Assange not the first to suffer pursuing truth

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It was the scoop of the 20^th century. It ran on the front page of London's Daily Express, under the banner "I write this as a warning to the world."

Australian Wilfred Burchett was the first Western journalist to report on the devastation wrought by the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in August 1945. He alerted the world to the "atomic plague", the radiation sickness which would take countless lives in the days, weeks, months and years after the blast which levelled the city.

At first, his searing report got a cool response. Too pro-Japanese, the critics said, ignoring the photo of the flattened city which accompanied the story, boxed under the sub headline "The picture that does not tell the whole story." But then other reporters visited the city, confirming Burchett's account.

Half a decade later and Burchett was reporting on another war, this time on the Korean Peninsula, from behind communist lines. Again, he was dismissed as a propagandist for his stories alleging the UN forces were using biological weapons and mistreating prisoners of war, claims that decades later were given credence.

The US government toyed with the idea of spiriting Burchett out of North Korea but the Menzies government resisted. It did not want Burchett on Australian soil. Not even ASIO could find evidence the troublesome journalist had committed an offence. So the government found another way to keep Burchett out of the country. It refused to reissue his passport.

In the 1960s, the exiled Burchett found himself reporting on the Vietnam War from the north. In 1967, he interviewed the North Vietnamese foreign minister, Nguyen Duy Trinh, who gave the first hint that the communist regime would be open to peace negotiations. Another world scoop.

The following year, Burchett moved to Paris where the peace talks he foreshadowed were held. After helping to broker informal discussions between the Americans and North Vietnamese, he was granted the right to travel to the UK and US, where he was welcomed into the White House by Henry Kissinger.

But he was still unwelcome in his own country. The Gorton government warned airlines they'd face harsh penalties if they flew Burchett back to Australia. He did return by private chartered plane in 1970. But he continued to be vilified by the Australian media, still fevered by the Cold War. His passport was finally restored after the Whitlam government was elected.

As the inevitable lionising of Julian Assange ramps up, it's important we don't forget those who went before him. People like Burchett, who weren't afraid to hold truth to power and report faithfully what they saw - even if it was from the other side of conflicts in which their country was involved.

HAVE YOUR SAY: Were you surprised by Julian Assange's plea deal and release from prison? Did the WikiLeaks data dump make the world a better place? Or did it put people's lives at risk? Were you aware of the exile of Wilfred Burchett? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au

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THEY SAID IT: "Journalism is what we need to make democracy work." - Walter Cronkite

YOU SAID IT: Chris Bowen mangles the word "nuclear" while his opposite number, Ted O'Brien, seems incapable of answering questions. We have a long haul ahead in the "nukular" debate.

"Right on, John," writes David. "The whole issue needs to be looked at through a new, clear lens. Got that? New, clear. Dutton's 'details later' insistence that we just trust him on this is the height of chutzpah. His exploitation of this matter to frighten people away from support for the far cheaper, faster, cleaner, safer and proven renewables sector is despicable. Problem is, negativity works, as we have seen again and again. Albo's and Bowen's salesmanship is weak, even in the face of a political gnome like Ted O'Brien. My hopes are not high."

Horst writes: "I first heard the word nuclear pronounced as nucular by George W. Bush, so I think that adopting his speech impediment is just another way Australian politicians show their supine following of the US."

"I think that these non answers are going to wreck the Coalition," writes Mark. "I don't want any bar of anything nuclear unless they can guarantee safety and it's a closed system. Sure, we can talk about it. I know I won't be voting for either of the major parties at the next election."

Bill writes: "Little Ted is as slippery as a spoonful of mercury on a plate glass window. And yes, he is evangelical, not batting his eyelids on Insiders when he confessed some small sites might have up to five - or is it 8? - small reactors on one old power station site. Even the vox-popped storeowners in country towns who think it will bring jobs, and customers, might blanch at that."

"For our sanity and their credibility, there needs to be speech therapy for the pollies who haven't yet learned how to say nuclear," writes Jennifer. "They are public speakers, so they need to work at it. As for the slippery snake oil salesman who refuses to answer direct questions, I just love your description of him as a pentecostal evangelist. Just perfect! Is there anyone in the Coalition who can speak the truth? Have they silenced Bridget Archer?"