The Australian Federal Opposition and Labor Party Leader, Simon Crean, has again warned the U.S. ambassador to stop meddling in Australian politics.The U.S. Ambassador, Tom Schieffer, who is also a close personal friend of George W. Bush, has accused the political Labor Party of fostering "anti-Americanism".
[Why not anti-Americanism, the US despots foster war crimes.]
Ambassador Schieffer has outraged Labor Party backbenchers like Warren Snowden. "We will not be harassed, we will not be bullied, and we will not be stood over by Mr Schieffer or anyone else," he said.
Fellow backbencher Laurie Brereton says it is a huge breach of diplomatic protocol that demands a response from the U.S. Government.
"I haven't seen an intervention such as this since the last U.S. ambassador, Walter Rice, in the Nixon administration, publicly attacked the Australian Whitlam Government after we criticised the carpet bombing of North Vietnam in December 1972," he said.
"These remarks constitute a huge breach of diplomatic protocol. It's my view he should be immediately recalled to Washington and counselled."
The Labor leader, Simon Crean, agrees that counselling is appropriate. "He has to be strongly warned that it is off-limits for a U.S. ambassador to interfere in the domestic politics of Australia and to seek to influence what the Australian Labor Party's position is," he said.
Mr Crean plans to deliver that message himself in a face-to-face meeting with the U.S. ambassador.
The Greens political party has backed the Labor Party.Australian Greens leader, Bob Brown, says he agrees with Labor's Laurie Brereton that the U.S. ambassador has overstepped the mark and should be recalled to Washington.
"The ambassador, I think, owes the Labor Party an apology and that may heal the matter but if he can't and he wants to continue down that track then he should review his stay in our country," he said.
Australian Coalition Against Death Penalty (ACADP) continues the long wait for the U.S. ambassador, Tom Schieffer, to reply to our letters, emails, faxes and telephone calls, in regards to the death penalty situation in his country, the United States of America.
ACADP assumes that Mr Schieffer must be a very busy man, and unable to reply to such an important human rights issue. When you have time Mr Schieffer, ACADP would like to invite the U.S. to join the civilized world and cease all state-sanctioned executions in the U.S. (Land of the Free).
AUSTRALIAN COALITION AGAINST DEATH PENALTY
February 12, 2003
Related:
Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
Please note the following article carefully.....it shows clearly the hateful, uncaring and anti-human rights attitude as reflected by the Governor of Texas (and most other elected Texas officials).
Supreme Court Justice Blocks Execution
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens blocked Indiana from putting to death its oldest death row inmate Tuesday to give the 71-year-old prisoner, who is partially deaf and blind, extra time to file federal appeals.
Stephen Romei: Death knell sounds for US capital law
GEORGE RYAN, outgoing governor of the US state of Illinois a republican who leaves office today, has put US capital punishment on the road to oblivion by commuting the sentences of all 167 of the state's death row inmates. Three were re-sentenced to 40 years' jail and the remaining 164 got life without parole.
Amnesty urges Bush to shut death row
Human rights watchdog Amnesty International has urged US President George W. Bush to take a "moral stand" and abolish the death penalty after the Illinois Governor dramatically emptied that state's death row.
