Julian Assange: The Future by Frances Richardson

This article by Frances Richardson - now sadly deceased - was recently published in The Cyberettes, Linellen Press July 2021. A brilliant writer and a feverent human rights activist, Frances was also a talented artist. I am very proud that she called me her friend. Ingrid M. Smith

"The United States, in speeches, say they have nothing to do with the Assange case, but now senators threaten to 'sanction,' in quotation marks, Ecuador for granting asylum to Assange, removing tariff preferences. Keep your tariff preferences. And if you want a contribution from Ecuador for a course on ethics and training in human rights, use these resources." Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa. August 2012

Julian Assange’s life over the last three years is a gift to writers. From novelists, film-makers, to a soon-to-be aired Australian Television mini-series, it is however, a life which no-one would envy. Many would not approve of the way he has conducted his life and feel that he has brought his present situation on himself: many approve at his fight for freedom of the press and are appalled at his present situation resulting from his progress through the British Courts. Perhaps we may have been alarmed at the British threat to invade the Ecuadorian Embassy and arrest him. Perhaps we think he should just go to Sweden and face what awaits him there. Whether or not we care about Julian Assange, his future is uncertain. He has a past where he has frequently been in fear of his life, and his present situation is no different. It would also seem that he has been abandoned by his country of birth. In fact, it would appear that he has no future or none over which he has control.

Assange’s future, from the British point of view, is that he has avoided bail stipulations and the British High Courts’ decision to grant a Swedish request for his extradition. Since he walked into the Ecuadorian Embassy in June of this year requesting asylum, he stands to be arrested should he leave the Embassy. Ecuador granted Assange asylum on the 15th August, because as the Ecuadorian Foreign Minister, Ricardo Patino says, “We believe his fears are legitimate.” There is, of course, a problem as Britain’s Foreign Minister, Douglas Haig, maintains, "We will not allow Mr Assange safe passage out of the United Kingdom, nor is there any legal basis for us to do so." So Assange is virtually now a prisoner in the Embassy. He has maintained throughout these last years, and there are many who agree with him, that should he be extradited to Sweden, he will be immediately be subjected to rendition from there to the United States where he will be on trial for treason and sedition although the United States has never formerly charged Assange with any crime.

Sweden is interesting in its request for Assange’s extradition. Throughout, the bizarre way the Swedish police have acted, giving the full text of the Assange interview to the press, and the fact that the two women immediately involved the press, it would appear there was a concerted effort to damage Assange. On the 25th August 2010 Sweden’s Chief Prosecutor Eva Finné stated that "I don't think there is reason to suspect that he has committed rape.” She also stated that, “she did not mean that she does not believe the women's stories, only that there is nothing criminal in them.” However, due to a complaint by Claes Borgstrom, Marianne Ny, a Special Prosecutor, issued an arrest warrant for rape although Anna Ardin insists she has not been raped. Assange on the 30th August met with police with regard to “complaints by two women” and the advice was that he was suspected of deliberately breaking a condom. He added at that time that he would be staying in Sweden to fight the accusations and had no intention of fleeing the country. Although neither of the women involved has charged Assange with rape, the prosecution lawyer, Claes Borgstrom seems adamant that Assange has committed “rape” and that, “women often do not know when they have been raped and it is only lawyers who can decide that.” Assange was advised that he was just wanted for an interview and that he was free to leave Sweden having applied for and received approval from the Prosecutor to leave the country. He left Sweden on the 27th September 2010.

Yet, due to a “change of mind,” an Interpol Red Notice was issued against him 12 days after he left. Red Notices only apply where charges have been laid such as those against murderers, terrorists and other criminals. The timing of this Red Notice is interesting because at this time WikiLeaks was about to publish the Iraq War Logs and further confidential emails which would become known as Cablegate. Cablegate has had a profound effect throughout the world demonstrating how the United States and other Governments viewed and manipulated other countries. If Assange is eventually taken to Sweden, he will be refused bail as Swedish law does not allow bail. This will mean that he will be incarcerated in a cell. Andrew Fowler on the ABC Four Corners Program has said that, “Once in Sweden he would be at the mercy of a system which has a record of complying with US wishes.” There is also evidence that “Sweden has acted illegally in past extraditions involving the US.” Should this happen, it holds no prospect of a future for Assange.

