Roger Waters welcomed to Italy for his farewell tour

"Germany rejects you? Italy instead welcomes you with open arms," a group of activists will be saying with the banner they will display Monday evening, March 27, for the concert of Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters at Milan's Mediolanum Forum.

The reference is to the Frankfurt City Council's decision to cancel Waters' concert, scheduled for May 28, accusing him of "anti-Semitism" because of his criticism of the State of Israel's treatment of Palestinians. In response to the cancellation, Waters has instructed his manager, Mark Fenwick, to take legal action to have the contract reinstated "in the name of freedom of expression."

There is no controversy in Italy, on the other hand, where Waters' concerts are all sold-out and, indeed, where the former Pink Floyd frontman has had to add an extra evening to his concert series in Bologna.

For his appearance Monday evening in Assago (Milan), activists from the Committee for the Liberation of Julian Assange - Italy will ask permission from Forum management to hang from the railing above the entrance a banner that reads, "WELCOME TO ITALY, ROGER - Free Julian Assange." If this is not possible, eight members of the group will hold up the banner outside the entrance, while other activists will be distributing leaflets about the "Assange Case" and QR codes to access the Instagram account of Stella Moris Assange, wife and lawyer of the Australian journalist-editor.

"As is well known, Waters devotes an important part of his concert to defending Julian Assange," the activists explain; "not only that, but Waters' staff is providing us with a small table inside the Forum to distribute our flyers. So you can see why we are determined to support Roger in every way!"

"Indeed, we find it the height of irony that someone who defends Assange's right to make secret war crimes known, is himself silenced in order to prevent him from publicizing the Palestinian drama. Roger Waters' concerts are hymns to freedom of expression and should be appreciated as such. You don’t have to approve everything he says, but we feel it is necessary to at least listen to him and allow him to say it."

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