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Assange’s
internet connection cut following ‘agreement breach’ – Ecuador
RT,
28
March, 2018
The
Ecuadorian government has suspended Julian Assange’s communication
privileges with the outside world. The move was sparked by Assange’s
alleged breach of an agreement to refrain from interfering in other
states’ affairs.
The
Ecuadorian government specifically cited Assange's activity on social
media, claiming that his recent posts may have jeopardized Ecuador's
relationship with the UK, the EU and other nations.
"The
action was taken following Assange's breach of a written agreement
signed with the Ecuadorian government at the end of 2017, in which he
vowed not to send messages interfering in the affairs of other
sovereign states,” the government said in a statement Wednesday.
"The Executive remains open to the possibility of further
sanctions in cases of future breaches of the agreements by Assange."
Neither
WikiLeaks nor Assange has made an official statement regarding the
reports. Kim Dotcom has called on Assange supporters to gather
outside the embassy building in solidarity, with several protesters
already congregating there by Wednesday afternoon.
Dotcom
decried what he dubbed a “gagging agreement” and tweeted to say
that the Ecuadorian government was making a “grave mistake” by
“silencing Julian Assange.” Dotcom demanded that the Ecuadorian
authorities “#ReconnectJulian.”
Former
Greek Minister of Finance Ioannis Varoufakis also tweeted about
Assange Wednesday. He called for people to rally around Assange to
force the restoration of Assange’s connection to the outside world.
URGENT ASSANGE ALERT Julian Assange has had his Internet disconnected and is not allowed any visitors
If you’re in LONDON please gather immediately outside the Ecuadorian Embassy
Demand “Reconnect Julian”
Until Julian is back online
Thank you
URGENT ASSANGE ALERT
"It
is with great concern that we heard that Julian Assange has lost
access to the internet and the right to receive visitors at the
Ecuadorian London Embassy. Only extraordinary pressure from the US
and the Spanish governments can explain why Ecuador’s authorities
should have taken such appalling steps in isolating Julian,"
Varoufakis wrote in an online statement.
“A
world in which whistleblowers are hounded, small countries are forced
to violate their cherished principles, and politicians are jailed for
pursuing peacefully their political agenda is a deeply troubled world
– a world at odds with the one the liberal establishment in Europe
and the United States proclaimed as its artifact since the end of the
Cold War.”
It
is with great concern that we heard that Julian Assange has lost
access to the internet and the right to receive visitors at the
Ecuadorian London Embassy. Only extraordinary pressure from the U…
Statement by Brian Eno & Yanis Varoufakis: Restore Julian Assange’s access to visitors and the outside world. Now! yanisvaroufakis.eu/2018/03/28/bri… #Yanis Varoufakis
Assange’s
latest tweet before his alleged disconnection and digital isolation
came Tuesday, March 27. He responded to an apparent insult during a
question and answer session in the UK House of Commons.
As a political prisoner detained without charge for 8 years, in violation of 2 UN rulings, I suppose I must be "miserable"; yet nothing wrong with being a "little" person although I'm rather tall; and better a "worm", a healthy creature that invigorates the soil, than a snake.
Dotcom
announced a so-called “online vigil” will take place later on
Wednesday. "Let’s join together and demand the immediate
restoration of Julian's human right to communication,” Dotcom
tweeted.
Suzie Dawson and I are about to launch an online vigil for Julian Assange supporters from around the world. Let’s join together and demand the immediate restoration of Julian's human right to communication.
We will be using the hashtag #ReconnectJulian
Stay tuned for details!
We will be using the hashtag #ReconnectJulian
Stay tuned for details!
‘In
current hysterical climate, storming of Ecuadorian embassy to get
Assange can’t be ruled out’
RT,
28
March, 2018
All
bets are off when the US, UK and NATO allies are pushing towards a
form of military confrontation with Russia, cutting off diplomatic
relations, Patrick Henningsen, executive editor at 21st Century Wire,
told RT.
British
MP Sir Alan Duncan, minister of state at the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office, denounced Julian Assange as a "miserable little worm"
after the WikiLeaks chief tweeted criticism of the UK's handling of
the Skripal poisoning.
Assange
answered that he’s a political prisoner, detained without charge
for eight years, in violation of two UN rulings, adding: “yet
nothing wrong with being a ‘little’ person although I'm rather
tall; and better a ‘worm’, a healthy creature that invigorates
the soil, than a snake.”
