Speed up Guantanamo trial, Australia to Bush

Canberra, Feb 20: Australian Prime Minister John Howard expressed concerns about Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks directly to U.S. President George W Bush today, urging the President to push for a speedy trial.

Hicks, 31, has been in US custody at Guantanamo for five years and is facing charges of supporting terrorism. But ongoing delays in bringing him before a court have led to growing calls in Australia for his release and return home.

Howard, one of Bush's closest allies and a staunch supporter of the President's Iraq policy, said Bush promised to reinforce to prosecuting authorities the need for Hicks to be dealt with as quickly as possible.

''I left him in no doubt during our discussion that this was a matter of great concern to the Australian people,'' Howard told Australian radio. ''The fact that he's been five years without a trial ... does trouble us a great deal.'' If convicted, Australia and the United States have agreed Hicks can return to Australia to serve any prison sentence.

Howard, trailing in the polls and facing a tough election in the second half of 2007, has set a deadline for late February for Hicks to be formally charged, but US officials have said they might not be able to meet Canberra's demand.

Howard plans to also raise the issue with US Vice President Dick Cheney during Cheney's visit to Australia later this week.

US National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in a statement that Bush and Howard discussed the detainee issue and ''shared expectations of a fair and orderly process''.

Bush, he said, also thanked Howard for his country's support in Afghanistan and Iraq, where Australia has about 2,000 personnel stationed. Howard yesterday said Australia will send up to 70 more instructors to help train Iraqi forces.

Howard's close support for Bush and the 1,400-strong troop commitment in Iraq is shaping up as a major issue as Howard bids for a fifth term in office at elections expected to be called in October or November.

A new opinion poll published today found Howard's conservatives have regained some support but still trail the centre-left Labor Party opposition by 8 percentage points.

The Newspoll, published in The Australian newspaper, also found Howard 10 points behind as preferred prime minister to Labor's youthful new leader Kevin Rudd, who has promised to withdraw Australian forces from Iraq if he wins power.

The poll found 68 per cent of Australians believed it was not worth going to war in Iraq, while 67 per cent either want the government to set an exit date or withdraw troops immediately.

Reuters >