 Let me first say that when Julian Assange was still free He held a speech in front of Occupy London Where he made a brilliant joke. I guess most of you watched Life of Brian by Monty Python If you don't know what Julian did go to YouTube and watch it. It's really funny. He said we are all individuals and Then most of the people who were gathered here like in Monty Python repeated after Julian But let me say this today is not the joke We are not all individuals We are all Julian Assange Not because Julian Assange is in Belmarsh prison in a British Guantanamo We are all Julian Assange because something much more than just an individual is in danger here What is endangered with Julian Assange and Chelsea a man in prison is our collective right to know Not more not less We are here today in front of the Brandenburg a tour because something much more than just an individual is in danger Yes, a human being with a great sense of humor and a great sense for justice is in prison But what is really in danger here is the very foundation of our democracy Namely the freedom of press As long as Julian Assange is in this or any other prison To paraphrase as beach which Ronald Reagan gave just in front of this Brandenburg a tour in 1987 It is not only the German question that remains open But the question of freedom for all mankind What is the German question? The German question is the question where the Germany will stand up and take its Historical role in protecting whistleblowers publishers and the freedom of speech How would you know that the NSA and the US government by the way? Hello to the US Embassy who can hear us here How can you know that the US government and the NSA? Spite on the German government the German institutions and on the German citizens if there wasn't the revelations of Edward Snowden No about all the crimes committed in our names if there weren't the billions of leaks published by WikiLeaks Why is it illegal to reveal secrets, but it is still legal to undermine democracy? What happened to Chelsea a manning when she rejected to testify against WikiLeaks 56 days ago She disappeared Literally She's still here Her body is in the prison in the same way Julian's Assange body and mind is in prison but the voice of Chelsea a manning is not here today and the voice of Julian Assange is also not here today She can't speak and Julian Assange also the moment can't speak This is the reason why we are here today This is the reason why we are giving the voice to Chelsea a manning to Julian Assange and to everything what they present Do you remember the the book by Ray Bradbury fire and hide 451? You probably know most of the topics which incur in the book, you know people Firefighters who are burning books, but does anyone here remember the end of the movie? Or the book at the very end of the book and the movie what happens is that all those people who were reading books Who were using books in order to find out the truth and also in order to build a better humanity a better world? hide in a forest and They hide in a forest and since there are no books in society anymore each and one and single of them Learns a book by heart So each person becomes a book in a situation in which people make Julian Assange Chelsea a manning Edward Snowden cannot be with us today here. We have to become Julian Assange We have to become Chelsea a manning We have to become Edward Snowden and talk instead of them Thinking what they would talk because this is just the start of a very long battle for freedom of press If Julian Assange is extradited to the United States, they will come after you They will come after you they will come after everyone and there will be no one else to speak in In your name anymore In the end to quote a great German poet Felderlin It might be a sad moment that we are here, but it's not a sad moment We can see many people here. We can see masks here. We can see many supporters here, but that's Hulderlin said Voaber Gefaris Vex does threaten the owl it means Even if we are in deep shit Even if our democracies are not democracies anymore Even if institutions represented by the US Embassy by the UK Embassy, which is just there Even if precisely these governments are undermining democracy There is hope there is hope as long as we can gather here as long as we can give a voice to those Who don't have a voice anymore free Chelsea a manning free Julian Assange Free all the whistleblowers who are in prison today