On Sunday (08/19/2012) Julian Assange made his first public statement since entering the refuge of the Ecuadorian embassy in London. We are very encouraged to see that he is remaining steady in his resolve.
Ecuador has granted his application for assylum and is presently attempting to come up with a safe way to transport him from their embassy in London to Quito where he is rumored to be heading.
In his statement Mr Assange called upon President Obama to end his Witch Hunt for Truth Activists; and to Release those, who he is presently holding for their part in the WikiLeaks releases.
In his statement Mr Assange specifically called upon the US to release Pvt Bradley Manning who has been held more than 850 days; without being charged. The law permits one to be held for 150 days without trial; and the courts are not presently engaging his case. So as Assange said, it’s time for Bradley Manning to either be charged or released. This is also part of the case with Mr Assange who could have been questioned by the Swedes; but hasn’t.
“They [Sweden] have had a year-and-a-half to interview Assange and they have refused to do it. Why? Because they are pursuing other goals. Namely to get him to Sweden for which there is no legitimate reason unless they have something else in mind. If there was any doubt in anyone’s mind that this case was [a] completely political case – just the fact that the UK took this unprecedented step of threatening to invade another country’s embassy, which I can’t remember in the last 70 years a democratic government doing that, that shows that this is not about an ordinary criminal case because Assange is not even charged with a crime. What is the emergency here? Is he a terrorist? Is he dangerous?”
- Mark Weisbrot, a Latin America policy expert
This is Inside Story from Al Jazeera with the Julian Assange story
There is no precedent for the actions being taken by the US Government or the government of Great Britain against the Ecuadorian Embassy. The building is surrounded on all sides and even on the exterior fire stairs by English Bobbies; waiting to snatch Mr Assange for President Obama.
This is Democracy Today with Amy Goodman addressing the Ecuadorian Embassy Situation and The Assange Standoff with the UK and Interpol.
We Agree that this is a clear display of NeoColonialism and must be rebuffed and regulated immediately.
Why Sextradition Sweden ?
We know that Sweden is a middle issue concocted to produce a warrant allowing arrest of Mr Assange. Should there really be the need for a trial, the Swedish government is presently attempting to work out a diplomatic solution with the Ecuadorian Embassy; that would ensure that Mr Assange is not put at risk to a rendition by the US Agents of Interpol.
This is the BBC’s update regarding the leaders of South American meeting to strengthen their position to the United Nations on the US and GB’s obvious plans to disregard International Refugee and Diplomatic Protocols.
The South American foreign ministers joined hands after agreeing on the document
Julian Assange row: Ecuador backed by South America
South American nations have pledged support for Ecuador amid claims of UK “threats” after it granted asylum to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. The Union of South American Nations said it backed Ecuador after Mr Assange publicly thanked it and other South American countries for their support.
Mr Assange has been at Ecuador’s London embassy since June but the UK has said it could lift its diplomatic status. He faces extradition to Sweden over sexual assault claims, which he denies.
Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa has suggested Mr Assange could co-operate with Sweden if assurances are given that there would be no extradition to a third country.Supporters of Mr Assange – who on Sunday urged the US to end its “witch-hunt” against the Wikileaks site – claim he could face persecution and even the death penalty if sent there.
‘Explicit threat’
A document agreed at the Union of South American Nations meeting said it supported the country “in the face of the threat” to its London embassy.
After Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino finished reading the final declaration from the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) summit, he joined hands with his fellow foreign ministers from across South America and raised them aloft.The BBC’s Will Grant said it was a symbolic but important show of unity in a region which considers the UK government’s approach over Mr Assange to have been colonialist and threatening.
Ecuador has described a letter from the British government drawing attention to the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987 as “intolerable” and an “explicit threat”.
The act could allow the UK to lift the diplomatic status of Ecuador’s embassy in London to allow police to enter the building to arrest Mr Assange for breaching his bail terms.
Mr Assange has been at the embassy since 19 June. Five days earlier, the UK’s Supreme Court dismissed his bid to reopen an appeal against his extradition to Sweden.
He had been on bail while the case was being considered and, after the Supreme Court result, was given a further two-week grace period. It is an established international convention that local police and security forces are not permitted to enter an embassy, unless they have the express permission of the ambassador.
That principle was backed by the ministers at the Unasur summit. In their final document, they agreed on a series of general principles, including as “the inviolability of local diplomatic missions and consular offices”.
‘War on whistle-blowers’
Our correspondent said that – in the context of the UK’s perceived heavy-handed approach to the recent question of Argentina’s renewed claim over the Falkland Islands – the British government’s reputation in South America was undoubtedly being affected by this stand-off. But the last point of agreement in the Unasur document called for calm, urging the parties involved to “continue the dialogue and negotiation to find a mutually acceptable solution”.
On Sunday, Mr Assange, 41, used his first public statement since entering the embassy – delivered from a balcony – to call on the US to stop its “war on whistle-blowers”.
The US is carrying out an investigation into Wikileaks, which has published a mass of leaked diplomatic cables, embarrassing several governments and international businesses.
In 2010, two female ex-Wikileaks volunteers accused Mr Assange, an Australian citizen, of committing sexual offences against them while he was in Stockholm to give a lecture. Mr Assange claims the sex was consensual and the allegations are politically motivated.
We as most members of the media and blogging community see the same signs in this case as many others from previous administrations. There is just too much similarity for it to be inconsequential. The fact that Mr Assange was charged with this rape after the release of the WikiLeaks files began; solidify our view.
Why haven’t they arrested the publishers of the mainstream media outlets who also published the same files ? That’s the biggest why in this picture; and until it’s clarified there can be no safety in journalism or media anywhere. The government has no right to interfere with the media and facts.
Mr Obama and Mr Cameron – Please Pay Attention to This Message
It has become far too dangerous to ignore the signs and symptoms of hidden truths from the world. Too many have died and will die for these hidden truths to remain covered. But who pays the biggest price for this thuggish administration of secret justice ? Certainly the people who believed in their constitution; Because today that document is not even worth the paper it’s many revisions have been written on – and besides who can see it – the way documents are secret, especially if it reveals something the government doesn’t want you to see. Thats’ why WikiLeaks is necessary – everywhere.
No One Knows Whats’ Happening These Days, In Government. Therefore You Cannot Trust that Your Government will Tell You The Truth; Let Alone The Facts.
We Trust The Facts, Not Another Rendition
