"If wars can be started by lies, peace can be started by truth." —Julian Assange.

“A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” ― Mark Twain

by Ron Paulson

Five years ago, greatly disappointed by the public’s apathy towards the fate of Julian Assange and by the morass of “mis-infotainment” that is today’s mass media, a friend and I started Seattle4Assange, an activist group working to free Assange and promote his cause of truth and transparency. We were especially angered and alarmed by the prosecution’s untrue, malicious character assassination of Assange. Our group, like many others around the world, wanted to shine a light on mainstream media’s complicity and lack of skepticism of the official narrative in this sordid affair. Suffice to say that it’s been a struggle from day one.

Whether you’re a passionate supporter of Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange, or whether you’re glad he’s locked up in a maximum security prison, or like most people, are only vaguely familiar with his case, you probably know that he has been labeled Public Enemy Number One by the United States. In fact, Assange is considered a “traitor” for releasing hundreds of thousands of documents pertaining to the Iran and Iraq wars, plus several other troves of classified material showing governmental and corporate abuses, corruption, lying, and above all, war crimes.

Currently, Assange is being held and awaiting extradition to the U.S. in Belmarsh, the UK’s most notorious maximum-security prison. If found guilty of the 17 charges under the Espionage Act and the single charge of computer misuse, his sentence could be 175 years in prison-- for publishing the truth. Bizzarely, the Espionage Act doesn’t allow for a “public interest” defense, i.e., a defendant may not explain or justify his or her actions. Obviously, many would consider this a brazen affront to the ideas of freedom of speech and freedom of the press. At the heart of this case is the belief that it is essential that citizens in a supposed democracy are informed about what their government is doing in secret with their tax dollars and in their name.

Julian Assange’s final appeal to avoid extradition to the U.S. is set for February 20 and 21 in a London courtroom. Up to now, publishers of classified material have always been protected from prosecution under the 1st amendment. If extradited, Julian Assange may become the first publisher ever in U.S. history to be prosecuted for releasing classified information.

In the Orwellian nightmare of mass surveillance and censorship that is unfolding before our eyes, killing or silencing the messenger is how the powerful respond to the publishing of true information that reveals their crimes and misconduct. This cannot continue in a land that prides itself on free speech and freedom of the press. Democracy is simply impossible without an informed citizenry, no matter what political team you’re on.

Tragically, for the reasons stated above, most Americans do not realize that Assange’s revelations are even more significant and extensive than Daniel Ellsberg’s 1971 release of The Pentagon Papers, which showed that virtually everything the United States had been saying about the Vietnam War was a lie. Like Assange, Ellsberg’s character was initially attacked, and he too was subsequently tried under the Espionage Act. Fortunately, the charges were dismissed and Daniel Ellsberg, also like Assange, became one of the most praised and honored journalists of our time.

The implications for the future of journalism, as well as the precedent of convicting a journalist under the Espionage Act cannot be underestimated.

Moved by the unjust incarceration of boxer Ruben Carter Bob Dylan protested in his song Hurricane: “Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties, Are free to drink Martinis, and watch the sun rise While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten-foot cell An innocent man in a living hell”

Sadly, these words apply just as much to the persecution of Julian Assange. We won’t stop until the charges are dropped and Julian Assange can freely return to his wife and children. Free Assange! Free Speech! Free Press!

I deeply urge everyone to attend the following two events we have planned in support of Julian:

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Ron Paulson is a longtime on and off again resident of San Miguel. His first trip to SMA was I the summer of 1986 on a backpacking trip and decided that he had to come back. Ron met his wife, Dora, here in 1988. Since then, Ron has been a Spanish and ESL teacher both in the States and in San Miguel. In recent years, he helped found Seattle4Assange, a Seattle-based pro-Assange activist group which is still very active. He currently runs FreeAssangesma@gmail.com.

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