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© 2012 AFPAssange gets rock-star welcome at Ecuador embassy appearance
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© 2012 AFP
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TheQuestion
Because Assange's ego wasn't nearly large enough already.
AlternateUniverse
Of all the issues on the table, why do you care about his ego? Its a short list of great men without one you know.
Sounds simple enough.
2020hindsights
Interesting he didn't address the issue at hand which is his extradition to Sweden.
Hmmm. Doesn't seem so. He's unwilling to face the music in Sweden.
AlternateUniverse
The article makes it abundantly clear that the problem is possible extradition to the U.S.
The music in Sweden is widely believed to be mere lip syncing and bogus, and for good reasons.
Just because the authorities demand it does not make it justice. Or do you support Assad in Syria? See, justice is justice, not the word of officialdom, and that has been Assange's message from day one.
YuriOtani
Can not think of how the UK can make any more mistakes.
BertieWooster
I wish Assange the best of luck.
A very brave man, doing something very, very needed in the world.
If there were more people like him, we might just avoid the world becoming one huge police state.
Shannon Clark
Cheers to Ecuador.
2020hindsights
And which reasons are those?
So you are doubting both the justice systems of the UK and Sweden?
il babuino
One of his messages, at any rate, with the word justice redefined to satisfy his ideology. Assange excites Walter Mitty-esque, dime store nihilists everywhere.
TheQuestion
Because the other issues at hand here aren't partuclarly interesting. Just another guy that kicked the wrong hornets nest. He's probably going to get messed with for a while but I doubt any actual charges are going to stick in the long term. He just makes a lot of noise and annoyes me.
You and I probably define great men differently. Assange was a facilitator. If you think that divulging information related to national defense is an act of greatness then you should be trumpeting the US defense worker that will probably spend the rest of his natural life in prison as a traitor.
Wolfpack
It will be nice to see this egomaniac rapist finally go to jail.
some07791
As others have pointed out - Assange never addressed the issue at hand which is the accusation against him of sexual offenses. Sweden and the UK have acted according to UK, Swedish and European law regarding his questioning and extradition. If he is innocent he needs to go to Sweden and prove this. He doesnt get to ignore the law because he is part of wikileaks.
The facts are as set out above. Anybody claiming he is at risk of extradition to the USA is a conspiracy theorist - no evidence has been provided of any plot to send him to america.
On a related note - Hague needs to be fired for threatening the embassy of Ecaudor.
edbardoe
If Obama really is out to get him, he had better stay where drones don't fly!
nath
Like a leaping frog, without a log to hop...
-Cole Porter
WA4TKG
" Rock Star " reception...well, THERE goes MY idea of visiting Ecuador, I guess I'll go spend my money in Panama.
YuriOtani
Not sure if it is a long list but they do have the South American countries working tougher. The threat of force is still possible after all why all of the police? More is how they are letting the USA make their foreign policy. Other NATO countries are making same mistake. Being pig headed about sending him to Sweden. What he did is not crime in UK. Best thing they can do is to ship him to Ecuador. Let the Americans worry about him.
some07791
Yuri - the extradition complies with the laws of Sweden, UK and the EU. Its not about being pig-headed its about complying with the law. Assange doesnt deserve to be able to ignore the law because he leaked a lot of documents.
The huge police presence outside the embassy is to catch him if/when he tries to run. Ecador has granted him asylum but that doesnt mean the UK has to grant safe passage to Ecuador. Once he is out of the embassy he will be extradited (hopefully) and he can plead his case in Sweden. Frankly thats the only way the UK can maintain some dignity after threatening to invade the embassy. Allowing Assange to go to Ecuador bypasses the laws of Sweden, UK and the EU. No person should be able to do that, regardless of what they have done.
He belongs in Sweden right now, not the USA.
Carolingium
I see the spin doctors are hard at work.
2020hindsights
The police are there to stop him sneaking out. Of course they could invoke their law to invalidate the consular status of the embassy, but that would be both a bold and silly move for such a minor case. They would be condemned worldwide.
Actually they aren't being pig headed. They are following the course of the law. What he did is not crime in UK but he was still considered to be eligible for extradition. And he has had several appeals. He has also skipped bail. So if they don't follow their own internal judicial processes, what does that say to the rest of the world?
I would say that informing Ecuador of their option (most likely to end the diplomatic stalemate) was a huge mistake.
whiskeysour
He's looking at hard times. BETTER enjoy the little freedom he has left.
ReformedBasher
So they are Wikileak volunteers? Is it really a witch hunt or is it him trying to avoid justice?
He talks about justice a great deal but if he is guilty, I hope some is dished out to him.
Spanki
Will someone please make this man go away and shut up
Wakarimasen
Nonsense. If US were going to extradite him they would do so from UK where it is much easier for them and whose government is much closer to them that Sweden's. this is just Assange not wanting to face the music in Sweden.
Lowly
Yeah he's a publicity hound
But we all like wiki leaks.
AlternateUniverse
He was questioned already once. The case was all but dead, but then it got revived. Assange hung around Sweden for a month afterward before leaving. The Swedish authorities had their chance. Now they go through all this extradition mumbo jumbo?
And look at what this is about! Improper use of a condom, or intentionally breaking one! I don't support Assange in that if true, but if it takes a month and two rounds of questioning without charges filed or a proper arrest in that time, then what justice can be expected?
None of us would go back to Sweden, even if totally innocent, ESPECIALLY if totally innocent.
Yup. Just because they are called justice systems does not mean they always dispense justice! Don't let semantics fool you!
SwissToni
"Yup. Just because they are called justice systems does not mean they always dispense justice!"