Does Australia – and one must remember Assange is a Queenslander - hold any hope for Assange’s future? It would seem not. Although the present Foreign Minister assures us that Assange has had a “great deal” of Consular help, they are not negotiating for him to leave the Ecuadorian Embassy for asylum in Ecuador. Mr Bob Carr this week has dismissed Assange’s speech via an Ecuador Human Rights Forum to the United Nations as a “stunt,” and says he has no intention of “discussing the issue with Ecuadorian representatives.” Whilst there is much support for Assange in his home country, the above seems to indicate he does not have support from the Australian Government. This week Fairfax Media confirms that it has received, under Freedom-of-Information legislation, details which show that Australian officials have “been anxious to avoid any diplomatic embarrassment to the United States through the release of Australian diplomatic cables relating to Assange.”

There would seem to be nothing the Australian Government would do with regard to Assange without the approval of the United States. Our previous Attorney General has initially said his passport would be revoked, afterwards changing this because they “could trace him easily through his passport.” The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has stated that WikiLeaks publishing secret documents had been “illegal.” Both the Prime Minister and Robert McClennan came under pressure as Assange had broken no Australian law. Thus, it appears Julian Assange cannot hope for any help from the Australian Government. In May of last year however, the Sydney Peace Foundation awarded Julian Assange a Sydney Peace Prize in recognition of the “greater transparency and accountability of governments.” Professor Stuart Rees, director of the Foundation, said: “By challenging centuries old practices of government secrecy and by championing people’s right to know, WikiLeaks and Julian Assange have created the potential for a new order in journalism and in the free flow of information.” Australia has also awarded him a Walkley Award In November 2011 in the category, Most Outstanding Contribution to Journalism. Since 2009 Julian Assange has also received: a 2009 Amnesty International UK Media Award (New Media); the Sam Adams Award; Readers' Choice in TIME magazine's Person of the Year; Le Monde’s Person of the Year; The Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism, and on 17 September this year, Assange was awarded an Australian Aboriginal Passport in a ceremony in Sydney at Darlington. It was issued by the Indigenous Social Justice Association and handed over by its President, Ray Jackson, to Assange’s biological father, John Shipton, acting on Assange's behalf. While many Australians and others support Julian Assange in his endeavours to make available information governments wish to keep from their people, the Australian Government has decided he has no future in his homeland.

What will happen to Assange if he is actually extradited to Sweden and then transported to the United States? There is no doubt he will experience the same treatment as Bradley Manning who has received nothing but well-documented torture and mis-treatment during his confinement. Manning has been in pre-trial detention for more than 800 days (US law stipulates no more than 120 days) and, presumably, they are waiting for him to implicate Assange. He now faces a court martial, the charges of which are, “aiding the enemy – identified as al-Qaeda – by transmitting information that, published by WikiLeaks, became available to the enemy.”

Since the embarrassment the United States has suffered from the publication of confidential cables beginning from Assange’s visit to the U.S. Embassy in Rejavik, the United States Vice-President Joe Biden has called Assange a “high-tech terrorist” United States congressional leaders have called for him to be charged with espionage. Yesterday, (27th September), Julian Assange during his speech via video link to the United Nations called for President Obama to – “honour the help he gave in establishing press freedom to those countries engaged in “The Arab Spring,” - to others.” We learned on the 26th September, from an internal investigation in the US Air Force, that the United States has designated WikiLeaks to be regarded as the “enemy” and a terrorist organisation. WikiLeaks and Assange can now be treated under the laws of war which could include killing, capturing, detaining without trial etc. This is most alarming because it justifies an end to Assange’s life by the United States.

Today there are negotiations with Sweden to ensure Assange’s safety if he were to leave the Ecuadorian Embassy and travel to Sweden. This, however, would not be a guarantee that Assange would be safe throughout a trial, possible conviction, and imprisonment. In this event Sweden, Britain the United States, and Australia would be the subject of world scrutiny. Ricardo Patino is now in talks with Douglas Haig to discuss further the case of Julian Assange. The next few weeks should see some development but it will not give Julian Assange the right to be treated fairly according to his human rights. It will be a future designed to appease governments and grant him, and WikiLeaks, no future.

© Frances Richardson 28th September 2012

References:

Wiki Info: BBC News:www.bbc.co.uk

Daddys-Sverige:daddysblogg@gmail.com

ABC Four Corners:World:Sex,Lies and Julian Assange 20th July2012

Sydney Morning Herald:smh.com.au 28th September 2012

Sydney Peace Foundation:http://sydneypeacefoundation.org.au/

Post Script: 22/12/2020

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/2/trial-of-julian-assange

Assange was arrested in April 2019 by UK police from the embassy of Ecuador in London, where he had been granted asylum since 2012.

Assange, who has been embroiled in legal battles for 10 years, has been in a British prison since he was ejected from his refuge at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in April 2019.

After hearing four weeks of evidence in the extradition trial of Julian Assange, District Judge Vanessa Baraitser announced on Thursday she will pronounce judgement on January 4 2021.

