15,000 People Have Signed A Petition Calling On Australia To Let Chelsea Manning Visit
"This is unacceptable coming from a government that claims to support freedom of expression."
15,000 people and counting have signed a petition calling on the Australian Government to let Chelsea Manning visit for a speaking tour, just one day after the government indicated it was considering refusing Manning’s visa on “character” grounds.
Manning, who is scheduled to appear at speaking events around the country starting this weekend, is famous as the whistleblower who leaked more than 700,000 sensitive and classified US military documents to WikiLeaks back in 2010. She served seven years of a 35-year military prison sentence for her actions, a “substantial criminal record” which the Australian Government has suggested may mean Manning fails the “character test” required to be granted a visa.
The government’s threats to deny Manning’s visa have been met with outrage from event organisers Think Inc., who have been gathering letters of support to request that Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton and Minister for Immigration David Coleman use their ministerial discretion to grant Manning a visa.
“We are of the view that she poses no threat to members of the Australian community,” the organisers wrote yesterday, adding that they believe “Ms Manning is entitled to freedom of expression and political opinion which are foundations of a free and democratic society and fundamental human rights.”
And in less than 24 hours, 15,000 members of the public have signed on to a Change.org petition similarly calling on Coleman to use his ministerial discretion and let Manning in.
Wow. In one day, 10k people and counting have signed the petition for @xychelsea visa to Australia to be approved, so she can speak about government transparency and holding power to account.
Welcome to the job, @DavidColemanMP! https://t.co/a0yGnSA0Xo
— Sally Rugg 🏳️🌈 (@sallyrugg) August 30, 2018
“The Australian Government allows controversial far-right figures such as Milo Yiannopoulos and Lauren Southern to tour around Australia,” the petition notes. “Yet they threaten to deny the visa of a courageous whistleblower who exposed war crimes at great personal cost. This is unacceptable coming from a government that claims to support freedom of expression.”
“Many Australians want to hear Chelsea’s story and her point of view, as evidenced by a number of fully booked events. To deny her the opportunity to speak to our community is unfair, unwarranted, and a blatant overreach of ministerial powers.”
At this stage, no final decision has been made as to whether Manning’s visa will be granted. If you would like to add your support to the Change.org petition, you can find it here.