While Ecuador decides whether to grant Assange
asylum, he is under the protection of Ecuador
Update Wednesday: London police say Assange will be arrested if he leaves Ecuadorian Embassy:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/wikileaks-assange-faces-arrest-if-he-leaves-ecuador-embassy-police-say/article4354228/?cmpid=rss1
Democracy Now! coverage on Wednesday, June 20, 2012
By Brenda Norrell
http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2012/06/ecuadors-statement-on-julian-assange.html
 |
| Ecuador Embassy in London where Julian Assange is seeking political asylum/Photo RT London |
Wikileaks Julian Assange is at the Ecuador Embassy in London seeking refuge. In the statement below, Ecuador's Minister of Foreign Affairs said Ecuador is considering the request of Assange for political asylum.
It states that Assange said he faces possible extradition to a country where he would not be protected from possible charges of espionage and treason, and could face the death penalty. Assange is seeking asylum under the UN Declaration on Human Rights.
Assange has said he was "grateful" to Ecuador for considering his application.
After Assange arrived Tuesday afternoon, Ecuador said he was "under the protection of the Ecuadorian government.
"As a signatory to the United Nations Universal Declaration for Human Rights, with an obligation to review all applications for asylum, we have immediately passed his application on to the relevant department in Quito," the embassy said on its website.
"While the department assesses Assange's application, Assange will remain at the embassy, under the protection of the Ecuadorian Government."
"The decision to consider Assange's application for protective asylum should in no way be interpreted as the Government of Ecuador interfering in the judicial processes of either the United Kingdom or Sweden," it said.
Christine Assange, Julian's mother, said she hopes Ecuador will grant asylum. If not, she hopes other countries will arise and offer asylum for her son who exposed the corruption of the United States and is now under attack as the US attempts to silence a journalist. She said there is no doubt that the US is already attempting to intimidate Ecuador. (Listen at: http://blogs.abc.net.au/queensland/2012/06/christine-assange-on-her-sons-bid-for-political-asylum-in-ecuador.html
In 2010, Ecuador acknowledged that the US diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks revealed that US diplomats were spying in Ecuador. Among those cables was one that revealed that US diplomats in Ecuador were engaged in a program to counter efforts for passage of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which later was adopted by the United Nations.
In the cables, the US
expressed concern over the Declaration. Those concerns included Indigenous rights
to traditional territories and the mandate of free, prior and informed consent
prior to development in Indigenous territories.
Ecuador's
Foreign Minister responds today:
COMUNICADOS DEL MINISTERIO DE RELACIONES EXTERIORES, COMERCIO E
INTEGRACIÓN
Comunicado El Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Comercio e Integración ha informado
que el día de hoy el señor Julian Assange de nacionalidad Australiana, con residencia en el Reino
Unido, se ha presentado en la sede de la Misión Diplomática del Ecuador en Londres solicitando
la protección del Gobierno del Ecuador, argumentando que ante una “lamentable declaración
efectiva de abandono recibida por las autoridades de mi país, Australia, en la cual declaran que
no defenderán ni aún mis garantías mínimas ante ningún gobierno y delegan en la Constitución
de un país extranjero que aplica la pena de muerte por el delito de espionaje y traición, y en las
garantías que ésta ofrece a sus connacionales, ignorando la obligación de proteger a su ciudadano,
que es perseguido políticamente. Dichas declaraciones hacen imposible mi retorno a mi país de
origen y me colocan en un estado de indefensión al ser solicitado para ser interrogado por el
Reino de Suecia, lugar donde sus más altos funcionarios me han atacado abiertamente, e
investigado por delitos políticos en los Estados Unidos de América, un país donde la pena
de muerte por dichas ofensas aún está vigente”. El Gobierno del Ecuador se encuentra
evaluando el pedido del señor Julian Assange y cualquier decisión que adopte sobre el
mismo tendrá en cuenta el respeto a las normas y principios de derecho internacional,
así como la tradicional política del Ecuador de precautelar los derechos humanos.
