Sydney - Saba:
Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Australia in a rally denouncing the war of genocide in Gaza, blocking the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange participated in the rally.
Assange, who returned to Australia last year after being released from a high-security British prison, was surrounded by family members as he walked alongside former Australian foreign minister and former New South Wales premier Bob Carr, according to Agence France-Presse.
Australia has called for an end to the Gaza war but has so far refrained from recognizing the state of Palestine. However, in a joint statement with more than a dozen countries on Tuesday, it expressed "a willingness or positive consideration... of recognizing the state of Palestine."
Participants in the Sydney rally, which took place despite strong winds and rain, chanted "Ceasefire now" and "Free Palestine."
New South Wales Police said they deployed hundreds of additional officers throughout Sydney for the rally. New South Wales Senator Mehreen Faruqi, a member of the left-wing Green Party, told the crowd gathered at Lang Park in Sydney that the march would be "historic."
She called for "the toughest sanctions on Israel," accusing its forces of committing massacres against the people of Gaza and criticizing New South Wales Premier Chris Minns, who opposed the march.
Dozens of protesters held up signs listing the names of thousands of Palestinian children killed in the genocidal war on Gaza since October 7, 2023.
Labor MP Ed Hosick called on his ruling party, led by Premier Anthony Albanese, to recognize the state of Palestine.
| more of (International) |