Tells the Facts and Names the Names

april 1-15, 2011 and Jeffrey St. Clair vol. 18, no. 7 “Medvedev vs. Putin” Flat Out Wrong and other Burlesques How Stitched Russian Politics after Libya Up By Guy Rundle By Israel Shamir he Arab rebellions have polar- t was the week before Christmas changed with the publication of “10 Days ized Russia: some dream that the 2010… and the attention of the world in Sweden,” an account by Guardian spirit of Tahrir will visit , was, once again, on Julian Assange, journalist Nick Davies of the events that Teven as others hope for a NATO crusade theI endlessly fascinating founder of led to the accusations. Davies had been to spread Western values all the way to Wikileaks. Following the explosive reve- the first Guardian journalist to contact the Volga; yet a third lot prays fervently lations in the Afghan, Iraq and Cablegate Assange, “who had had sporadic contact that nothing will change, now or ever. releases, Assange was now in the spot- with the paper” about the huge tranche The recent Russian abstention in the U.N. light for a different reason. The Swedish of material that would generate the three Security Council has split the elites and prosecution service had issued an arrest separate logs. He had also subsequent- made the growing rift visible at last. warrant to call him back to the country ly fallen out with Assange and ceased President Dmitry Medvedev has de- for further questioning on four accusa- working with him, after accusing him clared Qaddafi persona non grata. He tions of sex crimes (two of sexual assault, of breaking deals on exclusivity with the supported the proposal to transfer Libya’s two of misdemeanor “annoyance”), this paper. But it was Davies who received case to the International Criminal Court; had become an Interpol red notice, and the next Assange/Wikileaks bombshell: he then ordered his ambassador in the the U.K. Crown Prosecution Service were a copy of the long-form police report Security Council to abstain. A few days now acting on it, serving an extradition compiling interview write-ups and tran- later, Prime Minister process. On December 7, Assange was scripts with Assange, the two women roundly criticised Medvedev’s compli- denied bail. This was granted after two whose report generated the accusations, ance; he called the Western intervention more hearings, with Assange electroni- and a number of “witnesses” – people “a new crusade,” and suggested that the cally tagged and ordered to reside at the who were around Assange and the two Western leaders should “pray for their Norfolk mansion of Vaughan Smith, women over the week of August 13-20, souls and ask the Lord’s forgiveness” for founder of the war correspondents’ 2010, when the events on which the al- the bloodshed. Medvedev shot back with Frontline Club. legations are based occurred. a meaningless “don’t you dare to speak The initial hearing had rocketed the Davies was the first non-Swedish jour- of crusades” comment, and the pundits sex crime allegations against Assange nalist to get a hold of the report, copies of made a lot of mileage from this exchange, back into the public consciousness after a which had been circulating among vari- eager to see daylight between the twain. lull since they were initially made in early ous Stockholm insiders for a few weeks. Before this, the president and the PM August, 2010, then partly dropped, then Two different versions – one with 12 in- had behaved like Siamese twins. Now, it reinstated at the end of August. Debate terviews and forensics, another with 11 seems they begin to pull apart. about the matter still relied on scraps of interviews and no forensics – were circu- We cannot know what Dmitry disconnected information and hearsay, lating; Davies apparently obtained a copy Medvedev’s actual political views are, much of it aired on the Swedish libertar- of the latter version. The 28,000-word but in recent months he has been pro- ian site Flashback.org. Debate around the document then became the basis for a moted (by a clique of his advisers) as a matter became subject to the Rashomon 2,000-word story – which itself became pro-Western and pro-liberal alternative effect, of multiple accounts: Assange had the basis for much of the discussion of to Putin. Such a vision fits the traditional torn a condom during sex, he had com- the case in the English-speaking world. Russian duality of pro-Western vs. Native mitted sex by surprise, he hadn’t called The Guardian was happy to go along thinking epitomised by Turgenev and someone back, one of the accusers was with Wikileaks’ idea of “scientific jour- Dostoyevsky; to wit, Russia has always a CIA plant, and around and around it nalism,” whereby an article is linked to been part of Europe, and yet Russia has went. the document on which it is based; in this always set itself apart. While this might Then, on December 17, the day after case they went old school, and there was drive a lesser species schizophrenic, the Assange was finally bailed, all that no opportunity to check Davies’ work. shamir continued on page 2 Rundle continued on page 4 april 1-15, 2011 Russians have memorialised this health- the profits from the sale of Russian oil signers, decision-makers and controllers giving tension in the two-headed eagle would go to repair the country’s infra- all in one, applying whatever technology of their coat of arms. There is the native structure, not simply enrich a few oli- they can to the construction of politics head that identifies itself with the non- garchs. The storybook Putin would never as a whole.” The Bulgarian politcal scien- European world and is strictly against allow Russia’s new-found wealth to drain tist, Ivan Krastev, explained, “A political the Libyan war, and then there is the pro- away into the pockets of Londoners like consultant works for one of the parties in Western head that wants to collaborate Mr. Abramovich and his Chelsea football an election and does his best to help that with European powers and shares the team. On the other hand, if Medvedev party win; the political technologist is European system of values, including were a real supporter of Western values, not interested in the victory of his party those that have resulted in the bombard- his police would not break up every dem- but in the victory of ‘the system.’ In other ment of Libya. onstration, and his electoral commissions words, political technologists are those It is very possible that election time would not block opposition parties from in charge of maintaining the illusion of will see Putin challenge Medvedev for entering the fray. competitiveness in Russian politics.” the presidency. Will it be a choice be- Never forget that Medvedev is Putin’s The use of political technology in the tween an independent, sovereign Russia creation, and the former’s ability to stand place of real politics has begun to make going its own way and Russia as a mas- alone is as yet unproven. That is why so Russians extremely cynical and fatalis- sive oil pipeline guarded by yes-men? many Russians doubt the sincerity of tic: whatever move we make, they have So say Putin’s followers. Medvedev’s their low-key, high-profile confrontation. already planned for it and it will be only clique declares that the choice is between The substitution of orchestrated media they who will enjoy the fruits. Russians Russia as a legitimate member of the ci- events in place of real, competitive elec- have begun to believe that political tech- vilised world, and a rogue Russia lost in tions has condemned Russians to democ- nologists are practically omnipotent, and the wilderness, like Qaddafi’s Libya. racy: meaning only the phony, “demo” this belief has made them very power- So far so good, at the very least it version. Despite having an unrestrained ful indeed. For this reason, the éminence sounds like a real choice; but there is a freedom of speech and a near total ab- grise of Russia is neither priest nor oli- catch: the double eagle is not a real beast. sence of repression, Russians are unable garch, but a political technologist named It is only a dream. Putin is not really pro- to elect their rulers according to their , a gifted writer and a native, and Medvedev has not really sold own desires. They are free to speak, but poet of Russian-Jewish-Chechen stock. his soul to the West. Both pretend to their speeches cannot be translated into Some observers consider him to be the be what they hardly are. If Putin were a effective political action. real power behind the cardboard figures real supporter of Russian independence, The man at the helm in the Kremlin of Putin the strongman and Medvedev Russia would not keep its money invest- isn’t elected by the general populace the liberal. This is the view presented ed in U.S. shares and securities. If Putin but is selected by insiders, as it was in in the bestselling novel Virtuoso, by really cared about the future of Russia, Brezhnev’s days. The rule over post-Sovi- Alexander Prochanov, a man with some et Russia passes from leader to leader by first-hand knowledge of Surkov – a rarity, some elite arrangement, rubber-stamped since the great man is media shy. There by a visibly fake popular vote. Yeltsin is a description of Surkov in Wikileaks came to power by a coup d’état and then cable 10MOSCOW184. * EDITORS used tanks against the elected parlia- A stage production based on Surkov’s Alexander Cockburn ment after being impeached. In 1996, he novel Okolonolya (“About Zero”) is now Jeffrey St. Clair falsified the elections beyond anything enjoying an extremely successful run in Russia’s history. After that, Yeltsin in the best Moscow theatres, and is di- ASSISTANT EDITOR passed the power to Putin, and Putin has rected by one of the best Russian direc- Alevtina Rea more or less transferred it to Medvedev. tors (Kirill Serebrennikov). At $100 per BUSINESS The only question left to the pundits seat, it is sold out for months in advance. Becky Grant in Moscow is whether Putin will allow I have seen it – and it is scary, in the Deva Wheeler Medvedev to run again or whether he has Tarantino and Hostel style, but Tarantino decided to take the steering wheel back. never meddled in American politics. In DESIGN Pro-Western liberals would love to see the novel, and in the play, Surkov con- Tiffany Wardle Medvedev lock Putin up and run alone. trasts the omnipotence of some people COUNSELOR They are afraid of Putin, but they are with the total impotence of the rest of us. Ben Sonnenberg even more afraid of free elections with Dmitry Bykov tipped his hat to the writer 1937-2010 their unpredictable results. They prefer in his new play The Bear, when he says to succession. the protagonist, “I can do with you what- CounterPunch The people who arrange succession are ever I wish.” P.O. Box 228 called political technologists, and they This perfect wave of political technolo- Petrolia, CA 95558 are a breed apart. Russian political tech- gists, oligarchs, and former security offi- 1-800-840-3683 nologists were described for a Western cials has derailed every attempt to bring [email protected] audience by the British columnist A.N. real democracy into Russian politics. This www.counterpunch.org Wilson, when he wrote, “Post-Soviet is a very common complaint of Russian All rights reserved. political technologists see themselves as “democrats” (as liberal Westernizers are political meta-programmers, system de- called here). However, they rarely admit

