Whistleblower on the European Commission Roelie Post at Raise Your Voice for Julian Assange Rally

Interview with European Commission whistleblower Roelie Post, at the 'Raise Your Voice for Julian Assange and Sing him Free! Rally' Place de l'Albertine in Brussels, September 23 2023.

Dutch and French subtitles are auto generated and may contain errors.

We're in Brussels in front of, behind the stage, we're backstage, of a Julian Assange rally.

Running into Roelie Post, Dutch whistleblower, European Commission.

Whistleblower, Roelie Post, how are you doing, Roelie?

I'm reasonably fine, considering the circumstances. I'm very happy to be here.

I'm supporting Assange since many years.

Also the book which was presented here from a few years ago,

I was a co-signer of the Joint Letter asking for the release of Julian Assange.

Well, of course, first of all because he brought out so many truths.

And one of the first truths he wrote out was through some people, including myself,

who brought out some scandal about an adoptee who was sexually abused and it's on the internet.

And Julian Assange was the only one who published it and who also wrote an article about it.

So I knew about Julian Assange from long before he became a prosecuted whistleblower and journalist.

And being a whistleblower myself, of course, I have an extra sympathy for people who are being prosecuted

or being badly treated, and that's an understatement in the Assange case,

for bringing out the truth and doing basically what every citizen should be doing.

Your story may also be one that is slowly being forgotten.

I have not forgotten you. Are you safe? Is your life in order?

Or how are the powers that be treating you at this moment?

The powers that be are treating me like before.

They are in total denial of anything ever having gone wrong, in denial of me being a whistleblower.

With that I mean the European institutions, European Commission especially.

At the same time, during the last years, because it's five years ago we spoke,

during those five years the Dutch National Parliament has adopted a decision, a motion, unanimously about me in my support.

Also the Dutch House of the Whistleblowers has taken a position at the request of the Prime Minister, Mr. Rutte,

and the House of Whistleblowers has written to President von der Leyen to request her to review my case,

but the European Commission is again denying this and saying that it's not the beginning of proof that I'm a whistleblower,

I have been badly treated. I live back in Brussels since three years. I'm very happy to be back in my house.

I'm reasonably safe, but that's only since I installed a very serious security system

because I was threatened and more, again in Brussels.

But in general I'm back being in Brussels, in the heart of Europe where things happen,

where there is the power to change things and where I can participate to events like this and speak to people

and I hope together we can all be strong and get a better world in the near future.

So the power to change things should be here. This is headquarters of Europe, one would say.

At the same time that would be the critical questions that I have on European Union functioning currently,

European Commission. We're doing nothing for peace, we're picking a fight, we're picking a war,

we're doing nothing to resolve a crisis of health that's evolving in the world and European Union is doing nothing about that.

So what's your observation of European Commission functioning now?

Well, they're not doing anything for Assance, they're not doing anything for Snowden,

they're not doing anything for those whistleblowers, they treat me badly.

But yes, the war is a major, they should be going for peace.

Peace one gets by negotiating and not by sending arms.

So yeah, I'm very sad about that, but I remain optimistic that perhaps the next Commission will bring about change.

I hope people stand up around Europe and ask for a better world.

I know it's definitely not going well at the moment, in my opinion, but we must keep hope, because otherwise all is lost.

So let's just all stand up and stay strong and work for the best.

If anyone gives me hope, Roelie, it's you and running in to you. Thank you for talking to us.

You're welcome.