The extradition hearing of political prisoner and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange resumed in London on Monday. US prosecutors are pursuing Assange under the Espionage Act and for conspiracy for his role in the disclosure of classified documents exposing US war crimes, among other things. British-based journalist John Pilger gave this speech outside the court.
John Pilger gave this address on the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the Parramatta Female Factory, Sydney, a prison where “intractable” women convicts from mostly Ireland and England were sent to Britain’s Australian colony in the early 19th century.
On my wall in London is my favourite photograph from South Africa. Always thrilling to behold, it is Paul Weinberg’s image of a lone woman standing between two armoured vehicles, the infamous “hippos”, as they rolled into Soweto. Her arms are raised, fists clenched, her thin body both beckoning and defiant of the enemy.
The tape is searing. There is the voice of an infant screaming as he is wrenched from his mother, who pleads, “There is nothing wrong with my baby. Why are you doing this to us? I would’ve been hung years ago, wouldn’t I? Because [as an Australian Aborigine] you’re guilty before you’re found innocent.”
It's celebrity time again. The Golden Globes have been, and the Oscars are coming. This is a “vintage year”, say Hollywood's hagiographers on cue. It isn't. Most movies are made to a formula for the highest return, money-fuelled by marketing and something called celebrity. This is different from fame, which can come with talent. True celebrities are spared that burden.
On 17 January, John Pilger’s latest film, Utopia, premiered in front of 4,000 people at the Block in Redfern. The film, named after the central Australian Aboriginal community, both exposes the racism and deplorable conditions that Indigenous people continue to endure and documents their inspiring resistance, so often ignored. The following is an edited transcript of John Pilger’s speech at the event.