Australian PM: WikiLeaks actions 'illegal'

[Turborama]

Source: AP via The Guardian

Associated Press= SYDNEY (AP) — Australia's prime minister slammed WikiLeaks' publication of classified documents as "illegal" on Thursday, in the country's strongest condemnation yet of the website's ongoing release of sensitive data.

Julia Gillard's comments, while tough, did not indicate Australia was about to take legal action against Australian-born WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The country's attorney general reiterated Thursday that authorities are investigating whether Assange has broken any Australian laws, but have not yet reached a conclusion.

"I absolutely condemn the placement of this information on the WikiLeaks website," Gillard told Fairfax Radio. "It's a grossly irresponsible thing to do and an illegal thing to do."

=snip=

On Monday, Australian Attorney General Robert McClelland said police were investigating whether WikiLeaks had broken any Australian laws with its latest document dump. Following Gillard's comments Thursday, a spokesman for McClelland confirmed the investigation is ongoing.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/9387981

[jtuck004]

1. Absolutely. HE is the criminal, The US has done noth... never mind

WikiLeaks Cables Reveal "Profound Hatred for Democracy on the Part of Our Political Leadership"

Noam Chomsky

[gtar100]

2. Creatures of darkness hate the light.

Maybe government officials need to pull their heads out of their collective asses and realize that their *real* task is help everyone, not play stupid games to make a small minority rich at the expense of everyone else. "Australia's Prime Minister" is a fancy title for just another bloke with a propensity to steal from the working classes.

[Axrendale]

10. A small bit of nit-picking

The "bloke" in question happens to be female (Australia's first female Prime Minister as a matter of fact), and has a history of being heavily involved with the unions and radical left-wing politics (prior to her ascension as PM, she was known to a number of her fellow MPs as "Red Julia", a pun on her hair color and political stances).

[caseymoz]

13. Interesting, I wonder what deal she's trying to cut with the US now?

What has she been offered? Or is her arm being twisted? Because it seems to me that both are being done right now.

It will be a sad day for international law and civil rights worldwide if Julian Assange is arrested. I really fear if it happens, he will never get a trial. They'll just remove him from view while our free, state media does its work making people forget he ever existed. We'll hear about him now and then while the President sometimes is said to consider whether trying him in a civilian court or military tribunal. That'll now and then, like a parole hearing, for thirty years.

[EFerrari]

3. How can it be illegal if they can't find any laws he's broken?

LOL

[Kaleko]

7. !

It's illegal to hurt the good people who are above the law! :patriot:

[caseymoz]

12. Good question.

But she's a PM, not a magistrate, so she obviously thinks saying something idiotic for public consumption won't hurt anyone and might gain her support.

[Arrowhead2k1]

4. I'm getting sick of the butthurt establishment telling us what to think about wikileaks.

Either try to address the actual issues being raised in the leaks, or stfu. You work for us, not the other way around!

[howard112211]

5. He is an anti-democratic enemy of freedom of press.

[JDPriestly]

6. So it is illegal for citizens to learn what their government is really up to?

Not in a democracy, dear sir. It is our duty as citizens to know what our government is doing.

[Iterate]

8. What the PM doesn't get

is that, after having read enough cables, every time he utters this kind of thinly supported pro-US threat, we're imagining next year's cable release "Australian PM pressured by US."

I don't recall this type of "Get Julian" effort when WikiLeaks exposed the corruption Kenyan leader Daniel arap Moi, or distributed the Guantanamo Handbook, or any of the other third world causes they've taken up, even when a leaked autopsy report suggested Australian complicity in an assassination in East Timor.

Somehow, this time it's different.

[boppers]

18. I think it's a matter of magnitude, and wikileaks gradually become more popular.

Moi was back when wikileaks was just starting, and the current batch of leaks have driven wikileaks visits by 2,610% in the last week according to alexa.... with only 271 documents out of 251,287 available leaked so far.

[Iterate]

20. Another difference that I see

is not only that he's playing in the US sandbox, but most of the early 2006-2007 releases required, as I remember anyway, a pretty thorough grounding in the topic at hand before the leak could be understood very well. Not so this time, as people from all over the world, in every diplomatic mission, can understand what is going on.

The other part that may reach a critical tipping point will be the release of more corporate/banking documents. Hidden from view for too long, I hope they find as much disloyalty from employees as they deserve.

[redirish28]

9. Man U.S. must be stoking the fires underneath all these countries.

Figure this would happen under Bush but never thought I see Obama Administration.


Between this and this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4638611



I'm stunned...

But than "Darth" Cheney is going to be charged in Nigeria with Bribery

So have to wonder if a little bait and switch is being used. Can't let the Nigeria story get too big.

[caseymoz]

14. I should say.

I've never seen anything like this played out publicly.

Nigeria doesn't have a lot of international respect, though. Not to knock the Nigerian people, but the government is so corrupt.

What's interesting is the latest report that the Obama Administration had Spain drop it's prosecution of Dubya, which should tell you first, of course countries are being coerced or bribed into getting Assange. Second, it tells you where Obama really is on this.

So disappointed. So worried.

[ixion]

11. Oh! The incredible irony in that statement....

It seems governments consider it illegal to report their illegal, corrupt and unethical behavior.

[Bragi]

15. "And to prove it, I'll arrest him under a new retroactive law I'll invent" /nt /nt

[provis99]

16. yet when Bob Novak outed a CIA agent, these shits didn't complain.

what massive hypocrites.

[unkachuck]

17. the more....

....governments and leaders around the world attack and condemn Mr. Assange, the more valuable he becomes....

....we and our allies spend trillions of dollars spreading corporate democratic-exploitation around the world....we need to know what our squandered tax-dollars are doing in our name....

[Odin2005]

19. War is Peace! Ignorance is Knowledge! Slavery is Freedom!