According to The Observer, David Hicks the Australian about to go before a military tribunal (kangaroo court) next month, has an automatic claim on British Nationality.
Howard (Ausssie PM and even more of a Bush Arse Kisser than Blair) has refused to protest Hicks’ detention. All will now change.
Blair negotiated (under duress) the release of all Brits in the Gunatanamo Gulag. Now he will be forced to do the same for David Hicks. Result another supposed ‘most dangerous of the dangerous’ will be released, not because he is ‘innocent’ or ‘no longer a danger’ but merely because Bush owes Blair. No conflict there then.
It’s interesting but won’t mean much. He’s not American so Americans will continue to not give a shit. Australians and their government won’t give a shit because, well… it would just be UNAustralian to give a shit (unless we’re talking footie or cricket). The key point is that the British people won’t really see him as British either, even in light of this, so when the three governments collude to manufacture some bullshit reason why Hicks had automatically renounced his UK citizenship, it won’t be questioned outside leftwing circles (and who the fuck has been paying attention to those guys?)
It’ll be business as usual for poor old Dave but it would be nice to bring him home and hear what he has to say about his experience. Problem is, he’s probably the longest serving white man in Guantanamo and the Yanks, Poms and Aussies will be particularly worried about what he has to say as he’d get more media attention than the rest of the darkies and wogs in there.
I reckon Hicks will die in there but if he was to be freed, he’d return to Adelaide which isn’t much of an improvement.
You cannot effectively renounce British Citizenship. If he makes a formal claim for assistance, Blair will find it difficult not to argue on his behalf. To not do so would allow the right-wing press to accuse him of racism (they will do anything to damage him) by implying that he made representations for brown skinned brits but didn’t do so for a real ‘patrial’ (there is an underlying racism in the British psyche that thinks like that.
Watch this space- Blair will have to take this on or expose himself to ridicule.
Shame though that he would have to go back to Adelaide!
