UPDATE, 3:30pm: An advocate for survivors of sexual assault has said Julian Assange’s inclusion in this year’s Bendigo Writers Festival discounts the suffering of his alleged victims.
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Loddon Campaspe Centre against Sexual Assault executive officer Kate Wright said too often the community was asked to overlook allegations of sexual offences because of the accused’s standing in society.
“We do it a lot: we do it with footballers, celebrities and other people of note or power,” she said.
“Even with sentencing, it's always their good character that is taken into account.
“But for the victim, they're made to feel blame and shame.”
Ms Wright did not believe festival officials or interviewer Robert Manne would let the August 13 conversation with Mr Assange at Ulumbarra turn to the accusations against him.
“The organisers have said we should focus on his activism,” she said.
“But he has never been held accountable or been proven innocent of the allegations.”
UPDATE, 2:15pm: The La Trobe University academic who will interview Julian Assange at this year’s Bendigo Writers Festival said the political activist should not be left out of public discourse because of his alleged offences.
Emeritus professor Robert Manne, who corresponded with Mr Assange while penning the essay, The Cypherpunk Revolutionary, described his subject as one of the most influential Australians in a generation.
Mr Manne said he would not want the August 13 conversation to focus on accusations of sexual misconduct leveled at Mr Assange in Sweden, but rather on the creation of WikiLeaks.
He said the attention given to Mr Assange’s legal troubles was “a great pity” and he did not believe it meant the man’s views should be excluded from public discourse.
While he understood victims of sexual assault could be concerned about Mr Assange’s inclusion in the festival, Mr Manne said the cyber activist had not been found guilty of any crimes and expected “fair-minded” people would still want to listen to him.
“I think he's a very unusual, creative person,” Mr Manne said.
“In essence, he is the pioneer of a new kind of politics – and a new idea in politics is very rare.”
Mr Manne believed the Wikileaks founder’s fear of extradition to Sweden and the United States was well-founded, despite no charges having been laid against him.
UPDATE, 11:45am: Bendigo Writers Festival organisers have said they will welcome discussion about the political and personal controversies attached to cyber activist Julian Assange when he appears by video link at Ulumbarra Theatre in August.
Festival director Rosemary Sorensen said she “thought long and hard” about Mr Assange’s inclusion in the program, saying the decision to feature the WikiLeaks founder was designed to “make people sit up and take notice”.
She asked the community not to judge the guest before researching his story.
“One of the things about writers festivals is they’re not just about opinions, they’re about opinions backed up by asking really important questions,” she said.
“We don't prejudge. That's part of our wonderful democracy,” Ms Sorensen said.
She also explained Mr Assange fit the theme of risk-taking, a central idea of this year’s festival line-up.
The WikiLeaks founder will be interviewed by his biographer, La Trobe University emeritus professor Robert Manne, but City of Greater Bendigo acting city futures director David Lloyd said the audience should not expect the academic to go easy on his subject.
“Robert is a very good thinker and has a strong reputation, and will tease out all the elements of the Julian Assange story,” he said.
Asked if inviting Mr Assange was insensitive to the victims of sexual offences like those of which is accused, Mr Lloyd asked attendees to be “brave” when thinking about Mr Assange’s story.
Bendigo mayor Rod Fyffe attended this morning’s launch and said Mr Assange’s appearance was a boon for the festival and the city.
“It is showing we are contemporary, we’re not afraid of big ideas and have capacity to draw international figures to the festival,” he said.
“I’d encourage people who’ve got strong views – or no views – to come alone and be a part of developing ideas.
“He’ll get a sense of the crowd, and we’ll get a sense for him.”
EARLIER: WIKILEAKS founder Julian Assange will headline the 2016 Bendigo Writers Festival in August, appearing by videolink from the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
The Australian political activist first garnered international attention in 2010 when his organisation released classified army documents showing civilian and journalist deaths caused by US air strikes.
WikiLeaks was also behind the publication of the Afghanistan war logs, a series of leaked documents widely considered to embarrass the US military and government.
Assange has claimed political sanctuary in the Ecuadorian embassy since 2012 with fears the UK government could extradite him to Sweden, where authorities wish to interview him in relation to a number of alleged sexual offences.
But he has refused to cooperate with the Swedish police, said to be out of concern he could be sent to the United States to face charges of treason.
The US has not charged Assange with any offence.
In 2010, at the height of the WikiLeaks controversy, former Prime Minister Julia Gillard refused to offer Australian ambassadorial support for Assange, calling his actions “illegal”.
David Lloyd, acting director of city futures, said a range of extra activities are planned for this year’s event.
“The festival has now grown and we’ve responded to the feedback from our audiences by including extra sessions on the Friday afternoon this year,” he said.
“Our free Text Marks the Spot program for schools is followed by events in three venues, including sessions with Peter Singer, Indira Naidoo as well as a performance by writer, director and performer, Hannie Rayson.”
The theme for this year’s festival is “Much ado about everything”.
Author of Wild, Cheryl Strayed, will also be a high profile guest of the Bendigo event, along with Benjamin Law, Di Morrissey, Kerry O’Brien and Mick Thomas.
The 2016 Bendigo Writers Festival will run from August 12 to 14.