In this exclusive acTVism video report, we travel to the Volksbühne in Berlin to document a global event named “First they came for Assange” in which the case of Wikileaks and its founder of Julian Assange was brought to the forefront. In addition we talk directly to the organizers as well participants on the following issues: Assange’s case, the function and significance of whistleblowers in a democratic society, the German government’s handling of whistleblowers and the role that artists and activists can play to bringt about meaningful change.
Details of the Event:
First they came for Assange was a Global Event marking the 4th anniversary of Julian Assange’s political asylum at the Ecuadorian Embassy that took place simultaneously in Berlin, Paris, New York, Quito, Brussels, Madrid, Naples, Belgrade, and other cities with Julian Assange (live from Ecuadorian Embassy in London), and other supporters such as Yanis Varoufakis, PJ Harvey, V. Westwood, Noam Chomsky, Slavoj Žižek, Renata Avila, Bernard Stiegler, Sarah Harisson, Srećko Horvat, Brian Eno, Baltasar Garzón, Angela Richter, Chris Hedges, Laibach… and many many others. To see the full list of speakers, click here.
Four years after Julian Assange passed through the gates of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, forced to seek asylum, people from all over the world joined their voices in order to ask that this persecution be brought to to an end.