Standoff at Ecuador’s embassy as U.K. authorities threaten to forcibly take Julian Assange

[goodboy]

UPDATE: 8:52am EST: Assange granted asylum by Ecuador.
UPDATE: 02:33am EST: Statement from Ecuador Foreign Minister and his account of contents of threatening letter from U.K. added.
UPDATE: 01:46am EST: Ecuador moves up announcement on whether to grant asylum to Assange to 10:00am local time in London, 07:00am Eastern Standard Time.

BREAKING NEWS: AUG 16, 2012 at 00:15 EST - The U.K. government has threatened to enter the Ecuadorian embassy in London and arrest WikiLeaders founder Julian Assange, who is seeking political asylum there. Reporters and Occupy London members on the scene are reporting the arrival of 3 police vans with 12 officers in each van who appear to be surrounding the Embassy.

http://samuel-warde.com/2012/08/standoff-at-ecuadors-embassy-as-u-k-authorities-threatening-to-forcibly-take-julian-assange/

[xchrom]

1. So if they do -- embassies aren't worth shit. Nt

[DearAbby]

2. By What authority does UK have to enter?

Is there a list of Countries, don't have full rights as an embassy?

[The Magistrate]

3. Their Claim, Ma'am

Is that under English law, they can withdraw recognition of the premises as an embassy, claiming the grant of asylum is an improper use of an embassy. It is pretty shaky ground, though there is no one to stop them. If they so it, however, they may well find any number of English embassies treated so by host countries; particularly in South America, it will be very uncomfortable to be an English diplomat or worker.

[DearAbby]

5. They are willing to start an international incident

over this man?

[The Magistrate]

6. Perhaps, Ma'am

It could be just a bluff. But it seems clear enough some are resolved to see an example made of someone who has been an irritant to the international security state....

[Spider Jerusalem]

9. I think you mean "British"

England has not existed as a separate country since 1707, and one assumes that among the thousands of British diplomatic personnel worldwde there are Scots, Welsh and Irish.

And there's no need for that, really, it's not going to happen; Assange will be arrested the moment he steps out of the embassy or out of the official embassy vehicle at Heathrow.

[The Magistrate]

10. It Is My Habit, Sir

To call a Scot a Scot, a Welshman a Welshman, an Irishman an Irishman, and an Englishman an Englishman. England rules Wales and Scotland and part of Ireland still by conquest, conquest of long standing but conquest and nothing more. Therefore to my view it is proper to refer to the government in London as English, and the country itself as England, though of course U.K. can do in a pinch.

"To Hell wi' your English permit, we want your motor-car!"

[HooptieWagon]

12. Thats shakey ground they're standing on.

There are international treaties and 500 years of historical precedence designating embassies as sovereign soil. If UK tries to make the ridiculous claim their law trumps international treaties they have signed, then in fact they are breaking those treaties and no British embassy can be treated as sovereign to the UK.

[Downwinder]

4. What does Ecuador get? How about Chevron.

[Cleita]

7. If they do, it will be a huge diplomatic coup that will have repercussions

far into the future. I hope enough nations protest this action to Great Britain and to us, that it will make them back down. It is a very bad idea to undo the modern idea of diplomatic immunity just to get a guy who is charged with a sex offense. It's not like he planned a suicide mission to take down the WTO, the Pentagon and the White House. The over the top reaction does not fit the so-called crime.

[Avalux]

8. It's quiet now since he was granted asylum. However -

the UK will not grant safe passage out of the country for Assange, and are still considering taking him from the embassy. They have taken some time to decide.

[HooptieWagon]

11. I guess it suddenly occured to the Brits

that they have several embassies in South America. Oops....

[elehhhhna]

13. yeah the brits care soooo much about privacy and spying

look how they've punished Murdoch

oh, wait


nevermind