wlcentral.org: Fear of U.S. backlash further justifies Assange’s concerns
Wlcentral.org, the news site reporting on all things Wikileaks, posted the following on July 7, 2012. I’ve reposted a portion of their article here — with respect to the terms of their Creative Commons license — because I believe the article illustrates how the U.S. uses it’s own media outlets to bully other countries that do not go along with their objectives. Ecuador has stood up to the U.S. on a number of occasions in the recent past where they were interfering in the tiny South American country’s internal affairs and they are are being demonized for it.
Remember folks, defending yourself from bullies these days is a form of terrorism.
From the wlcentral.org article:
Julian Assange arrived at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on June 19 in order to seek political asylum. His application is based on concern of U.S. extradition and prosecution.
Since the announcement of his decision to seek asylum, there has been discussion of possible U.S. rebuttal if Ecuador were to accept Mr Assange into asylum.
The editorial board of The Washington Post published an opinion piece on June 20, the day after Mr Assange arrived at the Embassy. In the article they suggested possible economic ways the U.S. may harm Ecuador:
There is one potential check on Mr. Correa’s ambitions. The U.S. “empire” he professes to despise happens to grant Ecuador (which uses the dollar as its currency) special trade preferences that allow it to export many goods duty-free. A full third of Ecuadoran foreign sales ($10 billion in 2011) go to the United States, supporting some 400,000 jobs in a country of 14 million people. Those preferences come up for renewal by Congress early next year. If Mr. Correa seeks to appoint himself America’s chief Latin American enemy and Julian Assange’s protector between now and then, it’s not hard to imagine the outcome.
A few days later, Otto Reich—former senior official in the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan, George Bush Sr, and George Bush Jr—advocated for the U.S. to act against Ecuador. He labels Mr Assange as a “accused sex-criminal” and falsely states he faces “serious charges”, despite him only facing allegations. He also attacks Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, stating “Americans may not know just how much damage Correa has done to U.S.-Ecuadorian relations and democracy in his country”.
In a recent radio interview, the Ecuadorian Ambassador to the U.S., Nathalie Cely, also brought up the idea of potential U.S. backlash against Ecuador, should they grant Mr Assange’s request for asylum:
Giving asylum to Assange would be used as ammunition to attack the country.
She further stated that pressure groups had already launched salvos in order to “disparage her country in the eyes of U.S. business leaders and policymakers” and that recriminations against Ecuador for sheltering Assange “already have begun”.
Read the rest of the article entitled “Fear of U.S. backlash further justifies Assange’s concerns.”
By Paul Short on 10/07/2012
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