it is a wonder that Ciaron O’Reilly didn’t try to make a citizens rest of John Howard and Alexander Downer for war crimes!
Yesterday marked 12 years since Julian Assange was last a free man. Julian was taken into custody at Kentishtown police station on December 7th. 2010. I remember getting the news while we were staging a solidarity vigil at the U.S. embassy for Plowshares friends being sentenced in the U.S. for their resistance to the Trident nuclear warfighting submarines. I remember sprinting (something that is no longer part of my skill set!) to the Horsferry Courts in Westminster where Julian was to be arraigned. It’s hard to accept that 12 long years have passed. So many good friends who were involved in the ongoing struggle to free Julian have literally passed away in that time. Even that Horsferry court house is no longer with us, having been knocked down!
Dec 7th 2010 Hosferry Court, Westminster
www.indymedia.ie/attachments/dec2010/ciaron_1.png
Since landing back here I have participated in the weekly solidarity gatherings outside the Australian High Commission (Wed 3-5) & Picadilly Circus (Sat 4-6). I have also staged solo solidarity vigils outside Belmarsh Prison & in nearby Camden (which is very touristy & sadly resembles a mausoleum to rebellious youth culture = with plenty of hippy & punk tat and no longer any bookshops celebrating those dissident ideas of yesteryear!.) I digress. I ran into Gareth Pierce – Julian’s lawyer -on the street. Gareth played a central role in freeing the Guliford 4, Birmingham 6, Maguire 7, many a plowshares group & Guantanamo prisoners. I first met Gareth at the Seeds of Hope/East Timor Ploughshares Trial (& acquittal) in Liverpool in 1996. It’s always a delight to see her.
I also got along to see & hear Chelsea Manning launch her book at Conway Hall. She looked healthy, happy & in good form. She was doing a bit of DJing in London & Bristol. As Bob Carr points out (from a fairly moderate position) “Australians shouldn’t stand for the American involved in this incident roaming free and the Australian still locked in a cell!” Australian Prime Minister Albanese seem to echo this comparison recently in parliament. If we can’t sell justice, I guess we can try promoting fairness?
Confronting war criminals, Howard and Downer, in London
Speaking of Prime Ministers, I was able to organise a presence outside a speaking gig by former Australian Prime MinisterJohn Howard & Foreign Minister Alexander Downer (who were in power in 2003 when they led Australia into the disastrous invasion & occupation of Iraq – a war Julian Assange remains in prison for exposing!) Downer inhabited the position of High Commissioner in London during the British siege of Julian in the Ecuadorian Embassy. Downer did nothing & is being duly rewarded.
I got along to the book launch of Italian journalist Stefania Maurizi “Secret Power: WikiLeaks and Its Enemies“. I’d like to highly recommend this book, along with Nils Melzer “The Trial of Julian Assange”. (If you’re in Brisbane John Jiggens may have copies of the Melzer book)
A week or so ago 5 major international newspapers made a collective statement demanding the charges against Julian should be dropped, Australian Prime Minster Albanese made supportive (if ambiguous) noises about Julian and advocacy to the U.S, Elon Musk ran a poll on twitter and there was a photo op with Julian’s dad and Australian foreign minister Penny Wong. I started optimistically thinking maybe we are witnessing the choreography that precedes Julian being cut loose and this 12 year nightmare ending. But alas Julian is waking up this morning incarcerated in a maximum security prison in the 13th. year of detention.
Do what you can, where you can, when you can to free Julian Assange.
Ciaron O’Reilly
London Calling
9 Dec 2022
Why criminal “Bags” Downer is still interviewed as an expert on the ABC after his roles in the Timor bugging, Iraq war, Assange demonisation, Russiagate, etc, speaks volumes to the quality of journalism in Oz.