BY ALISON DELLIT
The attention David Hicks has received from the Australian government differs markedly from that enjoyed by Kerry and Kay Danes, following their December 2000 arrest for alleged embezzlement in Laos.
Kerry Danes, an SAS officer on leave, worked at a gem mine in Laos when $52,000 went missing. Kay Danes was subsequently arrested trying to leave the country with $52,700 in cash.
Unlike Hicks, the Danes were arrested and charged with a crime. They had a trial, where they had access to legal representation. They were initially under house arrest, and following their conviction were allowed access to the media, telephones and lawyers. Their children were flown back to relatives in Australia, on flights paid for by the government of Laos.
Yet the Australian big business media unanimously condemned the imprisonment of the Danes and called for their release. Foreign minister Alexander Downer called the Danes' imprisonment "a travesty". Eventually a substantial sum was paid to the Laos government in "compensation" and the Danes were officially pardoned.
The different treatment can be explained by the capitalist media and Australian government's keenness to condemn a left-wing government such as Laos, while slavishly applauding the attempts of the US to run roughshod over an Australian citizens rights.
From Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly, January 30, 2002.
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