Australian support for Assange growing

Amazing how much support from Australia has grown for Julian Assange. It was only a few days ago that I reported how Australia had not accepted the Wikileaks founder as one of their own, but word has spread and the thanks to the power of Australian parochialism, plus a chipped ego ironically due to a Wikileaks-published US diplomatic cable downplaying Australia as 'a rock solid but uninfluential US ally', the Australian public, along with some surprise prominent right-wing elements, have voiced their support for Assange and that everything be done to protect him. Former Australian Prime Minister and current foreign minister Kevin Rudd, himself from the Australian state of Queensland as is Assange, who has been subject to many scaving and potentially damaging cables published by Wikileaks (described as a 'control freak' and suggesting China be militarily attacked), has brushed aside the comments made about him and has came out with a little bit a reason that has been conveniently overlooked by the Americans - it was the Americans who committed the crime of leaking the cables, not Assange. This very much echoes the opinion piece penned by Assange himself, published yesterday in the Murdoch-owned newspaper 'The Australian'. This stance by Rudd is quite opposite to that of the current Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. It must be pointed out that Rudd lost his position as PM last year following a palace coup orchestrated by Gillard.

The biggest revelation has been that former conservative Australian Prime Minister and 'God' to many Australians, John Howard, has also lent his support to Assange. Howard's comments were much of the same nature as Rudd's, though this comes as a surprise of sorts as his term in office was characterised by a slavish following of US foreign policy. What we now have here is that Howard is diametrically opposite in his views towards the Wikileaks issue from his ideological allies in the USA who are calling for Assange's death. Likewise, Julia Gillard, ostensibly 'left-wing' shares a view closer to those of her US right-wing adversaries.

Australian political commentator, writer, humourist and self-confessed grump, Bob Ellis, had interesting points to say (as per usual) about the whole Assange affair. Ellis points out that those in the US who are calling for Assange to be killed are usually the first to defend the First Amendment protecting the freedom of speech, and that there is a difference between Americans and Australians. Ellis too emphasises that without whistleblowers then so many bad things would not have been exposed. Though Ellis lists various Australian events, we should consider that had Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward not published the Watergate tapes recordings, then we wouldn't have had Watergate. Should they be killed for what they did? Or for something more Hollywood, by the reckoning of the likes of Sarah Palin, Erin Brockovich should then be killed for what she did in exposing the wrongdoings of corporate companies.

It's good to see that Australia is getting behind Assange, though I hope that this is more because of what he represents and not solely because he is Aussie.