The WikiLeaks founder’s trial in London’s Central Criminal Court, also known as the Old Bailey, started on September 7.

He has been kept in the UK’s high-security Belmarsh prison since April 2019. He first appeared in court in February but the case was pushed back because of the coronavirus pandemic. If convicted on all charges, he faces a possible 175 years in prison in the US.

©Frances Richardson 2020

Graveyard: the Chittagong ship-breaking yards of Bangladesh

We have come to a place where the seabirds make their nests from strands of cold metal wires. They have no other choice, you see. Life here is all about surviving one day to hopefully work the next. Thin limbed, dark skinned, huge eyed, hungry children of twelve work alongside their elders, their small size enabling them to squeeze into places no adult can. They are proud to be able to contribute a few cents per hour to the family coffers. Welcome to the Chittagong ship-breaking yards of Bangladesh, where the once proud giants of the sea come to die.

Chittagong lies in southeastern Bangladesh on the edge of the Bay of Bengal. With a population of four million, Chittagong is the second largest city in the country. It is a major coastal seaport and the financial centre of southeastern Bangladesh. A few short miles north of the city more than eighty ship-breaking yards ply their ugly industry, filling an eight mile stretch of once pristine coastal beach.

Little is required for ship-breaking in Bangladesh today: a simple crane or derrick, a few blow-torches and if workers are lucky, a bulldozer. Cheap and exploitable human labour provides the main component. If a person is killed or maimed, well, that is no problem: there is a vast pool of humans waiting to take their place.

The workers come from the northern parts of Bengal, the poorest areas. Farmers desperate to feed their families leave their land for the ship-breaking yards. Here, uneducated and unqualified, with no knowledge of their rights, they work up to sixteen hours a day, seven days per week for an average wage of twenty-five cents an hour or four dollars a day. The top wage is forty-seven cents per hour—for the lucky ones.

When asked why they continue to migrate to the ship-breaking yards, the reply from the workers is simple. If a man goes to the yards then yes, perhaps he will die from an accident, but if he remains at home, then five people will die from starvation. It is impossible to make a living from his farm or in his local village so what choice does he have? A man who is any sort of a man must feed his family.

These men and their families get their strength and courage from their religion. The women visit the mosques daily to pray to Allah. In their prayers they thank Allah for giving their men and boys work, they thank Allah when these same men and boys survive a bad accident and they ask for courage to face each day. These people consider themselves blessed when a day passes without injury to family members.

Today, more than half the world’s large ships come to Bangladesh to die an inglorious death. Ninety-five percent of a ship can be recycled making it one of greatest sources of revenue for a poverty stricken country with a population of 163 million. Bangladesh needs steel, having no iron ore of its own. Ship-breaking provides more than eighty percent of the country’s steel needs.

The yards are ruled by fear. Often the city mayor will own a yard causing local government to look the other way and ignore the daily atrocities. There is no job training, no unions, no decontamination facilities or monitoring, no form of medical care or attention, no protective laws for the workers, no hygiene, no compensation for injury or death, no cremation payments for families of dead workers. It is much cheaper to throw the dead bodies into the sea. People vanish all the time, just disappearing from the official statistics. Protecting workers costs money. Human life does not. Government at all levels is prepared to turn the other cheek.

Life is cheap and brutal in the shipping graveyards where threat of job loss keeps most workers quiet. Access to the ships is via rope ladder. The men work with bare hands and feet and use no safety equipment at all. Every hour of the day they are exposed to gas explosions, falling steel plates, asbestos, heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, zinc and copper and toxic oil and fuels. Burning of various wastes exposes workers to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), many of which are carcinogenic.

The workers live in makeshift huts constructed from remnants of their trade, such as asbestos. Both water and food are contaminated. Asbestos is found in many places on these ships, its resistance to heat, its strength and durability, making it a preferred material for making fire proof doors, engine casings, electrical cable sheeting, boiler casing packings, exhaust pipe packings, sandwich panels in corridors and mounting panels on electrical heaters, to name but a few of its uses.

Bilge water is a combination of fresh water, sea water, oil, sludge and chemicals which accumulate in the lowest part of the ship’s hull, the bilge wells. It can contain cargo residue, inorganic salts, arsenic, copper, chromium, lead and mercury. Bilge water is pumped out directly into the ocean, adding to an already heavily contaminated coastal zone. Fish from these seaside waters is a major source of food for workers.