As a political prisoner detained without charge for 8 years, in violation of 2 UN rulings, I suppose I must be "miserable"; yet nothing wrong with being a "little" person although I'm rather tall; and better a "worm", a healthy creature that invigorates the soil, than a snake.
As
a political prisoner detained without charge for 8 years, in
violation of 2 UN rulings, I suppose I must be "miserable";
yet nothing wrong with being a "little" person although I'm
rather tall; and better a "worm", a healthy creature that
invigorates the soil, than a snake.
RT:
Why was there such a harsh reaction in Parliament to the tweet?
Patrick
Henningsen: I don’t know. Alan Duncan’s comments follow on the
heels of [Defence Secretary] Gavin Williamson’s comments, which can
only been described as the sort of atmosphere in Parliament has
descended into a sort of public school lunch room rather than the
sort of decorum that you would expect from elected representatives
when you are talking about serious matters of state. Effectively you
are positioning your country into potentially a military conflict
against another UN Security Council member. It is kind of a serious
issue. Julian Assange is only highlighting some of the discrepancies,
the hypocrisies, the unanswered questions of this very serious case.
(2/3) That 21 US allies have expelled diplomats over an unresolved event in the UK and that the US expelled nearly three times as many diplomats as the UK, the alleged victim country, helps the Kremlin further a narrative that it is under conspiratorial siege led by the US.
(3/3) Further, while it is reasonable for Theresa May to view the Russian state as the leading suspect, so far the evidence is circumstantial & the OCPW has not yet made any independent confirmation, permitting the Kremlin push the view domestically that Russia is persecuted.
RT: Were
the points Assange made regarding the Skripal case fair, in your
view?
He said it was reasonable to suspect Russia, but pointed out
the evidence was circumstantial and needed OPCW confirmation... Why
would that be unreasonable?
PH:
What is unreasonable is that Julian Assange has a platform to speak
and to express his views, and the statements coming from this member
of Parliament, you should read into that, is that the state doesn’t
want people with dissenting views to have platforms and be able to
express those if there is an opposition to whatever the official
party line is. We are in desperate need of adult supervision here.
We’ve got a situation in Britain, we have a state broadcaster doing
comical mockups of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition in sort of
Russian garb which we saw only last week. This is a situation that is
unprecedented. People need to pull back from this climate of hysteria
that has overtaken the situation right now. We’ve got a serious
unresolved case here. No evidence has been presented at all to
substantiate the initial charges that were made only hours after the
incident by certain members of government. This is a very difficult
situation to reconcile, if you are speaking from a government
position.
RT:
The MP said Assange should just leave the Ecuadorian embassy and face
justice. Why doesn't he do that?
PH:
Face British justice is what Sir Alan Duncan said. What is British
justice? Is British justice observing due process? Is it observing
legal process in the case of Julian Assange? Is it observing human
rights? Is it observing the assessment made by the UN working group
on Julian Assange’s case? What is British justice in the case of
Julian Assange? This is the question. Julian Assange has a legitimate
grievance here, according to international law, according to European
law, according to British law, according to common law, in fact.
RT:
Will the UK now step up its efforts to bring Assange into custody, do
you think?
PH:
Short of scrambling an SAS commando team to storm the Ecuadorian
embassy in Belgravia just behind Harrods shopping center, I really
don’t see that happening. What is worse though is allowing this
person, who is essentially a member of the press, who is a publisher
– above all else WikiLeaks is a publishing platform – to allow
him to languish; it could affect his health, could have huge
ramifications for his personal well-being, that is the status quo.
Maybe this is going to be drawn out indefinitely, 100 years of
solitude for Julian Assange in the basement in Belgravia, I would
certainly hope not. But any aggression by the British government or
the UK law enforcement to forcibly remove Julian Assange from the
Ecuadorian embassy would be an international incident that would be
unprecedented. However, in this current hysterical climate that seems
to be the US-UK and its NATO allies pushing towards a sort of
military war confrontation with Russia, cutting off diplomatic
relations, then really all bets are off. And you could see the
situation where a country like Britain would take an unusual move,
brash move, impractical and maybe irrational move of storming an
embassy to forcibly remove a publisher who really should be allowed
to walk free and leave the country according to other international
bodies and esteemed legal panels like the UN.
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