Assange angers Ecuador by helping Snowden

Assange angers Ecuador by helping Snowden

news.theage.com.au

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has strained his relationship with the Ecuadorean government by helping NSA leaker Edward Snowden.

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa is furious about the collaboration between one of the country's diplomats and Mr Assange, British newspaper The Independent reports.

The pair organised a safe passage letter for NSA employee turned whistle blower, Mr Snowden.

President Correa said the government wasn't consulted about the letter.

(visit the link for the full news article)

This is an interesting turn of events for Mr. Assange, who had, with the aid of an Ecuadorian diplomat bestowed upon Edward Snowden a safe passage letter without the authorisation of the Ecuadorian government itself.

It has been reported that this incident may very well bring Assange's own asylum bid, and his position in the Ecuadorian Embassy into question.

President Correa has revoked the safe passage letter, leaving Snowden's fate in the hands of the Russians, while Assange has apologised to the foreign minister, stating that he was sorry "if we have unwittingly (caused) Ecuador discomfort in the Snowden matter".

---

Perhaps Assange left it up to the Ecuadorian diplomat to inform the government. Perhaps he thought that they had already had the go ahead. Or perhaps, he was just brave enough to test his ties with Ecuador and see how far he could support Snowden...we may never know.

It will be interesting to see Ecuador's response.

news.theage.com.au
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by daaskapital


Surely it's the diplomats fault then and not Assange'? There's a lot of info being thrown back and forward with this whole debacle, one thing is for sure, I don't think the U.S. are going to let up on the pressure they're putting on.

They say it is easier to ask forgiveness than for permission.

We shall see how this plays out.

reply to post by Zcustosmorum


I'd imagine so, considering Assange has no power in his own right to issue safe passage letters. Apparently, the Ecuadorian government is angry at WikiLeaks' involvement in the matter and are looking to punish Assange as well as the diplomat.

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa was furious with his own diplomat Fidel Narvaez, who - in conjunction with Mr Assange - organised the handing of a safe passage letter to Mr Snowden. He called the move, which was apparently made without consulting the central government, a "serious error", for which the consul was likely to be punished. And WikiLeaks' involvement in the debacle also angered Quito.

I was reading the source article, and Assange apologised further through written text:

"There is a fog of war due to the rapid nature of events. If similar events arise you can be assured that they do not originate in any lack of respect or concern for Ecuador or its government."

www.independent.co.uk... -whistleblower-affair-8681776.html

reply to post by daaskapital


Are they really just Mad that Assange posted the letter on WikiLeaks?

You know how it is with children. If you don't let them do something themselves then they get all bent out of shape.

But as was mentioned before it is really not the fault of Assange, he was just a party to it.

Originally posted by ShadellacZumbrum
reply to post by daaskapital

 

Are they really just Mad that Assange posted the letter on WikiLeaks?

You know how it is with children. If you don't let them do something themselves then they get all bent out of shape.

But as was mentioned before it is really not the fault of Assange, he was just a party to it.

How do we know for sure Assange was not the instigator of this? He could have pressured this diplomat into it, or they may have been friends... I saw nothing to indicate he was innocent.

Possibly, Assange has presumed too much. I have no doubts that he instigated the letter and the diplomat will now pay for it. Assange may even be given an eviction date and will pay for his cheek in assuming that he was somehow important. Should that happen, the local constabulary would be more than happy to detain him as a person of interest.

Snowden, the hapless pawn in the international game of the moment, has just had his 'keep out of jail free' card revoked and is becoming more and more desperate. He will doubtless continue to reveal more about the NSA and colluding foreign agencies, making himself less and less attractive to any country that may have offered him asylum.

That 15 minutes of fame is getting shorter and shorter and staying in the public eye is costing him opportunities.

I'm sure he'd be a celebrity in North Korea until his propaganda value was used up. Then he could write about the openness and freedoms enjoyed under the leadership of Kim Jong Un and his merry men.