Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, which published the US government's secret reports, has found political asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. He had been a refugee there since June, after the British Supreme Court had rejected his appeal for extradition to Sweden, and today the president of the South American country, Raffael Correa, granted him the status of "political refugee". Correa, who for years has been accused of limiting press freedom in his country, said that both are part of "the club of the persecuted". But the only thing that truly unites them is the battle against what they call the American empire.
In a press conference, Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño listed 11 points that justify the choice of Quito. “If he was extradited to the US” – which according to Assange would happen as soon as he arrives in Sweden as Stockholm has not guaranteed otherwise,”Assange would not receive a fair trial and could be tried by special or military courts. He would be subjected to cruel and degrading treatment and sentenced to life imprisonment or capital punishment,” Patiño said.
Yet it really seems like a move to highlight Correa's fight against the strong powers of the United States with which diplomatic squabbles have been going on for over three years, between the Ecuadorian no to the construction of an American military base in Manta in 2009 and the expulsion from the country of the American ambassador just after some revelations made known by Wikileaks. Assange, Correa's ally in this anti-American battle, must be protected.
In Quito, however, journalists raise their voices. Indeed Correa has been limiting press freedom in his country for several years and the NGO Human Right Watch has already denounced the issue. It therefore seems paradoxical that he gives asylum to Assange with the justification that both feel "persecuted". Until a few hours ago, according to many, the persecuted were journalists who were unable to express opinions contrary to those of the President. But it seems that for Correa the basic difference is between those who criticize his work and those who criticize the US empire.
One thing has bothered the South American country a lot, that London threatens to enter the embassy to arrest Assange: "We are not a British colony," Patiño ferociously pointed out, who has already declared that he will convene ALBA, UNASUR, and the OAS (the Organization of American States) to discuss what Quito believes would be a serious violation of the Vienna Convention.
