Cyprus-Forum.com

[ARMENIAN CYPRIOT]

http://news.antiwar.com/2012/08/15/brit ... e-assange/

Ecuador’s government is calling for an emergency meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) tonight after the British Foreign Office threatened to invade the Ecuadorean embassy in London in an effort to capture Julian Assange.
Assange is currently in the embassy pending an asylum decision by the Ecuador government, which is expected Thursday. The Ecuadorean government has confirmed receiving a letter sent by the British Embassy in Quito threatening to attack the embassy.
Attacking an embassy is almost unheard of in the Western world and a violation of the Vienna Convention, but British law grants the government the ability to attack embassies whenever it considers it in the national interest.

Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino slammed the threat, saying that “we want to be very clear, we’re not a British colony,” and adding that they would consider an attack on their embassy to be an “unfriendly, hostile and intolerable act.

[ARMENIAN CYPRIOT]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/ ... 6N20120815

Britain warns Ecuador it could enter embassy to get Assange

Britain on Wednesday warned Ecuador that it could raid its London embassy if Quito does not hand over WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been taking refuge at the mission since mid-June.

In Quito, the Ecuadorean government said that any such action would be considered a violation of its sovereignty a "hostile and intolerable act."

"Under British law we can give them a weeks' notice before entering the premises and the embassy will no longer have diplomatic protection," a Foreign Office spokesman said. "But that decision has not yet been taken. We are not going to do this overnight. We want to stress that we want a diplomatically agreeable solution."

In Quito, the government bristled at the threat and said it would announce its decision on Assange's asylum request on Thursday at 7 a.m. (1200 GMT).

"We want to be very clear, we're not a British colony. The colonial times are over," Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said in an angry statement after a meeting with President Rafael Correa.

"The move announced in the official British statement, if it happens, would be interpreted by Ecuador as an unfriendly, hostile and intolerable act, as well as an attack on our sovereignty, which would force us to respond in the strongest diplomatic way," Patino told reporters.

Ecuador, whose government is part of a left-leaning bloc of nations in South America, called for meetings of regional foreign ministers and the hemispheric Organization of American States to rally support in its complaint against Britain.
WANTED IN SWEDEN

The Australian has been in the embassy for eight weeks since losing a legal battle to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he has been accused of rape and sexual assault by two WikiLeaks supporters.

"The UK has a legal obligation to extradite Mr Assange to Sweden to face questioning over allegations of sexual offences and we remain determined to fulfill this obligation," a Foreign Office spokesman said earlier.

Swedish prosecutors have not yet charged Assange, but they have moved forward with their investigations and they believe they have a case to take to trial.

Assange fears Sweden could send him on to the United States, where he believes authorities want to punish him for publishing thousands of secret U.S. diplomatic cables on WikiLeaks in 2010 in a major embarrassment for Washington.

Even if he were granted asylum, Assange has little chance of leaving the Ecuadorean embassy in London without being arrested.

The red-brick embassy building, just outside London's famed Harrods department store, was under tight surveillance late into the night, with three police officers manning the entrance and several others patrolling around the premises of the building.

There has been speculation he could travel to an airport in a diplomatic car, be smuggled out in a diplomatic bag, or even be appointed an Ecuadorean diplomat to give him immunity.

But lawyers and diplomats see those scenarios as practically unworkable.

The Ecuadorean government has said it wants to avoid Assange's extradition to Sweden, but approval of asylum would offer no legal protection in Britain where police will arrest him once they get a chance.

"The question of asylum is arguably a red herring," said former British government lawyer Carl Gardner.

Ecuador's leader Correa is a self-declared enemy of "corrupt" media and U.S. "imperialism", and apparently hit it off with Assange during a TV interview the Australian did with him in May.

Correa joked then with Assange that he had joined "the club of the persecuted".

Some, though, find Assange's connection with Ecuador odd, given that Correa is labeled a persecutor of the media by journalism freedom groups.

(Additional reporting by Jose Llangari in Quito; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Sandra Maler)

[ARMENIAN CYPRIOT]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ho ... 50602.html

British authorities have threatened to force their way into Ecuador's London embassy to arrest Julian Assange even if the WikiLeaks founder is granted asylum in South America, the country's Foreign Minister claimed yesterday.

"We've received a threat by the United Kingdom... that they could storm our embassy in London if Ecuador refuses to hand in Julian Assange," Ricardo Patino said, indicating a decision on Mr Assange's application will be announced at noon today. After a meeting with Ecuadorian President, Rafael Correa, he later added: "We are not a British colony."

Mr Patino released a letter he said had been sent to the Ecuadorian government in the capital, Quito, by a British embassy official. It read: "You need to be aware that there is a legal base in the UK, the Diplomatic and Consular Premises Act 1987, that would allow us to take actions in order to arrest Mr Assange in the current premises of the Embassy. We sincerely hope that we do not reach that point, but if you are not capable of resolving this matter of Mr Assange's presence in your premises, this is an open option for us... "We need to reiterate that we consider the continued use of the diplomatic premises in this way incompatible with the Vienna Convention and unsustainable and we have made clear the serious implications that this has for our diplomatic relations."
A Ecuadorian government spokesman said last night: "We are deeply shocked by the British government's threats against the sovereignty of the Ecuadorian Embassy and their suggestion that they may forcibly enter the embassy. This a clear breach of international law and the protocols set out in the Vienna Convention.