Having spent two years going through the UK system and failing several appeals exhibits he's getting justice. As was pointed out earlier the US have much stronger extradition agreements with the UK so if they were persecuting him I think they've had plenty of opportunity to users Swedens claim to him.
It's interesting that nobody has picked out the lie in Assanges speech accusing the police of entering the embassy? If that had actually happened I think we would be having a very different discussion today.
Thunderbird2
I agree with Spanki - I wish this tosser would just bugger off.
frontandcentre
"Rock Star"? Didn't mention the Swedish case? Funny, that.
As many people have pointed out, you can quite easily agree with the mission and ethos of Wikileaks without ignoring the obvious flaws in Assange's character at the same time - as his band of fawning supporters seem so ready to do. The supposed threat of extradition to the US looks very much like an excuse to avoid accounting for his actions in Sweden.
As someone who has broken his bail conditions (Britain's only mistake wasn't remanding him in custody pending extradition, but at least the rules were followed) and is trying to flee justice for trumped up conspiratorial reasons, he has no right whatsoever to try and negotiate terms for his arrest or demand any sort of guarantees. He had plenty of opportunity to defend himself against extradition but his defence didn't stand up in an impartial court.
Running away from Swedish justice and getting diplomatic asylum from the publicity-seeking President of a Banana Republic with a terrible record of human rights and free speech is an irony not lost on most Brits - though plenty of people seem unable to recognise it here.
In a word, ludicrous.
FnC
Harry_Gatto
Britain did not make a threat, it merely pointed out that "Under British law we can give them a weeks' notice before entering the premises and the embassy will no longer have diplomatic protection 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."
Thunderbird2
I also noticed he was saying the police had already entered the building? Really? How come Ecuador isn't saying anything about that? Had that actually happened it would be headline news all over the world.
Just go away Assange... take your sheep and just go.
Elbuda Mexicano
If he has some good info on idiot Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld , Boy oh boy!! This will be fun!!!
tokyokawasaki
If brave people give up 'reporting' on governments behavior, we might as well just give up. If it wasn't for people like Assange, this would never have made it into the public domain...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kelmEZe8whI#!
I don't know about you, but I would prefer transparency. Not lies, secret and hidden agendas...
fds
this is not a nice upstanding guy.
Madverts
Heh, 200 supporters? That was it? I bet most of them saw the other hippies queuing up and thought that perhaps somebody was selling weed.
Assange is a charlatan, his quest is himself and his ago, not the truth.
AlternateUniverse
So you are saying there were no police on the fire escape? Is that what you are saying?
Are you also saying that he lied rather than made a mistake? Would you like him to go check the fire escapes personally for himself? Yeah, I bet you would! Maybe he will when the fire alarms mysteriously go off eh?
JonathanJo
What exactly do swarms of police sound like anyway? Couldn't they have been the embassy's own security staff just trying to rattle him into fleeing the building?
JonathanJo
And wouldn't a rock star be pretty unimpressed with only 200 fans?
BertieWooster
I see the party line is well represented here:
Daring to lay bare social crimes makes him an egomaniac?
A highly dubious claim by two women makes him a rapist?
I think not.
AlternateUniverse
Then Sweden swearing that no extradition charge to America or anywhere else will be accepted should be pretty easy. Why don't they just call his bluff, if it is a bluff?
toguro
"A very brave man, doing something very, very needed in the world."
@BertieWooster:
Yes, very brave hiding out in the Ecuadorean embassy. LOL smh
mrmalice
no matter what or what not, the man deserves fair treatment at the very least, if they just wanna ask some questions they can have a public hearing and skype him or do a google hangout from the embassy, they can ask every possible question like that. It's called transparency, it's how you get people to regain trust in politics and so-called justice and if everything happened like that there wouldn't have been a wikileaks in the first place. Because there would be no need for it. I think Equador deserves more than an honourable mention for standing up and showing some grit in the face of the lobby
YuriOtani
Harry British law does not top International law and custom. Once the British police enter the Embassy there will be a defacto state of war. Ecuador would be in their rights to take over the British Embassy in their country. After all Embassy rights comes from a mutual understanding, so if their Embassy is violated then they can do the same. When the UK gives it warning about their Embassy expect to see tanks show up around the British Embassy in Ecuador.
BertieWooster
Toguro-san
I wasn't referring to his taking refuge in the Ecuadorean embassy but to his making public some of the atrocities that the US and other countries have been trying to hide.
YuriOtani
It is hide in the Embassy or as Rush would say stay at "Club Getmo". Am sure the Americans will treat him badly like PFC Manning, who they stripped naked and kept in a lit cell. It is not being a coward to hide against a known danger. The American government is a very real danger. They never learned their lesson from WWII and are repeating the same mistakes to this day.
some07791
Yuri -its been 3 days, when are the british government going to raid the embassy?
It seems more like your wish. It hasnt happened before in the UK (or if so, please tell me when) so the UK police have no previous, so you have no basis for your belief. They made a stupid threat and got shouted down by the international community. Its easy to make statements based on feeling and no evidence.
Undoubtedly, it was a major mistake by the british government to threaten invading the embassy, somebody (hague) needs to be fired over this. But it now seems the UK government is now content to wait it out. Assange isnt going anywhere and he will be arrested and sent to sweden to face his accusers, as per British and EU law.
arrestpaul
I think Assange is losing his mind. He's seeing police officers everywhere. Even "inside" the walls of the embassy???
How does the author of this article explain his statements that Assange did not mention his rape case in Sweden but did mention his rape case in Sweden?
And yet -