Downer says Hicks is a complete fool
G'day,
Australian alleged al-Qaeda fighter David Hicks deserved to suffer harsh
American retribution for his involvement in the terrorist organisation,
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said.
Hicks is one of almost 200 Taliban and al-Qaeda members being held by US
forces in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba after being captured in Afghanistan.
Mr Downer said the Australian public would have no sympathy for the
26-year-old from Adelaide.
"We have no illusions about this - he was a very, very foolish person to
have got involved with an organisation like al-Qaeda," Mr Downer said .
"It was an extraordinarily foolish thing to do. Inevitably, the Americans
are going to take a strong stand against anyone who has been involved with
al-Qaeda because this is an organisation which is openly, not just by
practice but by rhetoric, committed to killing Americans.
"We are an ally of the United States and we agree with them. They're
perfectly entitled to take very tough action against organisations that are
committed to killing their citizens and David Hicks was a complete fool to
get wound up in an organisation like al-Qaeda, a complete fool.
"I don't think the majority of Australian citizens sympathise with someone
who has done something as foolish as that."
It was still uncertain what fate awaited Hicks and whether he would be tried
under US or Australian law but Mr Downer, in London for a Commonwealth
Ministerial Action Group meeting, was sure he would not face the death
penalty.
"We in Australia oppose the death penalty in any circumstances," Mr Downer
said.
"But there's no indication that he faces the death penalty. I don't think
that is likely at all.
"What happens to him is still depending on obtaining the precise details of
what he has done and making judgements on whether to prosecute and under
what jurisdiction to prosecute."
Mr Downer said there were still some cloudy legal issues over whether Hicks
should be treated as a prisoner of war under the Geneva convention.
"It depends very much on the circumstances in which they were detained and
what they were doing when they were detained," he said.
"There is an argument that one of your own nationals who is detained
fighting against your own country does not fall within the definition of a
prisoner of war under the third Geneva Convention."
Warm Regards,
Ron Lawrence, Canberra, ACT, Australia
Australian alleged al-Qaeda fighter David Hicks deserved to suffer harsh
American retribution for his involvement in the terrorist organisation,
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said.
Hicks is one of almost 200 Taliban and al-Qaeda members being held by US
forces in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba after being captured in Afghanistan.
Mr Downer said the Australian public would have no sympathy for the
26-year-old from Adelaide.
"We have no illusions about this - he was a very, very foolish person to
have got involved with an organisation like al-Qaeda," Mr Downer said .
"It was an extraordinarily foolish thing to do. Inevitably, the Americans
are going to take a strong stand against anyone who has been involved with
al-Qaeda because this is an organisation which is openly, not just by
practice but by rhetoric, committed to killing Americans.
"We are an ally of the United States and we agree with them. They're
perfectly entitled to take very tough action against organisations that are
committed to killing their citizens and David Hicks was a complete fool to
get wound up in an organisation like al-Qaeda, a complete fool.
"I don't think the majority of Australian citizens sympathise with someone
who has done something as foolish as that."
It was still uncertain what fate awaited Hicks and whether he would be tried
under US or Australian law but Mr Downer, in London for a Commonwealth
Ministerial Action Group meeting, was sure he would not face the death
penalty.
"We in Australia oppose the death penalty in any circumstances," Mr Downer
said.
"But there's no indication that he faces the death penalty. I don't think
that is likely at all.
"What happens to him is still depending on obtaining the precise details of
what he has done and making judgements on whether to prosecute and under
what jurisdiction to prosecute."
Mr Downer said there were still some cloudy legal issues over whether Hicks
should be treated as a prisoner of war under the Geneva convention.
"It depends very much on the circumstances in which they were detained and
what they were doing when they were detained," he said.
"There is an argument that one of your own nationals who is detained
fighting against your own country does not fall within the definition of a
prisoner of war under the third Geneva Convention."
Warm Regards,
Ron Lawrence, Canberra, ACT, Australia
posted by Midwest Minutemen at 6:49 AM
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