Open letter: To Julia Gillard, re Julian Assange

[cswake]

Talk about an ominous letter. Lawyers, academics, and the media wrote to Gillard to uphold the law (!) and make sure that the U.S. doesn't dispatch Assange.

http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/41914.html[url]http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/41914.html[/URL]
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Sarah Palin, a likely presidential candidate, compares Assange to an Al Qaeda leader; Rick Santorum, former Pennsylvania senator and potential presidential contender, accuses Assange of “terrorism”.

And so on and so forth.

Such calls cannot be dismissed as bluster. Over the last decade, we have seen the normalisation of extrajudicial measures once unthinkable, from ‘extraordinary rendition’ (kidnapping) to ‘enhanced interrogation’ (torture).

In that context, we now have grave concerns for Mr Assange’s wellbeing.

A statement by you to this effect should not be controversial – it is a simple commitment to democratic principles and the rule of law.

Seems the neo-cons are getting their isolationism.

The real isolationists are those who choose to use force overseas to promote democracy, rather than seek change through diplomacy, engagement, and by setting a positive example.