

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Thank you for your good will. We will keep the faith with you, and you will keep us strong.

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[silence]