Ecuador To Grant Assange Political Asylum 432
NSN A392-99-964-5927 writes with news that Ecaudor will grant Julian Assange's request for political asylum. An Ecuador official told The Guardian that the country's president, who earlier indicated his decision would arrive after the Olympic Games, will approve the request Assange made in June.
"Government sources in Quito confirmed that despite the outstanding legal issues Correa would grant Assange asylum – a move which would annoy Britain, the US and Sweden. They added that the offer was made to Assange several months ago, well before he sought refuge in the embassy, and following confidential negotiations with senior London embassy staff. The official with knowledge of the discussions said the embassy had discussed Assange's asylum request. The British government, however, 'discouraged the idea,' the offical said. The Swedish government was also 'not very collaborative,' the official said. The official added: 'We see Assange's request as a humanitarian issue. The contact between the Ecuadorean government and WikiLeaks goes back to May 2011, when we became the first country to see the leaked US embassy cables completely declassified ... It is clear that when Julian entered the embassy there was already some sort of deal. We see in his work a parallel with our struggle for national sovereignty and the democratisation of international relations.'"
Re:Good (Score:5, Interesting)
What a turning point in American History (Score:5, Interesting)
A Latin American country is providing safe harbor for a journalist who dared to expose top-secret documents on the military. Someone needs to rework the "In Soviet Russia..." meme for juntas.
Political refugee (Score:5, Interesting)
Assange is a political refugee, he needs a hide out because a large and a very powerful organisation (and more than one) are after him for disseminating information that those powerful organisations want to keep quiet.
If Assange falls in the hands of American government, he is going to be made an example of, and it's going to be worse than Vietnam for him, sort of like what they did to Bradley Manning but maybe times 10.
Isn't it amazing, 60 years ago people wouldn't have believed if somebody told them, that America could become this....
Re:Good (Score:2, Interesting)
and one which the US won't miss if an imperial fuckton of bombs happened to vaporize it!
Such statements have no relationship to reality and only serve to make pro-Assenge folks look like perseverating nut-jobs.
It is, however, a great day for Assenge and his cause, and a sad sad day for all those countries that COULD have stood up and made statement to the US and Sweeden.
Re:And to think... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:OK, this is senseless (Score:4, Interesting)
I am not very tin foil hat-ish (Im abig believer is stupidity and selishness being the root of most issues), but even I think he is being setup. Maybe not setup in the traditional sense, but the US is pressuing Sweden to nial him to the cross if they can on any charge they can when the oppurtunity arose (thus the charge being reduced then reinstated).
I cannot speak to the veracity, but I found several sources on Google that indicated that the 'rape' was having sex without a condom. That the sex was completely consensual (if foolish). Again, I dont have stats, but how many men go to jail is sweeden every year for doing a woman (or in this case 2 women) bareback. With their concent.
It is possible I suppose that they withdrew consent as some sources claim, but that becomes a he-said she-said thing. Add to that the fact that neither woman seemed phased by the encounters until they talked to each other and it becomes even more fishy and sounds like sour grapes.
Add to THAT the pressure the US government is surely putting on the Swedes, and you have a nice little setup.
The entire thing has oddity written all over it, and frnakly as much as I think the guy is an arrogant douchebag, I would do the same thing in his situation.
Re:And to think... (Score:3, Interesting)
To begin with, a lot of those entering the US from Mexico and other central American countries were poor, unskilled workers who benefited from the socialist nature of American "capitalism" (things such as the minimum wage, free medical care at any hospital, etc.) which naturally would appeal to them. Or people where the lack of free markets in the US create a benefit for them (for example, doctors and hospitals are very competitive in South America, they act more like monopolies in the US). There are a whole lot of people who would rather have comfort than freedom, when given the choice between a completely free life with no government handouts and a life filled with rules, regulations and restrictions with government handouts a lot of them are going to pick the latter option.
I can see the US having "entrepreneur drain" as young people quickly realize that there is an entire world out there to explore and many places where it is easier and more profitable (not just in dollars but in quality of life) to run a business outside of the USA. Just look at Eduardo Saverin who left the US for greener pastures in Asia.
Re:Good (Score:5, Interesting)
You're right if he was going to get killed by a professional group it would not be something so obvious as a drone strike.
Agreed. They'd probably start by framing the guy in some kind of sex scandal, as is traditional for the US. Oh wait...
Re:Good (Score:2, Interesting)
Exactly, I was thinking maybe the negotiation was "Ok. we grant you assylum, but you destroy every Ecuador incriminating information you get". I personally do not like much Assange modus operandi (nothing against publishing things with care and not because you care about your personal image), but I will start to respect more Mr. Assange if he dare to publish things about Ecuador even inside the country
Re:Good (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Good (Score:3, Interesting)
If that's truly the case, it would be quite easy to take the spotlight off of him, by allowing him to stand trial for the actual crimes he may have committed (rape and sexual assault) and guarantee that he won't be extradited for non-crimes (journalism). There will certainly be coverage of the trial, but that would be the end of that. Instead, his opponents have made him into a martyr by taking advantage of an unrelated charge and trying overtly to destroy him and his activism with that charge. I personally think that Assange does good work, and I hope that he will continue to do so. I also hope that the allegations of rape are false, but we certainly can't know that if those allegations are being trampled to try to destroy his career. If you really want to have him treated like anybody else, you should favor granting political asylum so that he isn't a clear target of political repression.