Hicks Update: Determined to Fight : Melbourne Indymedia

The colonial conservatives have never understood the fighting spirit that characterises the other half of Australia; that tenacious fighting spirit that was necessary to derive a living from a harsh land and to fight against the injustices of the Imperial British Crown. The REAL Aussie spirit of the FAIR GO for everyone! The spirit that set Kelly against the Crown and sent our boys over the top to be cut down almost immediately at Gallipoli – the INDOMITABLE SPIRIT that created the nation that John Howard sold to the yanks for a penny!

We do not make light of Hicks’ decision to fight -- anyone who has been incarcerated and tortured knows exactly the supreme heroic effort required to FIGHT IN THE PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES and we all take our hats off to Hicks. The stinking Howard government has tried unsuccessfully to extinguish all Aussie values BUT FORGOT to consider the Australian son they abandoned to the yanks. This same abandoned Aussie may just prove the downfall of the Australian conservatives and awaken the nation to its true values and identity!

[International law and convention wait patiently for Howard, Bush and Blair.]

Regardless of all other considerations we remain steadfast in our support for David Hicks and defiant to those who would illegally impose their poisonous lying, murdering and plundering values onto the world.

The Following is a short report by Stefanie Balogh from the Adelaide Advertiser:

March 04, 2007 -- ACCUSED Taliban fighter David Hicks intends to plead not guilty to terrorism charges, his US civilian lawyer said yesterday.

Joshua Dratel also said "the way it looks right now there is no prospect for a plea-bargain" for the Adelaide-born terror suspect.

"He'll be pleading not guilty," said Mr Dratel, who is based in New York.

"Ultimately the decision is always going to be David's as to what to do. But David right now is ready to continue the course. He's ready to challenge the system."

On Friday Hicks became the first Guantanamo Bay detainee formally charged under the Pentagon's new US military commission system.

He faces one charge of providing material support for terrorism after he allegedly trained in al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan. Plans to charge him with attempted murder were dropped.

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,21320470-2682,00.html

A US appeals court has refused to allow the lawsuit of a
Lebanese-born German man who says he was tortured by the CIA to be heard in court. The court in Richmond, Virginia said hearing the case could lead to state secrets being revealed, which in turn could endanger national security. Khaled el-Masri says he was seized by
the CIA in Macedonia and held for several months in 2004 on suspicion of links to terrorism. He was released when US officials realised that they had the wrong man. El-Masri has been seeking an explanation and an apology from the United States, as well as 75,000
dollars in damages.

Propaganda extraordinaire, but it will probably work!

Footage - 12 minutes in length

This footage is from the Dec. 05 walk through Cuba to Guantanamo. Completion of editing was disrupted as film maker Danny Burns was sentenced to 6 months for the St. Patrick's Four action
http://www.stpatricksfour.org

Since the walk. participants were detained and questioned on return to the U.S. with future prosecution remaining a possibility. Further nonviolent civil disobedience against Guantanamo continued climaxing in the occupation of the Supreme Court this past January http://www.witnesstorture.org

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7086982046172926266