My Visit to a London Embassy Under Threat--Report from Jeff Cohen/Root's Action

[KoKo]

My Visit to a London Embassy Under Threat
by Jeff Cohen

London -- On Friday, I visited Ecuador's embassy here in the capital of the former British empire and saw a building surrounded by a phalanx of cops, with several of them at the front door. The embassy is in an upscale neighborhood near Harrods department store. The intimidating police presence was ordered by a Conservative government that waxes eloquent about the need to respect (British) embassies overseas.

The intensified police deployment is only part of Britain's response to Ecuador's decision -- after a long review -- to grant political asylum on human rights grounds to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who took refuge in the embassy two months ago. The British government has made it clear that it will not allow Ecuador to provide safe passage and asylum to an individual who -- for the "crime" of publishing -- has heard powerful U.S. voices in politics and media call for his murder.

It's important to know that Britain's Foreign Office recently threatened Ecuador in a letter -- claiming a legal basis to go ahead and arrest Assange from the embassy after revoking the building's diplomatic status. On Thursday, a prominent Conservative member of Parliament tweeted that Britain should break off diplomatic relations with Ecuador and then invade the “former embassy” to seize the WikiLeaks founder.

At the door of the rather small embassy, I was met by cops who interrogated me about who I was and why I sought entry. I had to wonder if the embassy was under siege by Britain on behalf of Washington, which reportedly stands ready to prosecute the WikiLeaks founder. Again, that's for the "crime" of publishing -- not sexual assault.

As the father of two daughters (who are with me in London), I take sexual assault allegations seriously (Assange has never been charged). But standing outside this embassy surrounded by British police, it looked to me like a classic case of powerful Western states uniting to intimidate a less powerful country on behalf of their prerogatives toward domination and war. It had nothing to do with “the rule of law.” And it had nothing to do with women's rights.
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Jeff Cohen is an associate professor of journalism and the director of the Park Center for Independent Media at Ithaca College, founder of the media watch group FAIR, and former board member of Progressive Democrats of America. In 2002, he was a producer and pundit at MSNBC (overseen by NBC News). He is the author of Cable News Confidential: My Misadventures in Corporate Media - and a cofounder of the online action group, www.RootsAction.org.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/08/19-0

[grasswire]

1. I didn't know about his action group.

I like Jeff Cohen quite a bit. Smart guy.

[KoKo]

2. I'm not sure about Jeff...he seems to be going through "stuff"

like the rest of us these days as Democrats are.

But, I did like that he cut off Assange's case from what's going on with that Idiot Repug who feels (along with Religious Right) that Rape and Incest are "God's Gift."

I worry that Assange's cause will be cut off because of fervor by our Own Dems (who are correct that Rape is Wrong..and categorizing it is what the RW Do.)

I worry that we can't separate Julian Assange's issues from Todd Aiken's PURPOSELY IGNORANT views of Female Reproductive Rights.

That we Dems (and we Female Dems...of which I'm one) will focus on throwing Assange in with Todd Aiken and forget what Assange's cause is REALLY ABOUT.

I seem to be in the minority of the differences between the two..