Ecuador: Conflicting opinions after decision to grant asylum to Julian Assange

WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, has been a refugee in Ecuador's embassy in London from June 19, 2012. As we reported earlier , on the morning of August 16 Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino announced that Ecuador would grant diplomatic asylum to the creator Wikileaks. Ecuador has based its decision on 11 grounds .

Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said that London will not grant safe conduct for Assange leaves the Ecuadorian embassy, ​​and stressed that the UK legal obligation "is extradited to Sweden", as reported by the BBC.

Assange is wanted by the authorities Swedish by two complaints of alleged sexual offenses in 2010. In December of the same year, Assange was arrested by British police on a warrant issued by Sweden. The December 16, 2010 a British court ordered the arrest of Assange, lest he leave the country.

As explained Renata Avila for Global Voices Advocacy ,

Assange facing imminent extradition to Sweden [in] for questioning on sex charges for which has not been charged, where he was arrested upon arrival alone without bond, according to Fair Trials International [in]. At the last minute, decided to exercise their right to seek asylum . Came to the Embassy of Ecuador and has remained under diplomatic protection while Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa reviewing his case.

The Ecuadorian government attacks based its decision on previous and current [in] against WikiLeaks, its founder and until his volunteers, unprecedented in scale or severity.

Supporting Julian Assange outside the Ecuadorean Embassy in London on August 16, 2012. Photo Yanice Idir, copyright Demotix.

Blog Efren Guerrero Aura Neurotica wrote about the case before the announcement of the decision to grant asylum to Ecuador Assange. Efren explained the two options of Ecuador decided to give asylum if:

a. Stop the refugee indefinitely in the embassy in London, or b. Transported to Ecuador. In the second case there is the need for a pass, which as indicated by the British authorities, is not going to give.
The International Court of Justice in several judgments stressed that "emerging security of asylum can not be interpreted as a protection against the regular application of the laws and against the jurisdiction of legally constituted courts."

Reactions on Twitter by Ecuadorians have been varied. For example, Mauricio Rodriguez ( @ maurisec ) said:

@ Maurisec : # asiloassange well supported "arguments" of asylum but not warranted. M not feel represented x these "dignitaries" and their decisions

Ivanna Rodriguez Mori ( @ irodriguezmori ) has several tweets dedicated to the topic, showing his disagreement with the decision of the government of Ecuador:

@ Irodriguezmori : Rummaging international law to grant asylum or to ensure the rights of a person who does not deserve it. That's my Ecuador. "

Referring to freedom of expression in the country, Jorge Gonzalez ( @ clever_george ) writes:

@ Clever_george : # AsiloAssange , speak both free speech when in our own country there!

The journalist Xavier Reyes ( @ xavivire ) asks from Quito:

@ Xavivire : President breaks newspapers q, q and insults prosecutes journalists, q accepts its truth only gives asylum to # Assange ... Paradoxes? Interests??

Similarly, the journalist Marce Riera ( @ marceriera ) question:

@ Marceriera : And we also Ecuadorian journalists defended by the government at some point??? # AsiloAssange

However, on the same subject, Carlos Wiilkapy ( @ ve_to ) tweets:

Supporting Julian Assange outside the Ecuadorean Embassy in London on August 16, 2012. Photo Yanice Idir, copyright Demotix.

@ Ve_to : All Ecuadorian journalists victims are believed Equally # asiloassange

Several users defended the government's decision, as Chelo Moreira ( @ moreirachelo ):

@ Moreirachelo : I congratulate you once again proud to be Ecuadorian President q and q represent us is what is to give humanistic q # asiloassange @ MashiRafael

Meanwhile Assange supporters in Ecuador are happy, as evidenced by Jose Rafael ( @ raphael7252 ) and Felipe Ortiz ( @ Felo_777 ):

@ Felo_777 : Julian Assange is a contemporary hero # Freeassange # asiloassange

Others, such as user @ oscgamb , held:

@ Oscgamb : Ecuador living as sovereign nation! # Asiloassange

The newspaper El Comercio reports that Assange's mother, Christine Assange, thanked Ecuador for the asylum granted, "but is concerned about the fate of his son." Ecuador has called for urgent meetings with the Union of South American Nations ( UNASUR ) , the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America ( ALBA ) and the Organization of American States ( OAS ) to treat the case of Assange.

Written by Gina Yauri · Comments (0)
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