By Rafik Saley, Okoth Osewe, John Goss, and Patrick Haseldine
The honorable 2012 Nobel Prize Laureates will, on December 10, receive their awards in Oslo and Stockholm from the hands of royalty, under the eyes of a global audience in a ceremony, the focus of which falls particularly on the Kingdom of Sweden. Far away from the razzmatazz, and unjustly treated by the Kingdom of Sweden, is the Wikileaks founder and Editor In Chief, Julian Assange. He has for the past six months been in refuge at the embassy of the Republic of Ecuador in London. Mr. Assange had been granted political asylum by the Ecuadorian government in June this year. You may be aware that Mr. Assange is a prize winner too. Among other awards, he is a recipient of the 2011 Sydney Peace Foundation Gold Medal and the Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism.
You may know also that Mr. Assange is wanted for questioning in Sweden on sexually-related allegations. Swedish prosecutors are demanding his handover, backed by a warrant issued by Interpol, to question him over the allegations. The warrant was issued in a timely manner to coincide with the 2010 leak of United States diplomatic cables and information regarding misconduct and crimes during the US occupation of Iraq. A grand jury in Virginia has already prepared a case against the Australian-born Assange for espionage, and a secret sealed indictment has purportedly been issued. Swedish prosecutors have, in the past, questioned suspects abroad for serious crimes like murder and massive financial fraud without requesting extradition. Mr. Assange has for the past two years made himself available for questioning in the United Kingdom to no avail. The prosecutors have refused to use the standard available European Union Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty as would be normal procedure. The Government of Ecuador has offered the use of its embassy in London for this interview to take place but to no avail.
Over the last decade, Sweden has circumvented its own legal system to accommodate US demands. The country has actively participated in illegal extraordinary rendition flights to CIA-controlled torture centers, as documented in the case of Egyptian nationals, Ahmed Agiza and Muhammad al-Zery in December 2001. No one in the Swedish government has been made accountable for sending innocent people to brutal torture. Swedish Minister for Justice, Tomas Bodström, and Foreign Minister Anna Lindh were informed of the US/CIA complicity in the rendition the day before the two men were deported and tortured. Bodström is in partnership with Claes Borgström, the man who resurrected the allegations against Assange on which Assange had already answered questions, and the Wikileaks founder was dismissed without charge. Sweden has still to come clean on its involvement in rendition flights. Mr. Assange has made himself available for questioning in Sweden over the past two years, provided that diplomatic guarantees are given as assurance that he would not be extradited to the US. The Swedish Government has the final say on the matter and to date has not provided any such assurances.
The UK government refuses Assange free passage to Ecuador, citing its responsibility to Sweden as a fellow EU member state. The same UK government had no qualms in declining an extradition request for former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, who was wanted by EU member state, Spain, in connection with allegations of genocide, torture and the murder of 4,000 persons in Chile and in many other countries, including Argentina, Paraguay, the US, Italy, France and Portugal. Pinochet’s victims also accused him of rape and rape by dogs.
The People’s Republic of China, in dignified diplomatic posture in May this year, allowed dissident Chen Guangcheng free passage to the US. For centuries, dignified diplomatic protocol has been the normal channel of procedure. Instead, for Assange, the UK government threatened to storm the Ecuadorian embassy in London.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt has made degrading statements questioning Ecuadorian democracy and freedom of speech, calling into question the so-called neutrality of Sweden, which, for decades, has been deeply Russophobic, hypocritical and anything but neutral. The same applies to press freedom in Sweden where the media is controlled by one single big business entity. Sweden, a country of some nine million inhabitants is, by per capita, the biggest exporter of arms in the world. Given this cold fact, and the falseness of its acclaimed neutrality, it is indeed shameful that this country today is associated with the prestigious Nobel awards.
Ecuador has the full backing of the ALBA countries of Latin America, including power houses like Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela, in support for Assange. South Africa, which is a member of the developing BRICS nations, seeks to create a new and much needed equitable world system incorporating, among other things, urgently required new financial mechanisms. SA must therefore come out clearly in support of the brave stand taken by Ecuador in granting political asylum to Julian Assange. Globally, many people have grave doubts about the Swedish judicial system, which is riddled with political interference. Sweden has demonstrated that it is committed to preserving the current oppressive global status quo to benefit its arms industry and cosmetic international image.
We welcome the call by Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Mairead Corrigan-Maguire and Archbishop Desmond Tutu for an immediate stop to the US persecution of Private Bradley Manning who is accused of allegedly disclosing information to Wikileaks which resulted in the exposure of atrocities by the US military in the name of US citizens.
We likewise call on the Nobel Laureates in Sweden this week to take a stand on global justice and support a resolution for the freedom of Julian Assange.
Editor’s Notes: Rafik Saley is general secretary of the African Committee for Development in Stockholm, Sweden; Okoth Osewe writes for Kenya Stockholm Blog; John Goss, researcher, United Kingdom; Patrick Haseldine, United Kingdom
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Reblogged this on #opManning.
Hi ,
It is obvious that this level is above ,normal comments,the reason why no one has even tried to put a step forward.In one way its refreshing to note ,most comments are local ,diversity is too much for the “odiangabuks” Manning and Assange are crusaders who have few peers.The debate required pales others in this forum.
I am not surprised that no one is responding cause ,its simply too deep for most folks.
Ean Wuod Luo
We are living in times of fear ,Fear of ones life ,fear of being exposed .Take Eu countries being Americans Underdogs . Where nobody is criticising USA Impunity nobody talking or defending both Manning and Assange for fear of the Dominant USA.We are living in time of fear .Democracy is dying slowly every where better days were during Cold-war -Era. Nobel Price is loosing credibility hence being selective.
A good observation Wuod Luo. Where is Ethical Kenyan who thinks many commentators are semi-illiterate?
