To Radio New Zealand Staff and Listeners on World Press Freedom Day: Julian Assange remains arbitrarily detained – New Zealanders For Julian Assange
“Journalism is not a crime. Not here . Not there . Not anywhere in the world.” ( President Joe Biden at the Whitehouse Press Dinner ( 28th of April 2024 )
From New Zealand Media Council Principles : “In dealing with complaints, the Council will give primary consideration to freedom of expression and the public interest.”
The outcome of the case of arbitrarily detained multi-award winning journalist Julian Assange, but also the ongoing tolerance and under – or actually non- reporting by our media of his perpetual persecution, is a very serious matter that is – or should or would otherwise be of great interest and concern to the public of New Zealand – if our media were to be doing their own investigations into or reporting and commentary on it.
The lack of interest in this case is a result of our media not having performed its role to inform the public of New Zealand of its implications which has translated into a lack of political support for a diplomatic protest that might otherwise have contributed to effecting a favourable outcome i.e. The release, repatriation and compensation of Julian Assange with investigations and prosecutions of those responsible for the war ( and other ) crimes that he published evidence of.
Martyn, we have enough troubles of our own.
No press freedom is pretty high up the priority list. Can’t believe I have to say that.
Assange is not our issue. We have our own freedoms to address.
Hearing and having access to truthful information is most certainly our issue ,,,, along with everyone else in the world.
ie ,, We got directly involved in wars ,,,, wars that were based on a pack of lies.
Some New Zealanders died for this ,,,,,
Let alone the millions of victims ,,, that we joined in creating.
Is this a new propaganda line now? It appears first on the comments list and then is repeated right away. And it appears with no justifying argument, which is common with propaganda lines.
The obvious response is that all our freedoms are connected and that if our government and media don’t think Assanges’s freedom is important they probably won’t think our press freedom is either – which is sort of what the first cartoon is on about
Please understand Assange is your freedom.
If Assange can’t speak, report and publish freely in the Western world no one can. If Australian Assange can be detained, prosecuted, spied on and tortured in England and extradited to America for exercising freedom of speech then what has happened to him can happen here too.
Why are the NZ msm journalists, editors, publishers, academics and FSU not actively speaking out on the world’s most high-profile freedom of speech issue? Well, look what happened to Assange.
Assange represents those freedoms. You might as well bend over now. AUKANUS is looking for takers.
Assange is entirely our issue, as an 5 Eyes Anglo-American satrap.
Our freedoms are suppressed when our government rail roads policy to meet their donors agenda.
To right Sam ,,,, and going along with punishment for some-one who told/exposed the truth is more than a problem ,,, it’s a Threat.
What other truth’s are they going to ruthlessly punish people for if they reveal them.
Ennius either does not understand that lies and dishonesty are a bad thing ,,,, or he/she has a vested interest in the fooling and conning of people that results from deliberately spread false information.
You attribute this essay to “Martyn”, but it has anonymous authorship. Not as brave as Assange was.
Given the conspiracy of all 5 eyes s**thole countries- certainly including Australia, and no doubt soon to include NZ- to deport truthtellers to Ammurrican dungeons, it seems pretty sensible to me.
The idea that Australia- or the US- are any sort of ally is easily refuted just by looking at the case of Daniel Duggan. Duggan was unlucky enough to be born an American, but while he was born in a sty, he chose not to be a pig and took Australian citizenship. He is now being held in an Australian dungeon, under threat of extradition to be tortured in America, because he allegedly provided flight training for Chinese pilots- as if the filthy Americans have any right to tell an Australian or a New Zealander what to do.
Certainly Australia should be standing up for their citizen. The US has done a real job on Assange to make him almost untouchable, quite disgusting. They have definitely used him as a warning to other potential whistle-blowers.
Simply Gobsmacked at the comments of Ennius, but suspect he/she is pulling our leg. The full, fair and free flow of information, from whatever source it comes, is not only fundamental to any notion of the Democracy we espouse being attained, nurtured and defended, but it is also essential that that which passes for it at the moment is exposed for its craven capitulation to another agenda.
The complete message written by Alan William Preston that was sent to Radio New Zealand and to other media organisations in New Zealand on World Press Freedom Day ( 3rd of May 2024)
is accessible at the link below.
The comments above that claim that this case is not an issue of importance to New Zealanders shows that our medias’ lack of attention to it has left many of us uninformed as to the implications it does indeed have for especially investigative journalists working on national security issues , anywhere in the world.
If Julian Assange is extradited to the U.S. and is prosecuted under the Espionage Act , it will set a precedent that by which any government will be able to do the same. The very threat that this could happen is already having a chilling effect on our ‘free’ press.
: https://sites.google.com/view/newzealandersforjulianassange/get-active/new-zealanders-can-do-this/media/to-radio-new-zealand/20240429-world-press-freedom-day