Thread by @Suzi3D

These days, the most powerful voices for sanity are denied access to engage in public discourse.

Lauri Love is such a person. He was banned from Twitter long before anyone else, while fighting against US extradition. He won.

I will transcribe his most recent interview below:

This thread will only transcribe Part 3 (the most recently released part)

You can find Part 1 here:
And Part 2 here:

Here is Part:

The interviewer is the exceptional @_taylorhudak

"Hi everyone, I'm @_taylorhudak from @acTVismMunich & welcome back to Part 3 of the exclusive series & interview with Lauri Love. Lauri I want to get your opinion on what we can expect for the future of the Assange case & especially if he is set free?"

LL: So that's the outcome we're all hoping, aiming & striving for, that Julian will not be extradited, that the extradition process will find again that its unjust or oppressive or some other grounds for him not to be taken to the US & the horrific conditions that await him there

...and that he will be freed, after so much unlawful detention, 10 years, & that he'll be given safe passage back to Australia, his home country, & that he'll be able to continue to live & work in @wikileaks or some other capacity & that WikiLeaks will continue to operate...

...WikiLeaks *is* continuing to operate, is not dependent on one person, but still we cannot have this one person being persecuted & oppressed to set an example that nobody else be so courageous. So the future as I imagine it is that we have this initial judgement coming Jan 4th

...& I'm not too optimistic that will go the right way, the important thing is the evidence has been entered into the record, & that a higher court with, shall we say, more independence of thought or conscience will on appeal rule that Julian should not be extradited..

...and the alternative prospect is unfortunately barbaric. So we have to keep imagining & picturing & not just passively but actively working towards an outcome where Julian secures his freedom & we secure his freedom & not just a positive outcome for 1 person but the principle..

...& the precedent that sets, that the free press *is* inviolable, that there's not some line beyond which you cannot go when standing up to power just as with the Pentagon Papers, just as with other historical cases where truth has been spoken to power & the public has benefited

...from transparency & an effort has been made to oppress & persecute those that were involved in that, that they will not be successful & that we will continue to have a free press. In this time in which it has never been more important to have one."

Taylor: "On Jan 4th 2021, as you said, the judge is going to make a decision. There's 2 possible outcomes: that she either grants extradition or does not grant extradition. Can you take us through your vision of what those outcomes would look like?"

LL: "Having been through the process myself, I sat & waited after the quite difficult hearings at Westminster Magistrate Court, for the outcome. I had to sit, as Julian will have to sit, in the dock & listen to the verdict. A very small time has been allotted for the verdict...

..for the reading of that verdict. It's usually read in full, the judgement. An even shorter time has been allocated for Julian's than mine. Unfortunately that is not an optimistic signal. I don't want to be too judgmental of the judge. I don't want to use phrases such as crooked

...or bent. I will just use a metaphor. It's very hard to walk the right path when you're in the pocket of someone else. That is what Westminster Magistrates Court historically has been. It is in the pocket of institutional power. So we can expect, unfortunately...

...& I'm open to the potentiality that the right thing happens in this case, but we have to be realistic & expect that on Jan 4th the ruling will be that the extradition can proceed. It then goes to the Home Secretary who in theory can exercise independence to stop the process...

...on the grounds of human rights. Unfortunately the govt made this a lot harder after the case of Gary McKinnon so the prospect of a threat to Julian's human rights is specifically disallowed as a reason for the extradition not to proceed at the Home Secretary stage...

...so it will probably be waved through & rubber stamped. At that point its open to appeal & the defence will appeal to the higher court, to the High Court. It then goes, as in my case, to the Royal courts of justice. There I would say, the 2nd half, the more important battle...

...in terms of jurisprudence & justice will happen. We will then continue fighting at that stage.

TH: "You're exactly right & its really important that ppl continue to support him during these next few months & beyond that.."

TH: "You once did say that, quote, 'the only way to improve is to continue to fight for truth-tellers. There is no better example in my opinion of a truth-teller in our current era than Julian Assange', end quote. Can you expand further on what you menat?"

