Brought: why Ecuador issued the founder of WikiLeaks Assange

The companion of the founder of the site WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, who was detained in Ecuador, was released after interrogation. Assange spent seven years at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. 11 April, almost overnight, he was deprived of asylum, and then the citizenship of this country. BBC Russian Service understand what has changed in seven years?

Photo: Youtube BBC Screenshot

"Brought it"

The fact that Julian Assange, who also has an Australian passport, received Ecuadorian citizenship became known quite recently - in January last year.

Just over a year later, the country's Foreign Minister José Valencia announced that the decision to issue Assange a passport was suspended "due to various irregularities."

These violations were described in more detail by the President of Ecuador, Lenin Moreno, in a special video message.

Ecuador decidió soberanamente retirar el asilo diplomático a julian assange por violar reiteradamente convenciones internacionales y protocolo de convivencia. #EcuadorSoberano pic.twitter.com/V02pvvtPY0

- Lenín Moreno (@Lenin) April 11, 2019

Moreno called Assange's behavior "rude and aggressive" and the statements of organizations friendly to him "hostile and threatening." This, combined with the violation of international treaties, “brought the situation to the point” where further provision of asylum to Assange is impossible.

What Assange angered the staff of the embassy of Ecuador and the president of the country?

• He continued to interfere in the internal affairs of other states and distribute confidential documents. The last time was in January, when WikiLeaks published secret Vatican documents;
• Installed some unauthorized electronic equipment at the embassy. Which one exactly is not specified;
• Blocked surveillance cameras in the embassy;
• He argued with the guard and spoke impolitely with her;
• Used a mobile phone;
• Unauthorized access to the embassy documents.

An inconvenient “inheritance”

Assange was “inherited” by the current president of Ecuador: when the decision was made to grant asylum to the founder of WikiLeaks, the country was led by Rafael Correa.

He already call the decision to extradite Assange is “a crime that humanity will never forget” and the current president is “the biggest traitor.”

El traidor ménas grande de la historia ecuatoriana y latinoamericana, Lenín Moreno, adi a nuestra embajada en Londres para arrestar a Assange.
Moreno espoute, pero lo que ha hecho es un corrupto https://t.co/GwZ4OLreuo

- Rafael Correa (@MashiRafael) April 11, 2019

In 2012, the media tried to understand why Correa agreed in general to give Assange a shelter, what benefits he saw for himself and his country.

As the Associated Press noted, Assange's request for asylum was an opportunity for the former president of Ecuador to be in the spotlight of the whole world, but, more importantly, at the head of a group of leaders of countries critical of the United States, in particular, Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua.

“By granting him asylum, the country’s authorities tried to prove that they really care about the issues of freedom of speech and freedom of the media. At the same time, Ecuador has been heavily criticized both nationally and internationally for the government's understanding of the term "democracy" - говорил BBC specialist in Latin America, Professor Santiago Basabe.

Under the new president the situation has changed. A poll conducted last March found that more than 76% of Ecuadorians wanted to deny Assange asylum. Current President Moreno has a reputation as a person who would like to build bridges with the United States, in particular, to restore trade ties.

In addition, about a year ago it was reported that at least at two meetings Moreno and the former head of Trump’s campaign headquarters Paul Manafort discussed the possibility of issuing Assange.

"Destabilized the government"

Another explanation of the situation was given by the head of the Ministry of the Interior of Ecuador, Maria Paula Romo. She stated that Assange allegedly tried to interfere in the internal affairs of the country.

At a press conference quoted by CNN, Romo said that in Ecuador for several years already lives one of the key members of WikiLeaks, who, together with the former Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño, traveled to Peru, Spain and Russia. Patino held the position during the presidency of Correa.

“We cannot allow Ecuador to become a hacking hub, and we cannot allow illegal activities to take place in the country aimed at harming citizens or other states,” the interior minister said.

The Office promises to provide additional information on this case in the near future.

Dissatisfaction was mutual

Assange, too, as it turned out the day before his arrest, was unhappy with the situation at the embassy. WikiLeaks chief editor Kristin Hrafnsson said that he was allegedly carried out extensive surveillance.

Hrafnsson said that the embassy staff monitored every step of Assange with the help of cameras and dictaphones. The WikiLeaks believe that this information could then be passed to the administration of the US president.

“We know that there was a request (from the US) to obtain a log of visits to the embassy and recordings from security cameras,” Hrafnsson said.

Donald Trump also commented on the situation around Assange: “I don’t know anything about WikiLeaks. It’s none of my business,” the US President said.

As noted by the columnist of the BBC Mundo Spanish-speaking service Arturo Valles, the situation with Assange is in many ways a reflection of the political struggle in Ecuador between Correa and Moreno.

“In fact, Assange became an inconvenient legacy for former President Rafael Correa, as many said Assange's case helped him maintain his international image as a progressive leader and assert the independence of his government,” Valles said.

“However, for Moreno (who has no such interests and who had a serious falling out with his predecessor), Assange has become a problem,” he adds.

Read also on ForumDaily:

'Became a problem': Assange was arrested at the request of the United States. What threatens him

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