2 april 1-15, 2011 that there is one reason behind all these cess caused his undoing: “Forgetting Western wolves embodied in NATO political technologies, one reason why that he was on a leash, Rogozin began and Wall Street, but they have come to the Russians are not allowed to prac- to stray too far and ultimately crossed the conclusion that their rulers are also tice political freedoms as they wish and Kremlin redlines, to the anger of wolves – dressed in sheep’s clothing. deserve: without all these tricks, the Putin,” in the words of the U.S. ambas- Russians know that the oligarchs and top Communists and other indigenous forces sador. A secret Wikileaks cable from Kremlin figures are perfectly integrated would regain a foothold in Russia. Moscow (06MOSCOW10227*) explains into the Western capitalist scheme: they The Communist leader Gennady “Rogozin’s real sin: he stopped playing at keep their money in the Bahamas, they Zyuganov already said he will run for being an opposition politician and start- send their children to Oxford, they own president in 2012, and a popular Youtube ed acting like one.” Rogozin was the only houses on the Riviera and in Hampstead, (utilising 2012, the disaster movie trail- man capable of scaring Putin: he out- they own shares in transnational com- er) called this vote “an alternative to Putined Putin. Soon after, Putin stopped panies. And together with their Western the catastrophe.” The Communists are playing democracy and Rogozin’s party chums, they fleece Russians. still the biggest opposition party, but was disbanded. After spending some So, Russia is ripe for change. But which people doubt they have enough oomph. time drifting through the political wil- way will it go? Will it be another “man- The Party is too timid, has made too derness, Dmitry Rogozin was eventually aged revolution”? Will the regime pro- many painful compromises. In 1996 the exiled to Brussels as the Russian ambas- mote another pro-Western party while Communists won the elections, but the sador to NATO, where he was described blocking the Left, the Orthodox and the same Zyuganov surrendered to Yeltsin’s in another secret Wikileaks cable as “one nationalists? Or will the pro-native oppo- threats of civil war. People fear he may of Russia’s most charismatic, clever, and sition finally sort through its problems, submit again. potentially dangerous politicians.” rescue Rogozin from his Brussels retreat, The winning mixture would prob- It is just possible that by undoing Putin and seriously try to win Russia? We shall ably include Nationalists and Christians, and trying to achieve a great liberal victo- see. CP Edited by Paul Bennett beside the Communists, i.e., forces ry, the right-wing pro-Western forces will *The Wikileaks cables are available to that value Russia’s uniqueness, Russia’s rub the lamp of freedom one too many subscribers as an attachment to the cur- Orthodox Christianity, its native solidar- times and free the indigenous genie. rent emailed issue. For a printed copy, ity and strong social compassion. In fact, Indeed, only Putin stands between call 1(800) 840-3683 or email beckyg@ the mixture could include nearly every- the people’s anger and the fat cats of asis.com or write to the address below. one except the extreme Westernizers. Moscow. Much as they hate him, would Israel Shamir can be reached at adam@ “Le gouvernement est encore le seul they dare feed him to the wolves even as israelshamir.net Européen de la Russie,” as Alexander he protects them? Perhaps they would, Pushkin wrote (in French) to his pro- hoping to finesse into place a leader they Subscription Information Western friend Chaadaev almost two prefer, like Medvedev or Chubais. That hundred years ago, and this saying – “The would be a very risky play indeed. Subscription information can be found government is still the only European in On the other hand, procrastination is at www.counterpunch.org or call Russia “– is still frequently quoted here. usually safe, but you never know when toll-free inside the U.S. The pro-Western opposition of Russians will tire of the games and de- 1-800-840-3683 Khodorkovsky fans, Novaya Gazeta mand the real thing. It could happen. The Published twice monthly readers, and the Echo Moskwy listeners is Navalny phenomenon is an indication of except July and August, loud and omnipresent, but, in fact, they the latent power of the Russian people. 22 issues a year. represent a tiny minority. They front for Navalny is a blogger and small-time po- a plethora of small right-wing parties litical activist who became famous for 1 - year hardcopy edition $45 and groups calling for yet more neolib- attacking the corrupt practices of the 2 - year hardcopy edition $80 eralism, though God knows Russia has ruling party. Political technologists ac- 1 - year email edition $35 seen too much of that. They are united cused him of being a U.S. orange agent 2 - year email edition $65 by their loathing for the old Soviet sys- aiming to undermine Russian sovereignty 1 - year email & hardcopy edition $50 tem, by their hatred of Putin, by Western and sell out Russia to NATO. These ac- 1 - year institutions/supporters $100 grants, and by other financial arrange- cusations caused him zero harm. In his 1 - year student/low income $35 ments with the oligarchs. They speak TV encounter with a leading member Renew by telephone, mail, or on our of human rights, but what they really of the ruling party, he won hands down: website. For mailed orders please mean is their own rights. They support- 99 per cent of responding viewers sup- include name, address and email ed Israel’s bombing of Gaza, and now ported him, with just one per cent ac- address with payment, or call 1-800- they support the Western bombing of cepting the story about the bad Western 840-3683 or 1-707-629 3683. Add Libya. wolf trying to swallow the innocent flock. $17.50 per year for subscriptions mailed Russia’s pro-native opposition is nu- These Russians, frustrated by the bal- outside the U.S.A. merically huge but is in disarray. The lot box, voted with their pocketbooks Make checks or money orders payable to: regime has successfully broken it up – thousands of Russians contributed a and divided it against itself. The last few roubles each to his struggle against CounterPunch time it made a strong showing, it was the ruling party until they had built up a Business Office under the charismatic personality of multimillion-dollar war chest. PO Box 228, Petrolia, CA 95558 Dmitry Rogozin. In 2005, his very suc- It’s not that Russians don’t believe in