"Throughout out the last 56 days Mr Julian Assange has been in the Embassy, the Ecuadorian Government has acted honourably in all our attempts to seek a resolution to the situation. "This stands in stark contrast to the escalation of the British Government today with their threats to break down the door of the Ecuadorian Embassy. Instead of threatening violence against the Ecuadorian Embassy, the British Government should use its energy to find a peaceful resolution to this situation which we are aiming to achieve."

Mr Assange entered Ecuador's embassy in west London in June after his final appeal against extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning on allegations of sexual abuse, was turned down by the Supreme Court.

The online activist claims that, should he be flown to Sweden, he will ultimately be passed on to US authorities for trial on charges of treason for publishing state secrets. A Foreign Office spokeswoman said last night: "We have consistently made our position clear in our discussions with the government of Ecuador. The UK has a legal obligation to extradite Mr Assange to Sweden to face questioning over allegations of sexual offences and we remain determined to fulfil this obligation. We have an obligation to extradite Mr Assange and it is only right that we give Ecuador the full picture.

"Throughout this process we have drawn the Ecuadorians' attention to relevant provisions of our law, whether, for example, the extensive human rights safeguards in our extradition procedures, or the legal status of diplomatic premises in the UK. We are still committed to reaching a mutually acceptable solution."

[Hyder]

3 times with the same thing & yet noting to indicate what your point is

[ARMENIAN CYPRIOT]

3 times with the same thing & yet noting to indicate what your point is

My point is if England decides to attack an embassy to free a asylum seeker, they should expect the same to there embassies in China,Russia, Iran or any nation that the Brits give asylum to.

[bsharpish]

So he's afraid to face justice for allegations of sexual misconduct in a country which has been neutral and non aligned since 1812, a country famous for its liberal and humanitarian nature..... And the excuse ...... " they might deport me to the USA" for releasing classified documents.

He should travel to Sweden and defend himself against the allegations ...... Anything else I take as a confession of guilt.

Ask his supporters ......who posted the substantial bail bond that he's broken how honourable and informative he was when he did a runner.

As for the wiki leaks issue - if he's such a global freedom fighter and humanist he should relish the martyrdom as much as he relishes the notoriety and publicity.

His cause may be just ,HOWEVER, The guys a self aggrandising prick.

[kimon07]

So he's afraid to face justice for allegations of sexual misconduct in a country which has been neutral and non aligned since 1812, a country famous for its liberal and humanitarian nature..... And the excuse ...... " they might deport me to the USA" for releasing classified documents.

He should travel to Sweden and defend himself against the allegations ...... Anything else I take as a confession of guilt.

Ask his supporters ......who posted the substantial bail bond that he's broken how honourable and informative he was when he did a runner.

As for the wiki leaks issue - if he's such a global freedom fighter and humanist he should relish the martyrdom as much as he relishes the notoriety and publicity.

His cause may be just ,HOWEVER, The guys a self aggrandising prick.

The issue of this topic and of the whole case is not if this guy is bad or good. The issue is whether Britain is entitled to violate international law and the Ecuadorian embassy asylum. And if yes why not others as well? Just a scenario: British police storms the embassy. Next day an infuriated mob in Ecuador, which the Ecuadorian police "does its best" to stop but fails, storms the British embassy and kills a couple of people. What then? Lets face it. The British governments are puppets of the Americans. And they want to do what they can so that the Americans catch him one way or the other. And murder him or put him in jail for the rest of his life.

[Hyder]

You are mistaken in believing that the concept of an embassy being sovereign territory is enshrined in international law. It is merely a convention that nations have undertaken to respect over the years as a sort of unwritten rule.

This inflamed talk of 'storming' the place is nonsense. The Ecuadorians would have no right to refuse a police officer bearing the appropriate warrant entry.

Until there is a trial we cannot know anything as fact but it is possible that this guy is a rapist & a such should stand trial. Or do the two alleged victims have no rights whatsoever in your blinkered view of the world?

[ARMENIAN CYPRIOT]

You are mistaken in believing that the concept of an embassy being sovereign territory is enshrined in international law. It is merely a convention that nations have undertaken to respect over the years as a sort of unwritten rule.

This inflamed talk of 'storming' the place is nonsense. The Ecuadorians would have no right to refuse a police officer bearing the appropriate warrant entry.

Until there is a trial we cannot know anything as fact but it is possible that this guy is a rapist & a such should stand trial. Or do the two alleged victims have no rights whatsoever in your blinkered view of the world?

Did you know that Sweden will not promise that they will not extradite him to the USA even if found innocent ???? I guess he must have pissed of a bunch of pompous asses such as Bush Cheney, That British ST Blair about the war crimes they committed and now want his head???? Did they ever find any of those weapons of mass destruction they were looking for ????

[Svetlana]

There is no way the UK will 'attack' the Embassy the UK respects the Vienna Convention, scaremongering rubbish!!!