WikiLeaks editor Julian Assangen delivered his speech from the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he's been holed-up for six months., Despite being granted political asylum by the South American nation, British authorities insist he will arrested if he sets a foot outside the embassy.
The full transcript is below, as copied from the WikiLeaks website:
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Good evening London.
What a sight for sore eyes. People ask what gives me hope. Well, the answer is right here.
Six months ago – 185 days ago - I entered this building.
It has become my home, my office and my refuge.
Thanks to the principled stance of the Ecuadorian government and the support of its people I am safe in this Embassy to speak from this Embassy.
And every single day outside, for 185 days, people like you have watched over this embassy – rain hail and shine.
Every single day. I came here in summer. It is winter now.
I have been sustained by your solidarity and I’m grateful for the efforts of people all around the world supporting the work of WikiLeaks, supporting freedom of speech and freedom of the press, essential elements in any democracy.
While my freedom is limited, at least I am still able to communicate this Christmas,
unlike the 232 journalists who are in jail tonight.
unlike Godfried Svartholm in Sweden tonight
unlike Jeremy Hammond in New York tonight
unlike Nabeel Rajab in Bahrain tonight
unlike Bradley Manning who turned 25 this week, a young man who has maintained his dignity after spending more than 10% of his life in jail, without trial, some of that time in a cage, naked and without his glasses.
and unlike the so many others whose plights are linked to my own.
I salute these brave men and women. And I salute journalists and publications that have covered what has and continues to happen to these people, and to journalists who continue publishing the truth in the face of persecution, prosecution and threat – who take journalism and publishing seriously.
Because it is from the revelation of the truth that all else follows.
Our buildings can only be as tall as their bricks are strong.
And our civilization is only as strong as its ideas are true.
When our buildings are erected by the corrupt. When their cement is cut with dirt. When pristine steel is replaced by scrap—our buildings are not safe to live in.
And when our media is corrupt. When our academics are timid. When our history is filled with half truths and lies. Our civilization will never be just. It will never reach to the sky.
Our societies are intellectual shanty towns. Our beliefs about the world and each other have been created by the same system that has lied us into repeated wars that have killed millions.
You can’t build a sky scraper out of plasticine. And you can’t build a just civilization out of ignorance and lies.
We have to educate each other. We have to celebrate those who reveal the truth and denounce those who poison our ability to comprehend the world that we live in.
The quality of our discourse is the limit of our civilization.
But, this generation has come to its feet and is revolutionizing the way we see the world.
For the first time in history the people affected by history are its creators.
And for other journalists and publications – your work speaks for itself, and so do your war crimes.
I salute those who recognize that freedom of the press and the public’s right to know– recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, recognized in the 1st Amendment of the United States. We must recognize that these are in danger and needs protection like never before.
Wikileaks is under a continuing Department of Justice investigation and this fact has been recognized rightfully by Ecuador and the governments of Latin America as one that materially endangers my life and my work.
Asylum is not granted on a whim but granted on facts.
The US investigation is referred to in testimony under oath in the US courts, is admitted by the Department of Justice and in the Washington Post just four days ago, by the District Attorney of Virginia as a fact. It’s subpoenas are being litigated by our people in the US courts. The Pentagon reissued its threats against me in September and claimed the very existence of Wikileaks is an ongoing crime.
My work will not be cowed. But while this immoral investigation continues, and while the Australian government will not defend the journalism and publishing of Wikileaks, I must remain here.
However, the door is open - and the door has always been open - for anyone who wishes to speak to me. Like you I have not been charged with a crime. If you ever see spin that suggests otherwise, note this corruption of journalism and then go to justice4assange.com for the full facts. Tell the world the truth and tell the world who lied to you.
Despite the limitations, despite the extra judicial banking blockade, which circles WikiLeaks like the Cuban embargo, despite an unprecedented criminal investigation and a campaign to damage and destroy my organisation, 2012 has been a huge year.
We have released nearly one million documents, documents relating to the unfolding in Syria.
We have exposed the mass surveillance state and hundreds of documents from private intelligence companies.
We have released information about the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo bay and elsewhere. The symbol of the corruption of the rule of law in the West and beyond.
We’ve won against the immoral blockade in the courts and in the European Parliament.
After a two year fight contributions to WikiLeaks have gone from being blockaded and tax deductible nowhere to being tax deductible across the entirety of the European Union and the United States.
And last week information revealed by Wikileaks was vital and cited in the judgement in determining what really happened to El Masri, an innocent European kidnapped and tortured by the CIA.
Next year will be equally busy. Wikileaks has already over a million documents being prepared to be released. Documents that affect every country in the world. Every country in this world.
And in Australia an unelected Senator will be replaced by one that is elected.
In 2013 we continue to stand up to bullies. The Ecuadorian government and the governments of Latin America have shown how cooperating through shared values can embolden governments to stand up to coersion and support self determination. Their governments threaten no one: attack no one: send drones at no one. But together they stand strong and independent.
The tired calls of Washington power brokers for economic sanctions against Ecuador, simply for defending my rights, are misguided and wrong. President Correa rightly said, "Ecuador’s principles are not for sale.". We must unite to defend the courageous people of Ecuador, to defend them against interference in their economy and interference in their elections next year.
The power of people speaking up and resisting together terrifies corrupt and undemocratic power. So much so that ordinary people here in the West are now the enemy of governments, an enemy to be watched, an enemy to be controlled and to be impoverished.
True democracy is not the White house. True democracy is not Canberra. True democracy is the resistance of people armed with the truth, against lies, from Tahrir to right here in London. Every day, ordinary people teach us that democracy is free speech and dissent.
For once we, the people, stop speaking out, and stop dissenting, once we are distracted or pacified, once we turn away from each other, we are no longer free. For true democracy is the sum of our resistance.
If you don’t speak up, if you give up what is uniquely yours as a human being, you surrender your consciousness; your independence, even your sense of what is right and what is wrong. In other words, perhaps without knowing it, you become passive and controlled, unable to defend yourself and those you love.
People often ask, "What can I do?" the answer is not so difficult.
Learn how the world works. Challenge the statements, actions and intentions of those who seek to control us behind the facade of democracy and monarchy.
Unite in common purpose and common principle to design, build, document, finance and defend.
Learn, challenge, act. Now.