3 april 1-15, 2011 This was a blow to the Assange camp, Assange as she had gone along with it so A second part of the accusation was because “10 Days in Sweden” painted a far,” and so she allowed him to undress that Assange had tried to begin full sex somewhat darker picture of events than her. without a condom. As Davies has it: that of simple insistence on condom- This passage was vital, for it formed “According to the statement, Miss A. less sex, or oafishness. The Assange of the basis of one of the two non-misde- then realized he was trying to have un- “10 days in Sweden” was a more physi- meanor accusations against Assange: protected sex with her. She told police cally forceful character, who had torn that of a particularly Swedish charge of that she had tried a number of times to clothes, and pushed forward sexually in “sexual coercion” (somewhere between reach for a condom, but Assange had (separate) encounters with two women U.S./U.K. charges of “indecent expo- stopped her by holding her arms and pin- who had decided not to resist. With no sure” and “sexual assault”). In the initial ning her legs. The statement records Miss competition, the “10 Days” version raced set of accusations, this had not been in- A. describing how Assange then released around the world and became the base- cluded – the event had generated only a her arms and agreed to use a condom...” line account of the events. misdemeanor accusation of ofredande However, the police report further down But that changed in February 2011, (o-freda, unfreedom, best translated as reads: “Assange asked after a while what as Assange’s extradition hearing proper infringement or annoyance, usually mis- Anna was doing and why she was squeez- loomed. A week beforehand, a number of translated as molestation), based on an ing her legs together. Anna then told him journalists and writers around the world allegation that Assange had deliberately she wanted him to put on a condom be- received a tip-off that directed them to torn the condom that he was eventually fore he entered her. Assange released the Flashback website, where someone persuaded to wear. The “sexual coercion” her arms and put on the condom Anna had uploaded the full report. It disap- accusations had been added only after got for him.” Once again, the omission in peared mere hours later, but not before the prosecutor had dropped the only fel- Davies’ report is crucial, for the evidence, it had been multiply downloaded (a full ony accusation against Assange – that of by Anna herself, that Assange asked translation into English is now available “minor rape” (valdtakt, better translated why she was squirming and, when told, on the Rixstep website). The opportunity as “sexual assault”), leaving only two mis- immediately applied a condom, gives to compare the full report and Davies’ demeanor accusations open against him. reasonable grounds to believe that he version made one thing clear: even allow- To move the event from “annoyance” to genuinely did not know why Anna was ing for the necessary contraction of a 90- To move the event moving about under him – and there 100-page police report to a 2,000-word was, therefore, no mens rea, guilty intent, article, “10 Days in Sweden” represented from “annoyance” to in his actions. To omit this would be to a misreporting of the file to such a degree “sexual coercion” thus imply that there is no doubt that Assange that Davies had distorted the public re- knew why she was moving about so, and cord of the events in question. Given the required evidence of only put the condom on when full sex intersections of state power, and criminal non-consensual force. could not be forced – an interpretation law in the case, and also the degree to the police report contradicts. which it has become a focus for debates “sexual coercion” thus required evidence The second “felony accusation” en- about sex, law and feminism, it seems of non-consensual force. counter was with Sofia Wilen, a student/ pretty vital to re-open the matter. A rough advance there certainly was. part-time curator who had attended The accusations against Assange fo- But was it consented to, or something the lecture Assange gave on August 14. cused on two key encounters: one, on other? Davies report omits two key Afterward, she had managed to get in- August 13, with the first complainant, phrases on which that question may vited to a lunch for Assange, and they Anna Ardin, the organizer of a lecture hinge. In his version: Miss A. told police then both spent the afternoon together, Assange was giving in Sweden on August that she didn’t want to go any further with a minor sexual encounter ensuing. 14. Assange was staying at her studio “but that it was too late to stop Assange On Monday, August 16, Assange went flat while she was away. By the account as she had gone along with it so far.” with Sofia to her flat in Enköping, a small of both Ardin and Assange in the police However, the report reads: Miss A. told town 80km outside of Stockholm. They report, they then went for a meal and police that she thought she didn’t want had a long night of various types of sex- agreed that Assange should continue to go any further “but that it was too ual encounter, during which, Sofia would to stay in the flat while she was there. late to say ‘stop’ to Assange as she had allege in her testimony, Assange was re- Returning back there, Davies (based on gone along with it so far. (My italics for sistant to wearing a condom but finally Ardin’s account) renders the encoun- words omitted by Davies.) Davies’ ar- complied. The next morning, as Davies ter thus: “Her account to police, which ticle has missed out these two clauses in reports it: “She had awoken to find him Assange disputes, stated that he began these key sentences. This is clearly vital, having sex with her, she said, but when stroking her leg as they drank tea, before because the police report – a write-up of she asked whether he was wearing a he pulled off her clothes and snapped Ardin’s own evidence – is emphasizing condom he said no.” According to her a necklace that she was wearing.” that Ardin had felt it was too late to make statement, she said, “You better not have According to her statement, she “tried to a decision to discontinue the encounter, HIV,” and he answered, “Of course not,” put on some articles of clothing as it was not that it was too late to (physically) but “she couldn’t be bothered to tell him going too quickly and uncomfortably, but stop Assange. The consent, by Ardin’s ac- one more time because she had been Assange ripped them off again.” Miss A. count, was clearly grudging and a way of going on about the condom all night. told police that she didn’t want to go any getting a crappy encounter over with, but She had never had unprotected sex be- further “but that it was too late to stop consent it nevertheless was. fore.” Unlike the Ardin encounter, this is

