Support for the Aussie Assange!

Well, it seems that parochialism is winning to a degree. Despite the efforts of Australia's government and a low level of reporting by Australia's main commercial TV networks, the word is getting out among ordinary Australians that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is an Aussie. This, plus his fight against authority (much admired in Australian identity mythology) has helped grow support for Assange in his homeland. Even Murdoch-owned websites such as news.com.au are now cashing in on this public sentiment by posting news such as the report below. But I do have to point out that this was posted on their website without much fanfare at 1:43am Sydney time - not exactly high profile to grab your casual user's attention. Still, it's better than the other tactic that is also being used - ignorance. Just like how Big Brother and X Factor contestants wither to obscurity once they are no longer in the media limelight, if the media ignore WikiLeaks, then the whistleblower website would lose its teeth. This tactic of complete ignorance is employed by interest-led media worldwide. Anyway, have a read of what the current implications surrounding Julian Assange and WikiLeaks could have on Australia and its core principles of freedom:

AUSTRALIA'S political leaders are risking long-term damage to the nation's freedom of speech by accusing WikiLeaks and its founder of breaking the law by releasing US diplomatic cables on the whistleblower website, a human rights lawyer says.
Last Thursday, [Australian] Prime Minister Julia Gillard condemned the leaking of 250,000 classified documents on the Wikileaks website as "illegal" and "grossly irresponsible", while [Australian] Attorney-General Robert McCLelland on Saturday promised to support any law enforcement measures taken against founder Julian Assange.

Australian Lawyers for Human Rights president Stephen Keim says accusations of criminal law breaches levelled at Assange undermine free speech principles.

"Although the Attorney-General is entitled to disagree with - even protest - the actions taken, it is a particularly objectionable misuse of political hyperbole in these circumstances to make sweeping allegations of illegality," Mr Keim said.

"It involves a degree of intimidation that is likely to (and appears intended to) deter others from engaging in serious political debate on the possibility that it may offend those who hold the machinery of power."

Mr Keim criticised the Australian government's defence of Swedish prosecutors and its lack of protest over "what may well be misuse of sexual assault allegations by Swedish prosecutors for political reasons".

Instead, he said, "the government should be insisting that prosecutorial actions taken against Australian citizens should meet the highest standards of probity and objectivity".

The human rights lawyer said the government should not even consider cancelling Assange's passport.

"It seems entirely inappropriate that statutory powers of such seriousness should be contemplated because a person has placed political material of an embarrassing nature into the public sphere," Mr Keim said.

"The government's resort to hyperbole and heavy-handed use of state power detracts from its political message," he said.

"If the government wishes to argue that it is better for the Australian public to be kept ignorant of secret war advocacy by some allies and potentially illegal espionage by others, it would be better to make that case directly."

Australia's government seems extremely keen to withdraw the passport of a person championing freedom of speech and information, nor shows any interest in preventing any injustice or legal malpractice being applied to one of its citizens. Had Assange been a pretty, young drug trafficker in Indonesia though, then the Australian government would have been tripping over itself to ensure proper legal procedures are fully applied, and even insist on the virtue of his innocence.