Matt O’Branain Kiwi Assange Ideas Man on 'Turnkey Tyranny'; Lancet: 186k Gazans dead?

Matt O’Branain from the Julian Assange campaign joins Tony and Martin. Matt, from NZ, had been campaigning to free Julian Assange for many years and came to UK for this reason. Meet the activist who has worn an orange jumpsuit every day for two years “If we can’t have journalism that ends wars, what the hell are we doing?”

https://politicsthisweek.wordpress.com/2024/07/11/not-the-bcfm-politics-show-presented-by-tony-gosling-198/

A man, now living in Bristol, has been wearing an orange jumpsuit every day for the last two years. Matt O Branain wears clothing resembling those worn by prison inmates to raise awareness over the ongoing Julian Assange extradition case. Originally from New Zealand, Matt arrived in the UK two years ago after organising a human chain for Assange with fellow supporters. Matt – who engages in creative forms of protest to help raise awareness of the Assange case – is currently planning on performing a Haka dance outside the High Court in London. Mr Assange, who founded Wikileaks, is currently being held in Belmarsh prison in London after being charged by the US government under the Espionage Act for publishing thousands of classified diplomatic documents, including the Iraq and Afghan war logs. Mr Assange will attend the High Court in London this Monday (May, 20, 2024) which could conclude a 13-year legal battle over his extradition to the US. The Assange campaigner said his dedication to the cause began four years ago when he was still living in New Zealand and working as a Media Design teacher. At the time, he co-founded his own organisation to raise awareness and wrote letters to various politicians in New Zealand and Australia. He initially set up a crowdfunder to travel to the UK and has since relied on a network of Assange supporters to help fund his full-time activism. He has been living in Bristol for almost a year and regularly attends the pro-Palestine demonstrations locally. Over the last few years, his orange jumpsuit and ‘free assange’ sign that he always wears around his neck has attracted attention from members of the public. But since Israel began bombing Gaza seven months ago, the response from the public to his standard explanation for wearing the costume has changed. Matt said: “When I used to tell people that there’s an award-winning journalist in jail in London for exposing US war crimes, people used to look at me blankly. But now because of Gaza, people have seen images of children’s mutilated bodies on their phones and they know what a war crime looks like, their response is shock.”…

Matt recently met General Petraeus and asked him whether the incarceration of Julian Assange was good for America. It was Matt’s idea in 2022 to have a human chain around Belmarsh high-security prison where Julian was being held but DEA and Stop The War SWP boss John Rees changed it to the Houses of Parliament. Aucklander Inspires Demonstration Around British Parliament To Free Julian Assange, Aucklander Matt Ó Branáin has inspired a historic demonstration in London on October 8th, to free jailed Australian journalist Julian Assange. Matt’s proposal to #HugBelmarsh prison with a Human Chain of 1,100 people went viral. Due to some difficulties, it has turned into a #FreeAssangeHumanChain of 5,000 to surround British Parliament, where the decision to free Julian can be made. Matt has launched a campaign for kiwis to help him represent New Zealand there. He is asking for help with travel costs and he will add the names of all who donate to special flax ribbons he will weave and take to the event. Matt says ‘I’m really excited at the prospect of getting to London to join this huge event I’ve helped inspire. This is the most crucial Human Rights case this century, and this will go down in history. I feel both humbled and in awe of what a difference any one of us can make, when we inspire others to unite. There’s nothing we can’t do when we stand together.’ Matt says he needs help to pay for his flights because ‘being an activist and also a musician doesn’t pay the bills like it used to.’ Matt was encouraged by other supporters to launch the campaign and represent New Zealand at the event. ‘I’m asking kiwis to get behind me so I can represent them. I know from talking to people everywhere I go, nobody wants an Aussie journalist to die in prison for telling the truth.