4 april 1-15, 2011 an accurate record of what is included. overrun by the police and others around the character of the report. In this case, However, two things are left out. The her.” what comes across is that of conflicting first is what happened afterward: “She And Davies’ report, “the full story,” as testimony, multiple states of mind, and told him what happens if she gets preg- the Guardian describes it, omits the con- revised opinions. In his recent reports on nant. He replied that Sweden was a good clusion of Sofia’s own testimony, as re- the U.K. “phone hacking” scandal, Davies country for raising children. She told him ported in the “Interrogator’s Comments”, does this well, bringing the full complex- jokingly that if she got pregnant, then in which the interrogator writes, “Sofia ity to the surface. However, several ex- he’d have to pay her student loans. On and I were notified during the interro- amples demonstrate that it’s something the train to Enköping he’d told her he’d gation that Julian Assange had been ar- he failed to do in “10 Days in Sweden.” slept in Anna Ardin’s bed after the cray- rested in absentia. Sofia had difficulty For example, on Saturday afternoon, fish party. She asked if he’d had sex with concentrating after that news, whereby August 14, the afternoon following the Anna, but he said Anna liked girls, she I made the judgment it was best to ter- lecture (the day after the allegedly coer- was lesbian. But now she knows he did minate the interrogation. But Sofia had cive sexual encounter had taken place), the same thing with Anna. She asked him time anyway to explain that Assange was Ardin had organized an evening “crayfish how many times he’d had sex, but he said angry with her. I didn’t have time to get party” in Assange’s honor, at her apart- he hadn’t counted. He also said he’d had any further details about why he was ment. Two of Anna’s friends attended an HIV test three months earlier and he’d angry with her, or how this manifested (witnesses A and C). Their testimonies had sex with a girl afterward and that girl itself. And we didn’t have time to get into gave an account of Anna’s remarks to had also taken an HIV test and wasn’t in- what else happened afterward. The inter- them and the situation open to multiple fected. She said sarcastic things to him rogation was neither read back to Sofia interpretations. They told the police in a joking tone. She thinks she got the nor reviewed for approval by her, but that Anna had initially denied having idea of taking the drama out of what Sofia was told she had the opportunity to sex with Assange, had then confirmed had happened; he, in turn, didn’t seem do this later.” she had but that it was bad; she told one to care. When he found out how big her Sofia being upset about an arrest war- she didn’t fear Assange but also that the student loan was, he said if he paid her The interrogation was sex had been violent (valdtakt). She said so much money she’d have to give birth she did not feel “sure of herself”/“safe” to the baby. They joked that they’d name neither read back to around Assange (the Swedish word is the baby Afghanistan. He also said that Sofia nor reviewed trygg; Davies’ report renders this as he should always carry abortion pills that “safe,” which ignores its ambiguity), but actually were sugar pills. for approval by her, she also said that her friend (witness C) Several hours after this, and after but Sofia was told could, sexually speaking, “have Assange speaking with friends, Wilen would if she wanted” (the witness records that come to the conclusion that she had been she had the opportu- Assange tried to go home with her that raped. To have post-sexual banter (even nity to do this later. evening but was rebuffed). One of these the rather strange one described here), witnesses noted that Assange and Anna and then later decide that the encounter rant being issued suggests multiple in- looked like a natural couple, but also that was something else, is not, of course, il- terpretations, but it is surely significant she later felt she had not picked up on legitimate. However, to leave out that when combined with witness I’s remarks how negatively Anna was portraying the event, as Davies did, gives the impres- above. Especially the fact that Sofia has sexual encounter when she described it. sion that Wilen was never in any doubt not yet signed off on the interview re- The statements, thus, present multiple that the encounter was a non-consensual cord, which leaves its evidentiary status ambiguities and contradictions. None of one. uncertain (the police record was com- this contradiction and complexity makes The police interviews with Sofia’s piled on November 23, 2010; the copy it to Davies record, which simply notes, friends rendered this more complex. in circulation was shuttled between “That evening, Miss A. held a party at her Davies notes that a friend of Wilen’s Assange’s Swedish and English lawyers flat. One of her friends, “Monica,” later (dubbed witness D in the Rixstep transla- in mid-January). Therefore, “10 Days in told police that during the party Miss A. tion) had told her that she was only “half- Sweden” failed to make clear the ambigu- had told her about the ripped condom asleep” at the time of the encounter – a ous nature at the heart of the allegations and unprotected sex. Another friend told state which would remove any possibil- themselves – instead conveying a nar- police that during the evening Miss A. ity of non-consent being alleged. He