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It's unfortunate Ecuador went back on its promise of asylum, but I will give them some credit that they granted it in the first place, against what was surely s
by mLuby 7y ago
It's unfortunate Ecuador went back on its promise of asylum, but I will give them some credit that they granted it in the first place, against what was surely strong USA pressure, and protected Assange for 7 years.
- the_af 7y agoFor context: Ecuador changed governments in between. While the current president was officially the continuation of the previous one (the one who granted Assange asylum), in effect he turned soon after being elected, to the point the prior president considers him a traitor to all he initially stood for. So you must give credit to the prior government, not the current one.
- cwkoss 7y agoI wonder if any external foreign forces played a role in that Ecuadorian election...
- bonestamp2 7y ago/s
- auiya 7y agoThe executive branch of the US government did as well. Drastically. The opinion of the US Justice department through each of those two wildly different presidents however, did not change.
- the_af 7y agoThe difference is that before the election, Lenin Moreno was seen as the successor of Rafael Correa (unlike the Trump and Obama situation). Correa's grant of asylum to Assange was seen as a political/ideological stand, and his successor was expected to continue it. When Moreno got elected he reverted enough of Correa's policies that the latter considers him a traitor [1]. That was unexpected. ---- [1] https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/apr/11/rafael-correa-ex-ecuadorian-president-slams-succes/ https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/apr/11/rafael-corr... > "“The greatest traitor in Ecuadorian and Latin American history, Lenin Moreno, allowed the British police to enter our embassy in London to arrest Assange,” Mr. Correa tweeted. “Moreno is a corrupt man, but what he has done is a crime that humanity will never forget.”
- totalZero 7y agoThis goes deeper than Correa vs Moreno. (A) Ecuador received a $4.2B loan from the US-dominated IMF, which was approved around the same time Assange was dragged out of the embassy, and (B) President Moreno was caught up in the INA Papers scandal where many personal photos, messages, and documents were published, and Moreno accused Assange of involvement shortly before evicting Assange.
- edoo 7y agoIIRC most of South America was furious as they were all active targets of the exposed spying.
- Trufa 7y agoI don't think most of South America know who Assange is, it's pretty fringe nerdy news over here, I would guess Ecuatorians a bit more though, but doubt most are into the detail but rather have a vague idea.
- edoo 7y agoI meant the governments of South America which were being spied on and I believe it was all of them.
- eridius 7y agoEcuador didn't exactly "[go] back on its promise of asylum". Assange violated the terms of his asylum. Whether that's justification for handing him over to the U.S. is a separate argument, but Ecuador was justified in terminating the asylum.
- JauntyHatAngle 7y agoPerhaps, but it really had nothing to do with it by best accounts. Change of Government, new person is power was always anti-assange. Government changed, Assange out.
- totalZero 7y agoAssange violated the terms of his asylum. This is only true if you take what the government of Ecuador has claimed at face value. The reality is that Latin American governments often make deceptive and untrue claims to support activities that benefit them. In this case, Ecuador made several unsubstantiated claims ostensibly designed to humiliate Assange, which fall short of any reasonable attempt to prove that Assange violated the terms of his asylum.