‘When a man's plea for help is rejected by both of the
countries that legally owe him a duty of care, it is clear that political
expediency has triumphed over justice.

David Hicks, the only Westerner
still incarcerated in the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, was born in
Adelaide of an English mother. This entitles him to dual citizenship. 

Since January 2002, Hicks has
languished in detention while the Australian Government has denied any
obligation for his welfare, preferring to support clear breaches of
international law by its American allies. Now, the British Foreign Office has
decided not to make representations for his release because he was an
Australian citizen when captured and handed to US forces.

Asked about the British decision
on ABC radio yesterday, Australia's Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, was
dismissive. "It's really nothing to do with us," he said. Given this
nation's shameful complicity in Hicks's continued imprisonment, his response
was entirely predictable. 

Mr Downer's words sum up 4½ years
of denial of responsibility by the Australian Government. In putting its
relationship with the US ahead of both its duty to its citizens and its
international obligations, the Government has been acquiescent in eroding human
rights and allowing diplomacy to obfuscate democratic values. In so doing it
has set a dangerous precedent.’

Another
Chapter In A Shameful Story Of Justice Denied