also rative with all contradiction removed. It told her she had had “the worst sex ever” notes that police had questioned another was an approach, which continued in the with Assange: ‘Not only had it been the friend (witness I) about remarks between way in which Davies dealt with the eight world’s worst screw, it had also been vio- Sofia and herself about going to the pa- witness statements contained in his ver- lent.’” pers and making money from giving in- sion of the report. The eight witnesses Davies’ report is equally one-dimen- terviews about the events, which witness were two female friends of Anna’s, one sional in recording the testimony of a I claims was “joking.” However, Davies Wikileaks associate, three friends/col- witness whom Davies calls “Harold,” and omits this piece of testimony from his leagues of Sofia’s, Sofia’s brother, and also who is witness F in the Rixstep transla- record: “When Sofia was at the hospital her ex-boyfriend. tion. He is a Swedish journalist who has and went to the police, things didn’t turn Representing 60 pages of witness tes- had some involvement with Wikileaks out as Sofia wanted. She only wanted timony in a small report still requires and Assange in Sweden for a couple of Julian to test himself. She felt she’d been that one give an accurate reflection of years. His testimony is one of only three

5 april 1-15, 2011 in the full police record that is a tran- ter is a welter of complexity and multiple “The traditional left script rather than a prose summary by accounts, all put on the page. It’s a stan- police. F’s long testimony ranges over the dard that wasn’t applied in the Assange and right parties are whole of Assange’s visit in Sweden, and case. Lingering over the minute details his relationship to the Swedish left net- of several sexual encounters half a year largely discredited” work, of which F and Ardin were a part. ago verges on the squalid, yet it matters Davies conveyed him as granting cre- for two reasons. Firstly, Davies’ account The Rise of dence to Anna’s account of the first en- became the “account of record” for many counter: “‘Harold’/F told police Miss A. English-speaking readers, and its mis- Marine Le Pen called him and for the first time gave him constructions and omissions rendered a full account of her complaints about a far more negative portrait of Assange Assange. Harold told police he regarded than the actual police file describes, in- By Larry Portis her as ‘very, very credible’ and he con- evitably suggesting to many that he had he French political party Front fronted Assange, who said he was com- far more of a case to answer than he National (FN) is garnering results pletely shocked by the claims and denied did. But it also showed that much of the that confirm polls giving its new all of them.” speculation about the case – CIA in- Tleader, 42-year-old Marine Le Pen, and This is a complete distortion of F’s ac- volvement, police tampering, etc. – was the party generally an impressive surge in count. Witness F made clear that the di- less pertinent than the core question as voter support. This is the message from lemma he was facing was that he was re- to whether there was even a case to an- the two rounds of cantonal elections (the ceiving multiple and different accounts of swer. Though the Guardian included cantons are administrative districts with- a single event, from two people he trust- comments by Julian Assange’s legal team in each of the 80 French departments) ed, as this long passage demonstrates: regarding the material, these were for the held on successive Sundays – March 20 “WF: ‘Uh, but then I think that, that I most part pro-forma comments record- and 27. Although it can be said that the think she’s [Anna] credible. And a bit like ing non-agreement with the account that FN benefited from a record low in voter this, a woman who is in trouble you want had been drawn from the complainants’ turnout (45 per cent of registered vot- to believe, in some way like that OK, statements. ers) and that it still trailed behind the two it’s like...’ MG: ‘Hmmm.’ WF: ‘Uh, yeah, By the time that a police file fell major parties – 11.73 per cent compared so that was my feel, direct feeling.’ MG: into Davies’ hands, the Guardian and to 35.75 per cent for the ‘Hmmm.’ WF: ‘And yeah, but at the same Wikileaks had long since fallen out, with and 20.24 for the ruling Union pour un time when, have, I got this thought, how each side advancing a different argument Mouvement Populaire (UMP), the fact could they have sex, consensual as she about exclusivity arrangements. As part remains that the FN has clearly emerged described it, so then something happens of that schism, Davies and Assange had as a force to reckon with during the year which she says is an assault, how could also fallen out personally. By Davies’ own before the two rounds of the presidential she gleefully arrange crayfish parties, estimation, it was the only time he had elections in 2012 (April 22 and May 6). let him go on living there, share her bed broken off relations with a source in four Moreover, these figures are deceptive in with him, and so forth. So I felt that here, decades of journalism. that the FN was not represented in 300 of here is something here that doesn’t add To avoid the charge that the Guardian the 1,566 cantons. up. So, I had both the feeling of her as a was of a disposition to do a hit job on the The gains made by the Front National credible person, but that something nev- beleagured Assange [a charge that could in under the new leadership of ertheless didn’t add up in her story.’” certainly be leveled against the story on Marine Le Pen can be explained in dif- There is a great deal more in wit- Assange written by the New York Times’ ferent ways. The most evident is the fail- ness F’s statement to make clear that he editor, Bill Keller, who cites corrobora- ure of the traditional French Right, now had doubts about Anna’s story, and also tive support from the Guardian as he incarnated by the UMP, to navigate be- about her changing accounts of whether prepared his