An emergency protest took place on August 17 outside the British Consulate in Sydney to support WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The rally was called with a day's notice after the UK government threatened to storm the Ecuadorian embassy in London to arrest Assange, whose request for political asylum was accepted by the progressive Rafael Correa government of Ecuador.
Protesters chanted: "Bravo Ecuador! Free Assange!" and sent a message of congratulations and respect to the Ecuadorian government for its brave and principled decision that defied the rich and powerful 1% that rule the world.