Thursday, August 16, 2012

But why is Ecuador protecting a rape suspect?

Julian Assange. What is going on? Why is anyone opposing the extradition of a suspect accused of assualt and rape to Sweden? Sweden that well known CIA Client state?  Sweden??? of all places???

Left is from the British Government  Foreign office website on travel to Ecuador.

Obviously this is just all wannabe colonial lies as well. Or is it? 

10 comments:

NewhamSue said...

Sadly I don't think for one minute that Assange's behaviour in Sweden has anything to do with the enthusiasm of the British to extract him from the Ecuadorian embassy. Leaving aside this country's rather dismal rape conviction rates, as a nation we were quite happy to stand back and ignore the Taliban's treatment of women, only invading when Al Quaeda presence was suspected, so I find it hard to believe that attacks on two women could be a driver.

Personally, I've found today's dissection of the facts of the case utterly distasteful. Surely what all sides want in the matter is a fair trial resulting in conviction and imprisonment should guilt be proven.
As it is today I've seen documents purporting to be statements from the alleged victims posted on twitter and apparently George Galloway (that great defender of women's rights, not) has posted a link to a site revealing the names of the women involved (nice!). I have no idea what the rules are in Sweden regarding such matters but I would imagine such behaviour would make a fair trial in most territories of the world well-nigh impossible.
i'm no fan of Assange. If the accounts of his behaviour are accurate I'd love to see him serve a solid sentence for his crimes. I'm also perfectly capable of distinguishing between feelings for Wikileaks and feelings for Assange, but I can't help feeling sceptical and deeply uncomfortable about today's events and can't share the beliefs of many of my gender that this is some kind of defence of women's rights.

John Gray said...

Hi Sue

I think you make a fair point that due to our dismal rape conviction rates we are in no place to preach. However, I can only explain the otherwise inexplicable decision by Ecuador to give Assange political asylum in part to a culture that does not take male sexual violence at all seriously. The F&CO advice would seem to back this up.

I think this is fundamentally a rule of law issue. Very serious substantiated allegations have been made against someone. No one is above the law. I have no doubt Sweden is not perfect but it is in many ways a model social democracy. It is inconceivable he would not get a fair trial (if it came to one).

Galloway is being despicable as always.

Anonymous said...

John, what about the union branches up and down the land that have to warn females delegates to national conference about our own London Assange lookalikely?

macuser_e7 said...

John,

As unlikely as it seems, there is an issue upon which you, me and William Hague are in complete agreement:

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/news/latest-news/?view=News&id=800710782

Sadly, it appears that some comrades on the Left believe that hating the US trumps hating violence against women; if George Galloway has revealed the names of the Assange's alleged victims he is an even lower grade of scum than I had thought possible.

Anonymous said...

Julian Assange and allegations and investigation into sexual misconduct in Sweden.
Mr Assange and his backers claim that this media circus outside the Ecuadorian Embassy is a diversional red herring. Julian Assange, as the head of Wiki Leaks is wanted by the USA for exposing data which potentially reveals some deeply unsavoury, inflamatory, dirt and corruption within the US, UK and other governments. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are not all we have been lead to believe perhaps?
The the abuse of Human rights and manipulation of events by the powerful is a key issue, which If Mr Assange wants to draw attention to. It would be churlish and naive to assume that Ecaudor is the only country guilty of such transgressions. The issue is, Wiki leaks has exposed the petticoats of the G8 and NATO e-mails.
If Mr Assange is tried and in the unlikely event he receives a fair trial in Sweden and if found guilty of rape, it does not change the fact that whistle blowers who, may or may not have betrayed "official secrets" have exposed and embarrased the Governments concerned. These massive leaks are deeply humiliating and perhaps a confidence shattering indictment of government. If Mr Assange is guilty, it does not change a thing. If Mr Assange has transgressed, then let's all be grown up about it and take a step back and realise that we have some powerful people in the back ground looking for the opportunity to cast their stone at Mr Assange and make him the scapegoat.
Meanwhile, the house of glass is beginning to crack around us.

John Gray said...

Hi Macuser

Agreed

Hi Anon

"Transgressed...grown up about it"???? What sort of filthy animal are you that thinks any allegations of rape and sexual assault doesn't deserve investigation and prosecution?

Anonymous said...

The last I heard Wikileaks as an organisation had lost a number of it's original members because of Assange's screaming egotism. And it isn't the first time and won't be the last that some on the left see a higher cause trumping women's rights.
On the info that Wikileaks released isn't it the case that it showed that governments tend to say one thing in private and something a little different in public? Well blow my socks off. I'm shocked. If governments were brutally frank with each other it wouldn't be diplomacy.....
Now I haven't delved into this in any detail, so I stand to be corrected: but was there anything among those zillions of emails to equal the Watergate Tapes which showed an American President sanctioning illegality and it brought him down.
Also our egotistical friend removed no names and so put lives in danger or worse.
Assange should face the allegations in Sweden. It is a country with rule of law and nothing to indicate that JA would not get a fair trial. The allegations are serious and if true don't these women deserve a shot at justice.
Dave Draycott

Anonymous said...

Hypothetically, what's your view on a prominent Labour politician using his influence to stop a family member being prosecuted for sexual assault of a minor, hypothetical?

John Gray said...

Agreed Dave. It never ceases to amaze me how parts of the left get taken in by and hero worship rogues who they think can do no wrong. JA is just the latest before that Gerry Healy, Gorgeous George Galloway, Tommy Sheridan... to name a few. How pathetic to throw a lifetime of principles down the toilet because you are too bigoted against America to comprehend that your heroes have fatal feet of clay.

Nothing hypothetical about this anon it’s called perverting the course of justice which carries a maximum term of life imprisonment as a sentence if found guilty?

The "found guilty" bit is important. Not just another anonymous slur by some doughnut keyboard warrior.

John Gray said...

http://jackofkent.com/2012/08/592/#comments

check out post and comments