onslaught. AC/JSC], it is tween a nationalistic rhetoric with racist Assange had committed a crime against reasonable to suggest that Davies should overtones and the claim it represents the her (he is also bemused by Assange’s have recused himself, and that the report whole population. handling of the situation). None of this on the Swedish police file be written up Much of the problem stems from makes it into the Guardian record. by a journalist wholly uninvolved in the Nicolas Sarkozy. This president has not It is all the more questionable when paper’s relationship with Assange in been able to dissimulate his insatiable ap- you examine how responsibly Davies the preceding months. As things stand, petite for recognition and power and his treats legal complexity and ambiguity in the Guardian, to whom Assange and allegiance to the wealthy and powerful, other matters that he reports on, such as Wikileaks had given huge and profitable often expressed by a cynical appraisal of the U.K. News Ltd “phone hacking” case, scoops, repaid him by misreporting a people in general, including members of involving the News of the World which he Swedish police file, to his very substantial his political clan and even the oligarchs has been covering for a very long time subsequent detriment. CP whom he serves. now. Selecting any of his hundreds of sto- Guy Rundle is a former editor of Arena Secondly, Marine Le Pen – as presi- ries on the affair reveals a desire to show Magazine, the Australian radical month- dent of the Front National, has elimi- how contested and multivocal the mat- ly, and currently writes for The Age, nated factional tensions and, thus, ter is. A recent long series of articles on Sydney Morning Herald and Crikey daily, strengthened her party. By pushing the the evidence of senior police officer John among others. He can be reached at old guards to the sidelines – including Yates to the U.K. Parliament on the mat- [email protected] her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, the former

6 april 1-15, 2011 president of the FN party – she has been of course, avoided, but, despite rhetori- ing to wonder whether the FN will sup- able to give the Front National a more cal differences congruent with a greatly plant the UMP as the largest right-wing moderate and, thus, respectable image changed political and economic context, political party in France. that has quickly erased, in the minds of the FN has tread lightly but consistently This thought was borne out almost many people, any fundamental difference in the footsteps of those who innovated immediately as members of the UMP between the FN and the UMP. In addi- what Hannah Arendt called the “New began to openly criticize Sarkozy’s lead- tion, Marine Le Pen has mastered the art Right” of the interwar period – fascism. ership. “We have to stop running after of televised interviews: she is serene and Since Marine Le Pen has assumed the Front National,” said one. The for- reasonable, which is in great contrast to leadership of the party, there has been a mulation is inaccurate but significant, Sarkozy’s permanent state of arrogance significant change: she has apparently re- because Sarkozy’s policy was never to supplemented by nervous tics. Moreover, nounced the “neoliberal” ideology of the run after the FN, but rather to undercut Marine Le Pen is now advised by people past and calls for more aggressive state it by stealing its stock in trade: raising from diverse political tendencies, ap- intervention in social and economic re- the red flag of out-of-control immigra- parently attracted by her party’s new lations. Moreover, she calls for “social” tion and its deleterious consequences for popularity. These people have impressive programs in order to protect the popula- the French economy and French identity. university and administrative credentials There is absolutely nothing innovative in and do not differ from those in the other Marine Le Pen has mas- this ploy: both the Socialist Party and the parties. tered the art of tele- traditional right parties – the UMP and Nevertheless, the question remains its predecessor, the Rassemblement pour whether the French Front National is vised interviews: she la République ( RPR)– have been doing it now or will be a fascist party. Given its is serene and reason- in one way or another for 30 years. lineage, it can be argued that the FN, But thirty years of devious manipula- with its origins in the Poujadist move- able, which is in great tions is perhaps bound to have, ultimate- ment of the 1950s – a national populism contrast to Sarkozy’s ly, perverse effects. The present situa- similar to or even a continuation of such tion, carefully if stupidly orchestrated by movements of the 1930s – is a variant permanent state of ar- Sarkozy, is entirely beneficial for Le Pen of a proto-fascist party organization. rogance supplement- and the Front National. What Sarkozy However, the FN has always been careful and his gang have done is to legitimize not to approach a neo-Nazi orientation, ed by nervous tics. the xenophobia of the fascistic right, although its relations with those who while the Socialists continue to flounder do profess such ideas have always been tion against the negative effects of global in the morass of opportunistic consen- close. Still, Jean-Marie Le Pen, president capitalism and its dysfunction. During sualism that has been their strategy ever of the FN since its creation in 1972 and the recent elections, Marine Le Pen’s sup- since the break with the “anti-capitalist” until his daughter’s election to the same port for the demonstrations against the line that had ushered François Mitterand post in January 2011, was notorious for regressive reform of the retirement sys- into office in May 1981, and that he jetti- his apology of Nazi crimes. For him, the tem and her criticism of the social con- soned definitively two years later. use of gas chambers during World War sequences of the European Union were In effect, the French Socialist Party be- II in the destruction of the Jews was a worked by FN candidates to good