LL: "I'll use a story. The story of 'The Emperor's New Clothes' which probably most ppl know. There was an emperor who was tricked by some cheeky ppl. He wanted the greatest garment in the world & they spun one, & he kept asking for gold & gold & they spun this garment supposedly

...but he couldn't see it. But they said, 'ah it can only be seen by the wise & the clever & if you're stupid you'll not be able to see it.' He went out on a parade & everyone else was told the same story & everyone didn't want to seem like the stupid person who couldn't see...

...the clothes. So they all played along & they went along with the charade of the Emperor's new clothes. It just took one person, one child who didn't buy into this false consciousness to start laughing & suddenly the illusion was shattered. It's the same with truth, in an age..

...of media deception, in an age of false consciousness, where we close our eyes to the atrocities that happen in war. Where we all play along as if its OK, as if it doesn't affect us. It only takes some courageous ppl to break that illusion by showing us the reality...

...the grim & stark reality that we saw in the Collateral Murder video, that we saw in the logs that showed the scale of the civilian casualties, that we saw in the documentation of the horrific atrocities at Guantanamo, to shatter that illusion, for ppl to be confronted..

...with that reality. To face their own consciousness & their own role that we all play in this world. Govts do not act independently. Although they can contradict the public, although they can act against the public will they can only exist with the tacit support of the governed

...& so we do play a role in whether there is justice or injustice, whether there is truth or whether there is falsehood & lies & coverups. The way we do that is by not allowing ourselves to be passive, by being active participants, by putting pressure on the government...

...by saying, in the words of an activist from the 60s, 'there comes a point when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick of heart, that you cannot allow it, cannot watch it & participate, you have to put your body on the gears, on the levers...

...to say that the machine will not be allowed to operate at all. That's the stage that we're at. Ppl need to rise up vocally, to attend in person, to participate & to say no, we demand to live in a world where the public has access to truth, where things are not done in our name

...with money the ppl pay in taxes, to what is, lets be realistic, a military industrial complex that has taken over the US federal govt & has allowed it to become an imperial hegemon that has caused instability in the world in the interests of profit & of power...

The only way we can imagine a future where we transition to a multipolar world where we have meaningful international discussions instead of a small group of ppl strong-arming the process of international justice, the only way we can have that is by fighting for organisations..

...that enable the truth to be told, such as @wikileaks, in my opinion the prime, stellar example of empowering ppl with the truth. Ironically its written in the lobby of an institution that has not done much to improve the world - the CIA - a quote from the Bible, and it is:

...'you shall know the truth & the truth shall set you free.' So if we believe in freedom then it is incumbent upon us, it is our responsibility, a solemn & grave responsibility, to fight for it. At the moment the best way many ppl can in this country & around the world is...

...to support @wikileaks, to support Julian Assange & to stop the powerful from suppressing & gagging the truth, which is the only thing in the end that can hold them to account."

TH: "Lauri, you have a unique but rare perspective since you have been through what Julian Assange is currently going through at this time. Can you leave everyone off with a final message?"

LL: "Sure. I am living testament today, by being here, by being alive, by being free, by being able to talk to you, that it is possible to face overwhelming odds, to face a stacked deck, a system that presupposes that the powerful will get their way & with not just myself but...

...with the support of ppl who might be watching like yourselves; with the support of organisations; with the support of campaigners; the support of the morals & the conscience of the wider public to stand up to that power & to win; seldom has that happened, it had its cost...

...but at the end of the day we were victorious & I hope & have faith & will keep fighting for that victory to happen in Julian Assange's case. So we do not have the luxury of being pessimistic, we do not have the luxury of falling into cynicism, we must have faith & optimism...

...that the right thing will happen. Not by itself but that we fight for it. In the Latin phrase - fiat justitia ruat caelum - let right be done though the heavens fall. Together we can do that."

<< TRANSCRIPT ENDS >>

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