There can be no doubt that in 2012, the foreign policy of the United States of America is no longer based upon diplomacy, but rather, skulduggery, bullying, blackmail, belligerence, interference, supporting terrorists and breaching every norm in the book of international law…. a demonic list which forms the political epitaph of Hillary Clinton.
The United States of America has joined its FUKUS Axis partners France and the UK (together with wannabe Ottoman imperialist Turkey and the Gulf Cooperation Council) in recognising the Syrian opposition as the only “legitimate representative” of the Syrian people.
For a start, how about asking the Syrian people? Secondly, the representative of the Syrian people under international law is the Syrian Government led by His Excellency President Bashar al-Assad. Thirdly who is the President of the United States of America to announce what is, or is not, the legitimate representative of a sovereign nation? Fourthly, why is the United States of America joining its FUKUS Axis allies in recognising terrorists?
Terrorists? Yes, you know, like the LIFG, supported by the UK government in Libya while still on the proscribed list of the Foreign and Commonwealth office as pointed out in this column at the time, and as sent as documentary evidence to the FCO itself with the question why, if the Foreign Secretary William Jefferson Hague was aware that the LIFG was on the FCO’s own proscribed list, and supporting this group knowingly, was he not summarily arrested for breaking his own, and British, law?
Print version Font Size Send to friend The answer, predictably, was an extremely weak, red-faced rhetorical question for an answer, starting, “How about….?” and a stupid question attached.
And why, in Syria, is the United States of America recognising terrorists? Does President Obama not know that the “legitimate representative” he supports has been responsible for the murder of thousands of people? Does President Obama not know that his “legitimate representative” has committed unspeakable and demonic acts of torture, kidnapping, summary executions and sodomy? Does President Obama not know that his “legitimate representative” attacked a school recently with military hardware?
Does President Obama not know that his “legitimate representative” today launched a terrorist attack in the centre of Damascus? Does President Obama not know that his “legitimate representative” is conducting abductions and kidnappings and asking for ransom to finance its evil deeds?
The list can go on and on and on as indeed it did in Libya, a country destroyed and thrown back into a quagmire of sectarian violence which is due to last for decades, and destabilise North Africa. The bottom line is, in a word, interference, not diplomacy and the philosophy is not one of claiming the moral high ground – that bullshit was exposed when NATO started lying to the Warsaw Pact – but rather, implementing the policies of the lobbies which control the NATO member states.
The conclusion is that the United States of America is not a respectable member of the international community. The USA and its poodle states are cowardly pariahs acting in a pack for security and attacking sovereign nations imposing democracy from 30,000 feet and implementing it using terrorists.
Like all playground bullies, they think they can dish it out but when it comes back and smashes them square in the face, they run sobbing like the snivelling cowards they are. The moral high ground in this way totally taken away from them, no longer can they complain about terrorists or terrorism when they themselves are part of the problem and not the solution.
It becomes ever clearer that a New World Order is being formed around the cornerstone of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) and like-minded nations which favour debate, discussion and dialogue as their modus operandi.
What a disgusting comment on the likes of Obama, Hague, Cameron, Clinton, their revolting Napoleonic friends and the sickening cowards which implement their policies.
Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey
Pravda.Ru
On the Listening Post this week: Wikileaks suspect Bradley Manning versus the US government – but where was the media? Plus, a look at Thailand’s controversial lese majeste law.
It was one of the biggest stories of 2010. Millions of classified US government documents leaked onto the internet through the Wikileaks website. Although it made the name of the site founder Julian Assange, the man accused of actually giving him the material is rather less well known. That man, US soldier Bradley Manning, is currently in a US prison awaiting trial over the case.
Of the 22 charges against Bradley Manning, the most serious include revealing classified information to unauthorised persons, violating orders and aiding the enemy. That last charge could lead to life imprisonment for the 25 year-old.
Two weeks ago, he spoke publicly for the first time in over two years in a pre-trial hearing where he claimed he was treated unlawfully whilst being held in military custody. This should have been an easy story for the media – an American whistleblower allegedly the source of many of the most important stories of the past two years speaking for the first time.
But the coverage, especially in the US, has been surprisingly sparse; it is conspicuous by its absence not least in the New York Times. Despite partnering Wikileaks on the story, they did not send anyone to cover the event preferring to use agency copy. Listening Post examines Manning’s treatment by the media.
In this week’s Newsbytes: Argentina’s media giant Clarin has managed to hold out a little longer against the government’s attempts to break up their empire; a South Sudanese journalist with a reputation for criticising the government there has been shot dead outside his home; the US based Committee to Protect Journalists records 232 of them in its annual survey with Turkey, Iran and China taking the top three places in that order; and, it turns out one US journalist has been making up sources and quotes for the last 14 years at the Cape Cod Times.
Our feature this week is on Thailand. Recently thousands of Thais gathered in Bangkok to mark the 85th birthday of their monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The monarchy has great importance in Thai life, so much so that a 100-year-old law exists making it a crime to say or write anything deemed offensive about the royal family.
The lese majeste law is not just a symbolic relic though; it has become a political weapon to be used with increasing frequency. From a handful of cases six years ago, there has been a steep rise as 2010 saw almost 500 cases.
Finally, one for the computer geeks out there – the story of the daddy of all computer images, the humble GIF. The famous image format is 25-years-old this week and we found this fun little video celebrating its birthday. ‘A Short History of the GIF’ chronicles the format’s journey from the late 1980’s through to today’s multi-platform media world using gif animations – and it is our video of the week.
Why USA fear to enter in Syrias Territtory and bomb >This Russian defence Missiles is no-nonsense it can shoot down Big -brother Fighter jets and humiliate Obama Administration>
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/279656.html