UPDATE 2: Timeline of events at the vigil in Brisbane this afternoon:
4 pm set up vigil and shrine to the war dead
5 pm a circle with speakers and music, maybe even some poetry?
6.15 pm Supreme Court ruling read - we will be in text contact with London
from 4.30 pm and following live tweets and Sky News feed from the courtroom...updates will be announced on solidarity scene outside
court and progress inside.
Cioran has already received messages of support from Christine Assange and the WikiLeaks crew in the UK, plus messages of solidarity with the vigil from Ireland and elsewhere.
Please feel free to leave your own ideas and messages in the comments below.
UPDATE 1: Numbers still growing for tonight's Brisbane #Rally4JA vigil from 4pm. Many thanks to Ciaron, Adele, Damien, Peter, Jimmy, Angela, Mark, Maggie, Carole, Razza, Kay, Cully, Martin, Phil, Janet and possibles Sean, AJ, Jim, Simon. Anyone else interested in joining contact Ciaron ciaronx AT yahoo dotcom or come along from 4pm outside DFAT corner Ann and Creek streets. There will be speakers and musicians from 5pm with the UK Supreme Court decision expected after 6pm.
Join an all-night vigil of solidarity with Julian Assange, leading to a day of global protests.
When: From 4pm Wed May 30th to 6pm Thurs May 31st.
Where: Outside Dept of Foreign Affairs, 295 Ann Street, (corner of Creek St), Brisbane, Australia.
Join veteran protestor and former anti-war prisoner of the United States
Ciaron O'Reilly in an all night vigil to express solidarity with
WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange, who is facing extradition from
Britain and a U.S. Grand Jury indictment.
SOLIDARITY WITH JULIAN ASSANGE - FROM LONDON TO BRISBANE!
This Brisbane vigil joins another vigil in London outside the UK Supreme Court.
If you cannot make it to Brisbane or London, consider initiating your own solidarity vigil or action, wherever you may be!
SOLIDARITY STATEMENT BY FORMER ANTI-WAR PRISONER OF THE UNITED STATES, CIARON O'REILLY
Brisbane born & raised Ciaron O'Reilly served time in a variety of
U.S. prisons for his participation in the ANZUS Plowshares disarmament
of a B-52 Bomber at Griffis Air Force Base New York USA 1991. In 2006,
he was acquitted in Dublin, Ireland, as part of the the Pit Stop
Ploughshares charged with $U.S. 2 1/2 million damage to a U.S. war
plane at Shannon Airport en route to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He has
attended all of Julian Assange's court appearances in London.
"As you may be aware I have been based in London for the last 2 years
and have returned to Brisbane, Australia in the last couple of days. For
most of my time in London, my anti-war resistance focus has been
accompanying the imprisoned Bradley Manning and the detained Julian
Assange who are both facing the possibility of life imprisonment for
exposing the nature of the wars millions of us marched against. Up to
this point I have attended all Julian's court appearances
from Horseferry Magistrates to Belmarsh Prison to the High Court to the
Supreme Court.
Throughout my years of imprisonment for non-violent anti-war activity, I
have learnt the significance of simple acts of human solidarity to
sustaining the spirit of the ant-war resister in chains or the docks.
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!"
Ciaron O'Reilly,
Former anti-war prisoner of the United States government.
Follow Ciaron O'Reilly on Twitter: @CiaronOReilly
Email Ciaron with the hours you can join him on the vigil: ciaronx AT yahoo dot com
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