I posted the comment below beneath Australian Labor Party and Assange: Burying the Politics (8/8/22) by Kellie Tranter | . It is awaiting moderation.
If, instead of 'quiet diplomacy' that Julian Hill also seems to be advocating in his 23 minute interview by Cathy Vogan which is embedded above, the Australian Government were to adopt the language and style of Mexican President Lopez Obrador, I think Julian Assange would be free much sooner. In June this year, President Obrador said that Asange is the "best journalist of our time, in the world. He added , "Mexico opens its doors to Assange." On 4 July he said, "If they take him to the United States and he is sentenced to the maximum penalty and to die in prison, we must start a campaign to tear down the Statue of Liberty."
In that interview, Julian Hill seems, unfortunately, to have forgotten his own foreshadowed motion of 10 June 2021 in support of Julian Assange. That foreshadowed motion was disallowed by the shadowy Parliamentary Selection Committee. Here it is:
that this House
(1) notes that:
(a) the trial and extradition of Mr Julian Assange are inconsistent with international law, and Australian legal standards, and contravene the legal rights and protections for which those laws and standards provide;
(b) the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment has found that Mr Assange 'showed all symptoms typical for prolonged exposure to psychological torture, including extreme stress, chronic anxiety and intense psychological trauma';
(c) several medical reports find that Mr Assange is in ill-health due to prolonged arbitrary confinement, and indeed the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruled that the 50-week sentence of Mr Assange for bail violation, which formally ended on 21 September 2019, was punitive and disproportionate given the nature of the offence and the usual sentence;
(d) Mr Assange is facing extradition for an alleged political offence, which is expressly prohibited by Article 4(1) of the Anglo-US Extradition Treaty and an abuse of power; and
(e) Mr Assange is an Australian citizen and, if convicted in the US, faces 175 years in prison, which would be in effect a death sentence;
(2) acknowledges that Mr Assange is a publisher and journalist, as recognised by his 2011 Walkley award and 17 other awards for excellence in journalism and promoting human rights, and that his charges:
(a) are a direct assault on press freedom; and
(b) threaten the protection of others who publish classified information in the public interest; and
(3) calls for Mr Assange to be allowed to return to Australia.
The above foreshadowed motion is included within my article "Julian Hill MP to put crucial Motion for Julian Assange to the Australian Parliament this coming Monday 21 June - how you can help" (16/6/2021) at https://candobetter.net/admin/blog/6134/julian-hill-mp-put-crucial-motion-julian-assange-australian-parliament-coming-monday
I would have thought if the then Liberal/National Government were confident that they could justify, before Parliament, their seeming failure to end the UK's illegal imprisonment and torture of Julian Assange, then they would not have been at all hesitant to allow Julian Hill's motion to be put.
The fact that this Parliamentary Selection Committee, which is controlled by both the Government and Opposition parties, disallowed Julian Hill's motion indicates to me that the government understood that, even if they succeeded in using their numbers to vote it down , their arguments would not be seen by the broader public to have withstood challenges from members of the Julian Assange Parliamentary Support Group. For its part, the then Opposition, which is now the Labor Government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, was just as fearful of a debate on Julian Hill's foreshadowed motion. I expect that they are no less fearful today.
The open-and-shut case for Julian Assange would have been put before the Australian public. The course of the debate would most likely also have shown that the Australian government could have, at any time since June 2012, to used its power as a sovereign national government to make the UK government end its illegal imprisonment and torture of Julian Assange.
Those members who would have decided to vote against Julian Hill's motion or abstain from Julian Hill's motion could then be held to account for this by their electors at the next election if not sooner.
Julian Assange United States Consulate Gathering Wednesdays NSW
Julian Assange United States Consulate Gathering #4
We will be there EVERY WEDNESDAY at the US Consulate, 50 Miller Street, North Sydney.
In the morning of the 17 August, 2022 We will be there from 11am to 1pm.
Raising awareness with All, of the outrageous treatment of an innocent Australian.
Reminding the US Delegation there that 88% of Australians do NOT support the United States of America mistreatment of Julian Assange.
Please come along and express your feelings and help raise awareness of this critical issue of Julian's health and Freedom of Speech.
(Tony Wakeham)