effect. came another right-wing party in its ded- mere “historical detail,” and the Nazi oc- To cite one of many examples, as report- ication to free-market ideology, acquies- cupation of France was “not particularly ed in Liberation on April 1, Guillaume cence to the cynical machinations of “The inhumane.” Vouzellaud, the 42-year-old general sec- Florentine” (Mitterand) and its “realistic” At the present time, the FN is taking retary of the FN in the department of the cant that cut the party off from mean- great pains to present young and “fresh” Hérault and candidate in the elections, ingful contact with any popular base. candidates – to good effect, although the explained that his party was running on Inclusion of members of the Communist Canard enchaîné (March 30, 2011) in- the following themes: “Social justice, de- Party in Mitterand’s first ministerial cabi- vestigated some of these candidates and fense of accessible public services, and net had the effect of equally disillusion- found that some are linked to neo-Nazi, the protection of salaries against unregu- ing the working-class constituency of the anti-Semitic groups – one of these same lated capitalism.” . It was in the candidates was described simply in Le What Marine Le Pen has done is to 1980s that working-class voters began to Monde (March 24, 2011) as “a blond with present the FN as more Gaullist than desert the French Communist Party and a fetching smile.” the UMP, thus attracting dissidents from support the Front National. The FN has consistently focused its the strictly neoliberal orientation of It was at this point that Mitterand program on what the party considers the Sarkozy’s UMP. The present nostalgia for threw off the Communist Party in favor noxious presence of foreigners –mean- Charles De Gaulle, and even for Jacques of weakening the RPR. He introduced ing Arabs – who have taken jobs from Chirac, makes this ploy profitable, and “proportional representation” in elec- French workers. Twenty years ago, the Sarkozy cannot use it. A significant indi- tions for the National Assembly, thus FN used a poster stating, “3 million un- cation of Le Pen’s Gaullist orientation is allowing members of the Front National employed — 3 million foreign workers. her opposition to military intervention to enter in greater numbers. This tactic What is the solution?” – which was a in Libya and Afghanistan, just as Jean- was calculated to weaken the tradition- copy of a slogan used by the Nazis before Marie Le Pen opposed the war against al Right by dividing it and, thereby, to their rise to power. The term “fascist” is, Iraq. Mainstream analysts are now start- strengthen the Socialist Party. By 1986,

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a successful book titled La Deuxième Added to all this is the fact that the two dozens of union members like me droite (The Second Right,) by Jean-Pierre major labor unions in France have been are going to ‘come out’ because they have Garnier and Louis Janover, announced largely integrated into the structure of realized that the FN is not the devil and that the Socialist Party should not be state power and no longer present any that Marine Le Pen defends social pro- considered a Left party at all. coherent political, anti-capitalist vi- grams better than Olivier Besancenot And so the story continued. Like sion. That members of the FN have in- [leader of the NPA].” New Labour in Britain and its assidu- filtrated the Confédération Générale In this situation, the FN is now in a ous champion Tony Blair, and the DLC- de Travail (CGT), Force Ouvrière (FO) very advantageous position. Although it, led (Democratic Leadership Council) and other labor unions should not be a too, has no solutions, like fascist parties right turn of the Democratic Party in surprise. And now is the time for them in the past, it can claim to represent an the U.S.A., under the triangulating Bill to declare there is no contradiction if alternative to working and middle-class Clinton, the French Socialist Party tried members of the FN are in labor unions. people who are the most threatened to outdo the Right as flunkey to the take- In fact, it will be logical that the FN as- by rising unemployment, declining liv- back program of the moneyed classes. sumes a more radical position than the ing standards, and the privatization of The Socialists outdid themselves and the leaders of the labor unions. In part, this is state services and destruction of social Right in privatizing the nationally owed the logical culmination of the FN’s long- programs. If the economy continues to and managed industries, banks and ser- standing celebration of the memory of weaken, the FN can pose as a providen- vices. Joan of Arc on the First of May, also the tial savior. If and when this happens, an At the present time, and this is also workers’ holiday. On March 28, Fabien alliance between the FN and capitalist an element in the process, Marine Le Engelmann, 31-year old secretary of the oligarchs could result in an even more Pen refuses to describe the FN as right CGT section of public employees in the dangerous restructuring of social rela- wing, calling it “neither Right nor Left.” town of Nilvange (Moselle) and candi- tions and political institutions. CP Here she is in conformity with fascist date for the FN in the recent cantonal Larry Portis is the author of Qu’est-ce organizations in the past. A fascist party elections, was suspended as union rep- que le fascisme?: Un phénomène social and movement cannot accept the labels resentative. Engelmann, former mem- hier et aujourd’hui (What is Fascism? “right” and “left” because its vocation is ber of the left parties Lutte Ouvrière A Social Phenomenon Yesterday and to appeal to the popular classes while (Workers’ Struggle) and Nouveau Parti Today,) 2010, and has just published serving the interests of the capitalist oli- Anticapitaliste (NPA), explains: “the Left American Dreaming: A Novel. He can be garchy. has betrayed workers,” and “in a week or reached at [email protected]

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