By Joe Montero
government should do more to demand his release. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has gone on the record more than once to say enough is enough. Opposition leader Peter Dutton has said the same thing.
How come there has been such little movement? The reality is that the apparent bipartisanship of the leaders is much more a reflection of the pressure they are under than anything else. Their stand kind of recognises there is a wrong but chooses to sit on the fence. It doesn’t come clear on whether the accusations should be dropped, or the prosecution be carried out as quickly as possible.
This may be weak. There is still a positive. It shows the case for Jullian Assange to be strong and that of his persecutors to be weak, and this provides grounds to be optimistic about the eventual outcome. Polls have consistently been saying that the Australians want their government to act more decisively.
The voice that tells the truth will not be silenced.
Just weeks ago, the US ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy, flagged the proposal that Assange plead guilty to be let off lightly. She would not have done tis unless it came from Washington. The only way to read it is that it was a fishing exercise to find a way to still get to silence Assange and WikiLeaks, to set a precedent to carry the same sort of treatment to other, and at the same time. Other rallies will be held in Wellington, Paris, London, Berlin, Munich, a well as in Sweden and Mexico.
This is the latest chapter in a campaign that has been steadily growing with strong public support, until few will now take the other side. The campaign takes the forms of a host of actions across many countries. Many, like Australia have cross party parliamentary groups supporting Assange. Journalists and lawyer group have rallied.
Few now give any credibility to disproved allegations from those behind the persecution that Julian Assange is a predator of women, has put lives at risk, or has committed real crimes.
More are seeing that this case poses a threat to all. It is understood that an attack on free speech is being committed, that idea od proper legal process is being abused, that this is a means to extend Washington’ big brother control over nations and the peoples within them. The Julian Assange case continues to roll on.
The rallies outside Australian embassies and consulates are part of the resistance to all of this.