Roger Waters Condemns ‘Illegal Attacks’ on Julian Assange by …

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15:11 11.02.2019Get short URL

Waters, 75, has never shied from speaking his mind, and has vocally questioned many Western government policies. Last week, he called US actions in Venezuela a "coup"; earlier he challenged Donald Trump on immigration and called for the boycott of this year's Eurovision in Israel.

Roger Waters, the founding member ofPink Floyd and an avowed social justice activist, has endorsed the upcoming demonstrations insupport ofJulian Assange and demanded that the whistle-blower be given a safe haven inhis native Australia.

In a letter toAustralia's Socialist Equality Party, published on the World Socialist Web Site, Waters lauded Assange asa "real hero", whose WikiLeaks project "helped expose tothe world the hidden machinations ofthe real criminals inour society: the oligarchs, who intheir insatiable quest formore and more wealth, would destroy the fragile planet we call home".

Waters, who left Pink Floyd in1985 topursue a successful solo career, said Assange needs protection from "unwarranted and illegal attacks" fromthe Western countries, who are "determined todestroy" the truth-seeker.

The Socialist Equality Party is set toorganise rallies inSydney on3 March and inMelbourne on10 March tocall onthe Australian government forimmediate action tosecure the freedom ofJulian Assange.

READ MORE: 'Stop Trump Coup': Roger Waters Slams US Actions inVenezuela as 'Insanity'

"I unreservedly support and applaud the demonstrations called bythe Socialist Equality Party inAustralia todemand that the Australian government takes immediate action tosecure the freedom oftheir citizen, Julian Assange, fromhis nearseven-year house imprisonment inthe Ecuadorian embassy inLondon," Waters wrote.

"At least untilrecently, the Ecuadorian presidency was solid inits promise ofasylum, butthe new president ofEcuador is showing himself tobe more susceptible toinsidious US pressure. Julian's situation is dire."

In November, Roger Waters travelled toEcuador tourge the country's government not togive upAssange tothe UK and the US "and all the other acolytes ofthe evil empire incarcerate this great man and kill him, which is what they will do".

AP Photo / Kirsty Wigglesworth

The 47-year-old WikiLeaks founder has been locked upinthe Ecuadorian Embassy inLondon since2012. He has repeatedly noted he feared extradition tothe United States overleaking thousands ofclassified documents.

His defence team has cited media reports suggesting that Ecuador's president Lenin Moreno had sought toreach an agreement withthe United States onhanding Assange overto Washington inexchange for "debt relief".

Moreover, inNovember, WikiLeaks and a number ofUS media outlets published what they claimed was a court filing inan unrelated case including some sealed charges that used Assange's name inan "apparent cut-and-paste error". The outlets then suggested that the existence ofthese files meant the existence ofcharges brought againstAssange bythe US authorities. Washington has refused todeny or confirm the rumours.

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Roger Waters Condemns 'Illegal Attacks' on Julian Assange by ...