30 – 31 May: Solidarity in Australia

Catholic Worker and former prisoner of the US Ciaron O’Reilly, who has been organising in London in solidarity with Julian Assange and Bradley Manning for the past 18 months and who has been present at all of Julian’s London court appearances, is currently visiting family in his home city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Queensland is also Julian’s home state and Ciaron is organising an all-night solidarity vigil in Brisbane from 4pm local time on Wed 30 May, remaining through the following day to link up with planned rallies for 31 May in Brisbane and around Australia. These will take place regardless of the verdict from the Supreme Court over the extradition appeal.

Ciaron has said:

In London this Wednesday May 30th., Veterans for Peace UK, Catholic Workers & other anti-war friends will be setting the solidarity scene as Julian walks into the British Supreme Court. Should the Supreme Court rule to extradite Julian, many others will mobilise internationally the following day, Thursday May 31st.

I have decided to link these efforts in my home town Brisbane, Australia by conducting an all night solidarity/ anti-war vigil from 4pm Wednesday May 30th (Brisbane time) through to the mobilisation on Thursday May 31st. These Thursday mobilisations in Brisbane and Australia are being called by Julian’s mother Christine Assange.

To VIGIL is is to stay awake! Many have fallen asleep in these long years of war on the peoples of Iraq and Afghanistan. Bradley and Julian have risked their entire life’s liberty on the reasonable assumption that if only people knew the truth of the nature of these wars their governments continue to wage on the poor we would awake to their high crimes, the consequent massive human suffering and our responsibilities to the victims as fellow human beings.

The military who are used by empire to wage the wars and the media who are used to market the wars have turned their torture and lies on dissidents Bradley Manning and Julian Assange.

I believe, all of us who marched and acted against these wars in our millions in 2003, implicitly incited Bradley, Julian and others to non-violently expose and resist these wars. By doing so, we now have an implicit obligation to accompany Bradley, Julian, other brothers and sisters who now find themselves in chains as consequence of non-violently exposing and resisting these wars. Julian, Bradley & others are in chains and electronic tagged for us, we’re on the loose for them!

Full details of the vigil here.
For Brisbane readers, email Ciaron with the hours you can join him on the vigil.

Follow Ciaron O’Reilly on Twitter: @CiaronOReilly.