While the tug-o-war known as Julian Assange approaches his fourth year in His Majesty’s Prison Belmarsh, London, the community of local people trying to help free him will rally in Lismore on March 18.
Northern Rivers NSW 4 Assange spokesperson and rally co-organiser Yvonne Preston says this will be held on the weekend of the 20th Anniversary of the Iraq War. ‘In Julian’s quest to bring us the truth about a war, he has been illegally detained in the torturous cell of the highest security in Belmarsh Prison fighting an ominous extradition order to America. “The first causality of war is the truth” said Hiram W Johnson.
’Thirty-six million people protested against the Iraq invasion. One million civilians died. They were written off as “collateral damage”. Two people ended this war. Julian was one of those two!’
As the founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange Published 700 000 Documented War crimes. These were leaked by an IT soldier from the US military, Chelsea Manning. These publications in collaboration with the Guardian and New York Times along with multiple news corporations published these documents as a matter of public interest. Both, Manning and Assange went to Jail, Manning was pardoned.
Preston says it’s imperative that if we the people commit our hard-earned faith, money and time towards our leaderships interests, then we should always reserve the right to have a really good look into what our leaders are doing at any time. ‘It gives us a much-needed strength to believe in our societies, our militaries and our governance.
A Lismore lad
‘As most people already know Julian, is from Lismore, Goolmangar. “He grew up within the soil and fabric of our society”. This is how his father, John Shipton refers to his early life in the Northern Rivers. He goes on to say that he is a product of his environment, in his care about humanitarian and environmental concerns.
‘On the 18th of March as part of a global demand to #Free Assange, we stand in solidarity to bring our boy home. So let’s be loud and inspired from our core. Bring your message to the world in banners, signs and express our heartfelt concern. This could be our final opportunity to do this.’
The Lismore rally will feature Speakers – Filmmaker Kym Staton (Free the Truth), Graham Dunstan, and lawyer for humanitarian issues Eddie Lloyd.
The event will be MC’d by Roy Drew from Northern Rivers 4 Assange group on Facebook and Twitter. And what would a gathering for freedom be without music? The event will be blessed by the tunes of Brodie Buttons and Lucie Garlic of Northern NSW.
There will also be a letter writing and picture drawing (for the kids) station. Send a message of support to Julian, to the Belmarsh Prison to show him your support.
If you can’t make it, then there is so much you can do online, visit; www.assangecampaign.org.au/ sign the petitions, and send off automated emails to the most influential people in his detention.
‘As lawyer Ben Wizner so poignantly stated: “A country in which a publisher has been extradited and imprisoned for publishing truthful information will be a very different country than the one we have lived in our whole lives. And let’s make sure that we do everything possible to make sure that we don’t become that country”,’ says Preston.
Visit Team Northern Rivers NSW 4 Assange pages on Facebook and Twitter for updates and interesting links.
The Lismore rally for Julian Assange will be held on March 18 at the Lismore Memorial Baths.
If he had simply gone to the Russian Embassy instead, he would be having Friday beers in St Petersberg with Edward Snowden every week.
Yes many still do not realise the significance the Assange precedent has for the future of democracies. Basically the US is setting itself up to have global jurisdiction. Interestingly, none of the documents revealed by Wikileaks for which Assange is indicted fitted the category of lawful classification in the first place. It is against US presidential law to classify for the purpose of hiding crimes, corruption or administrative failure. Or to classify for the purpose of avoiding embarrassment.
It’s not Julian Assange who should be in prison.
Give us a break and stop protecting criminals, many still do not realize that this fraudster and bail-jumper has been indicted on very serious espionage charges and the only place he needs to be shipped off to is the US to face the music.
‘Criminals’, are the the ones that committed the war crimes and the complicit jurisdictions trying to cover it up, who instead go after the whistleblower for exposing it all.
Face the music indeed, get those ‘Criminals’ in court.
By that logic, NIC and ICAC are espionage organisations.
You know he never stolen anything right? He receives information from whistle blowers and publishes it.
You did watch the collateral murder video didn’t you Keith?
It seems that our resident Greenspin expert and the Julian Assange fan club are not only experts in all things political, historical and environmental, but are now also legal experts; what part of- “Julian Assange was indicted on 18 counts by a Federal Grand Jury in Virginia alleging he was complicit with Chelsea Manning by unlawfully obtaining and disclosing to a foreign power, classified documents related to National defence”- do you not understand. Whistleblower my arse, he is a convicted criminal even without these indicted charges in the US.
“District attorneys can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich.” – Chief Judge Solomon Wachtler
Are you referring to his hacking conviction during the first gulf war when he stole the pentagon’s target list to show they were purposely targeting civilian air raid shelters? Or do you not know what the word ‘indict’ means?
Keith, of course the Julian was indicted, the U.S. of th A. covering their arse over the war crimes committed.
Who has been convicted for the war crimes?
Indicted means to be charged with a crime. Grand Juries don’t convict, they approve for trial / dismiss charges.
You are absolutely Joachim, they are shooting the messenger. Accusing their enemy of doing what they themselves did, even though they can not prove that a single government agent has been physically harmed due to Julian publishing that material.
13 th march 2023
The Egyptian journalists received non-confirmed news saying that “Julian Assange” will stay in Belmarsh prison in London 3 more years.
The Egyptian journalists say that ” Julian Assange” is suffering from intensive mental problems and sometimes the English police makes ” Julian Assange” take off all his clothes to stop him from killing himself
13 th march 2023
I was Egyptian journalist . I think that If USA loses the American war in Ukraine , the CIA will kill ” Julian Assange” in London or USA.
88% of the Australians want ” Julian Assange” come home to his family .
The Australian people are the only people who can set free ” Julian Assange” . Because USA will kill ” Julian Assange” if the U.S army loses the U.S war in Ukraine.
Do you people do anything more in life than dream up conspiracy theories? The American legal system held fast under an avalanche of frivolous appeals by Trump and Co regarding the so-called stolen election and came out on top, it certainly can deal with that grub Assange in a proper manner, leave the legal stuff to people who know what they are talking about, I don’t think they need any help from bush lawyers residing in the Byron Shire or anywhere else in Australia or an expat from Egypt. Did the 88% get polled in Byron?