La Cancillería ha comunicado oficialmente acerca de esta situación al Foreign and
Commonwealth Office a través de la Embajada del Ecuador en el Reino Unido y de
la Representación Diplomática británica en Quito. COMUNICADO No. 029
Comunicado El Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Comercio e Integración ha informado
que el día de hoy el señor Julian Assange de nacionalidad Australiana, con residencia en el Reino
Unido, se ha presentado en la sede de la Misión Diplomática del Ecuador en Londres solicitando
la protección del Gobierno del Ecuador, argumentando que ante una “lamentable declaración
efectiva de abandono recibida por las autoridades de mi país, Australia, en la cual declaran que
no defenderán ni aún mis garantías mínimas ante ningún gobierno y delegan en la Constitución
de un país extranjero que aplica la pena de muerte por el delito de espionaje y traición, y en las
garantías que ésta ofrece a sus connacionales, ignorando la obligación de proteger a su ciudadano,
que es perseguido políticamente. Dichas declaraciones hacen imposible mi retorno a mi país de
origen y me colocan en un estado de indefensión al ser solicitado para ser interrogado por el
Reino de Suecia, lugar donde sus más altos funcionarios me han atacado abiertamente, e
investigado por delitos políticos en los Estados Unidos de América, un país donde la pena
de muerte por dichas ofensas aún está vigente”. El Gobierno del Ecuador se encuentra
evaluando el pedido del señor Julian Assange y cualquier decisión que adopte sobre el
mismo tendrá en cuenta el respeto a las normas y principios de derecho internacional,
así como la tradicional política del Ecuador de precautelar los derechos humanos.
La Cancillería ha comunicado oficialmente acerca de esta situación al Foreign and
Commonwealth Office a través de la Embajada del Ecuador en el Reino Unido y de
la Representación Diplomática británica en Quito. COMUNICADO No. 029
Earlier, in a cable released by Wikileaks, US Ambassador Linda Jewell in Ecuador said the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is "fundamentally flawed." This cable marked the third cable revealing how the United States worked behind the scenes to halt adoption and implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
A Wikileaks cable from the US Embassy in Canada said Canada agreed
with the US that the Declaration was "ill-conceived and headed for a train
wreck." In Iceland, the US Ambassador said Iceland's support of the Declaration
was an "impediment" to US and Iceland relations at the UN.
Wikileaks revealed that US Ambassador Jewell in Quito, Ecuador, described steps
taken by the US to dissuade Ecuador from supporting the Declaration in 2006, the
year before it was adopted by the UN. Jewell stated the government of Ecuador
was inclined to support the Declaration in 2006. She said, however, that the US
took steps to present papers to show that the UN Declaration "is fundamentally
flawed." The cable was written on Oct. 20, 2006 and released on May 2, 2011. It is marked sensitive and titled GOE (Government of Ecuador) Inclined to Support Indigenous Declaration.
==================================================================
Cable: 06QUITO2574
REF: A. SECSTATE 169257
¶B. QUITO 1386
¶1. (SBU) PolOff presented Ref A points and non-papers to Augusto Saa, Director of Human Rights and Social and Environmental issues at the MFA, on October 12, emphasizing the USG view that the Chair's draft UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is fundamentally flawed.
¶2. (SBU) Saa responded that the GOE continues to support the draft Declaration, but has advised its UN mission not to push any sensitive issues and would share USG concerns regarding the declaration with them. He agreed that more discussion of the declaration would be necessary before a final vote, and said Ecuador would consult with others who are in favor while remaining open to arguments from those who oppose it. Saa emphasized it would be difficult for Ecuador to actively oppose the draft, citing political realities here, including the current electoral climate and the support for the Declaration from Ecuadorian indigenous groups.
JEWELL
=====================================================================
Wikileaks cables reveal how the US Embassy in Peru tracked Indigenous activists and organized mining companies to counter Indigenous efforts to protect their communities. Five countries formed an alliance to promote mining, while the US provided a list of names of Indigenous grassroots activists in Peru.
MORE:
Wikileaks Peru: Ambassador targeted Indigenous activists:
http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2011/02/wikileaks-peru-us-ambassador-targeted.html
Wikileaks Peru: US engaged in espionage of Indigenous activists:
http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2011/02/wikileaks-us-engaged-in-espionage-of.html
Wikileaks Peru: US feared Indigenous power:
http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2011/02/wikileaks-peru-us-feared-return-of.html
Wikileaks US: Canada says UN Declaration headed for a train wreck:
http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2011/05/wikileaks-canada-says-un-declaration-on.html
WIKILEAKS: US says Iceland's support of UN Indigenous Declaration is an 'impediment' to US relations:http://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2011/01/wiki-icelands-support-of-indigenous.html
Background:
UNITED NATIONS DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
Adopted by the General Assembly 13 September 2007
The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the General Assembly on Thursday September 13, by a majority of 144 states in favour, 4 votes against (Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States) and 11 abstentions (Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burundi, Colombia, Georgia, Kenya, Nigeria, Russian Federation, Samoa and Ukraine). More:
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/en/declaration.html
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (text)
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/en/drip.html
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