Once ship-breaking belonged mainly to the industrialised nations, primarily the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. But in the early 1980s, greedy ship owners found a much cheaper way: send their vessels to the yards of India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Vietnam, where men desperate for work would slave for a pittance, where there were no health or safety standards and where people were expendable. Another factor came into play: governments of developed countries wished to rid themselves of the industry since it did not comply with the new environmental protection standards. Industrialists in countries such as Bangladesh were quick to embrace ship-breaking with its massive profits. No major investment was required and the people and the environment were ripe for exploitation in such a country.

Today, in the second decade of the twenty-first century, Southern Asia is the world centre of the ship-breaking and recycling industry. Eighty percent of large tankers and container ships are scrapped in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. China and Turkey account for fifteen percent with only five percent of the world volume being scrapped outside these five countries.

Each new ship that is driven onto the beach means employment for the hungry, more money for the owners. The ships holds many tanks and chambers which contain oil, petroleum and poisonous gases. First, the level of danger has to be checked: a living animal is lowered down by rope to see if it can survive the poisonous gases. If the animal does not die, the first worker will be lowered down to ‘check the danger level’. He has no instruments or equipment to help him in this so-called assessment.

If the first worker gives the all-clear, has not collapsed or died, the first group of workers will enter the ship to clean away the oil, petroleum and other flammable substances. Anything that can be burned off will be so. Explosions are a common occurrence. Next the cutters enter the ship to break it into huge pieces. Once the tide drops, dozens of workers tug these massive steel plates ashore where they are then cut into much smaller pieces. These pieces are then sent to the factories for recycling. The workers use blow torches and wear no gloves, goggles, shoes or hard hats. The smoke, fumes and heat add to the savagery of the working environment.

There is no family at the Chittagong yards that has not lost a brother, cousin, son, father, friend or fellow worker to fatal accident. Body bags are a common sight. Then there are the non fatal incidents: one serious accident per day in each yard is the norm. These result in severed limbs, crushed toes and feet, spinal injuries, blindness, ripped away fingers and hands and severe burns, and this is just the beginning. Then there are the illnesses which take longer to appear: exposure to toxic chemicals can harm the nervous system, cause mental retardation, affect neurological and physical development in children, impair vision and hearing, damage muscle coordination, cause cancer, harm the lungs and heart and impair the immune system. We must not forget mesothelioma, a rare and very aggressive form of cancer which develops in the lining of the lungs, abdomen or heart, nor asbestosis, a lung disease resulting from the inhalation of asbestos particles, and so the list goes on and on and on…

Official statistics differ greatly from those obtained by the investigative journalists brave enough to venture into the yards of Chittagong but unofficially, it is estimated that the industry employs up to 200,000 workers. If a worker from the yards talks to a journalist, he will lose his job. There have been instances where workers have been prepared to help journalists access the protected yards: these helpful workers usually mysteriously vanish. Outsiders are not wanted behind the high, razor wire topped fences and any show of interest or curiosity, let alone the appearance of a camera, will be warned off at gun point.

Young Power in Social Action (YPSA), a non-government organisation, has begun work to address the basic needs and rights of workers in the ship-breaking yards. They are the first organisation to attempt to tackle the problem and the first successful changes are coming through the women.

YPSA encourages women to meet to discuss the main problems of daily living and helps them to implement suggested changes. Some yard workers now have access to clean water for drinking, cooking and hygiene and clean, free community bathrooms, thanks to their women. Before this, hundreds of yard families had to share a filthy community bathroom and pay local government a daily fee for the privilege. The only other option was the contaminated sea for bathing and personal bodily functions.

The United Nations agency, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has also begun to take notice, although it has been remarkably slow to do so. It seems to be quite efficient at writing charters to document preferred conditions for the workers of the ship-breaking yards but actually putting such things into practise appears to be much more difficult.

These once mighty queens of the ocean are born with such ceremony, a tradition dating back to before the birth of Christ. Christened with a bottle of champagne at the hands of a lovely lady, they majestically slide into the sea to the applause of an adoring audience. It is both a blessing and a public celebration: the crowds wave and cheer, the cameras click and roll and the occasion is committed to print. Humans are humble before these glamorous mammoths of the sea.

But these modern giants have an average lifespan of twenty-six years. Each year around thirteen hundred ships die on the beaches of some of the poorest countries in the world. It is an inglorious death: they are driven hard onto the shore, deliberately beached, dumped on poisoned sands amidst the partially stripped carcasses of their sister ships. There they end their days, to be broken on the beaches of Chittagong and her like.

There is a proverb from the ship-breaking yards of Alang in India: Every day one ship, every day one dead. There is little need to say more.

© Ingrid M. Smith

References: Bob Simon 60 Minutes

National Geographic RTD Documentary Channel

Mark Knopfler So Far From the Clyde

Photos: Dreamstime Stock Images