‘Wish You Were Here’: Roger Waters displays pro-Assange message at Berlin gig
3 Jun, 2018
Roger Waters, the former Pink Floyd singer, has once again mixed the worlds of music and politics by displaying a banner in support of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at a concert in Berlin.
The neon red text, which read “Resist the attempted silencing of Julian Assange,” was projected onto a black backdrop before his concert on Saturday night. Waters, who is known for making radical political statements on stage, is an admirer of Assange and has previously featured images of the whistleblower in his shows.
Roger Waters concert last night in Berlin #PinkFloyd
"Resist the attempted silencing of @JulianAssange" pic.twitter.com/2dQw61VpB1
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) June 3, 2018
Assange is unlikely to see the message of support, however. Housed in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since claiming asylum in 2012, the Australian has been banned from using the phone and internet for several weeks. He is also prohibited from having visitors.
The new restrictions were enforced in March after the 46-year old broke a vow to cease all “political activity” by speaking out about the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury. This followed repeated statements about Spain’s bid to quash the Catalan independence movement.
German public broadcasters cancel support of Roger Waters’ tour after anti-Semitism complaints https://t.co/XqTr7YcSHS pic.twitter.com/zUwunyIMPH
— RT (@RT_com) November 27, 2017
In April, Waters denounced the Syrian opposition group the ‘White Helmets’ while on stage in Barcelona. “The White Helmets is a fake organization that exists only to create propaganda for jihadists and terrorists. That’s my belief,” he said.
Waters has also stated his opposition to the state of Israel and the government of Benjamin Netanyahu. In an interview with RT in August last year, the rock legend called out Radiohead’s Thom Yorke for refusing to participate in a boycott movement in pursuit of equal rights for Palestinians. In the interview, Waters reiterated his belief that artists who perform in Israel are “making a public statement that they do endorse the policies of the government.”
Published at https://www.rt.com/news/428600-roger-waters-julian-assange-berlin/
