Dr Bandula KothalawalaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  London N7

SwedenƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s zeal and determination to tighten the noose around Julian AssangeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s neck show no sign of abating. Indeed, with Uncle Sam breathing down their own neck, the Swedish authorities are said to be burning midnight oil (It is quite handy to have oil-rich neighbours.) to mete out exemplary punishment to Julian Assange.

Of course, no one disputes the Swedish authoritiesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ right to pursue Julian if he has committed any offence on Swedish soil. I am assuming that Sweden does not intend to claim universal jurisdiction in this particular specialism. The alleged offences, not having been committed in the market place, but in the privacy of a bedroom, it is, indeed, JulianƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s word against hers, nay, theirs, albeit severally! In a sense, the Swedish authorities deserve our support in this noble venture and should be congratulated for taking prompt action to arrest the rot eating into our morals. One needs to just look at the state of affairs in the Nobel Committee at the Swedish Academy. This year, they awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature to someone whose sexual morality, to say the least, leaves something to be desired, according to his own accounts[1]. In 1982, the Nobel Prize for Literature went to someone who would not wait for his 13^th birthday[2] before starting sexual adventures! AndrƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚© Gide[3] ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” self-confessed paedophile ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” won it in 1947. I do apologise if this raises butterflies in your stomach, but, I remain puzzled at the apparently elastic moral latitude of the Swedes. Yet, it seems, when they are forced to pander to the whims and fancies of their powerful allies, the Swedes are no different and certainly have no choice but to throw to the northerly winds or to the Arctic their quaint-essential libertarian values.

A laymanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s understanding is that any person who traffics in property that he or she knows or should know was stolen is guilty of an offence and punishable under the laws of the land. The newspapers peddling the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-revelationsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ on a daily basis seem to have no qualms about committing the same offence ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” that of dealing in stolen property. Oddly enough, Hillary Clinton who made a song and a dance about the leaks has not, as far as we are aware, lifted her little finger to stop the publication of the offensive material either in the USA or anywhere else. After all, if the leaked cables put peopleƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s lives in jeopardy, especially, those of US and allied personnel, the US Government would be more than justified in seeking an injunction against the publication, wouldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t it? Yet, we are not aware of any such initiative by the US or any other government in this regard. It does appear that the US Secretary of State and her minions simply want to blow it out of all proportion and use it as a weapon of mass distraction.

On the other hand, there is no doubt that the US Administration is hell-bent on its pound of flesh as far as the founder of Wikileaks is concerned. Robert Gates, US Defence Secretary, was hardly bashful in his reaction to JulianƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s arrest in London. True to its reputation, the US Administration wants the Swedes to pull the chestnuts out of the fire! After all, the US is after a much bigger quarry ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” Bin Laden. Why bother when it is possible to subcontract it all to allies!

Curiously, the barons of the human rights industry have been discreetly silent about some of the most credible, well-documented accounts of massacres of innocents revealed in Wikileaks. There was no breast-beating in the House of Commons, either. One hardly hears a murmur from Prof Philip Alston whose expertise in video evidence of extra-judicial executions is legendary! ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Some moons ago, Mr Ban-Ki Moon sounded rather excited about war crimes in Sri Lanka. He, too, has gone quiet on WikileaksƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ revelations. Strange, isnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t it?

Dr Bandula Kothalawala

London N7

[1] See TƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚­a Julia y Escribidor by Mario Vargas Llosa

[2] See Vivir para contarla, by Gabriel Garcia MƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚¡rquez

[3] See LƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢Immoraliste, by AndrƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚© Gide