If the saga of Julian Assange were a movie, it would be The Empire Strikes Back. Unfortunately, Ecuador’s President Moreno did not turn out to be Lando Calrissian.
It was early morning when, in the pre-dawn light, I read one of the first stories reporting the arrest of Julian Assange. Ecuador had cut a deal to let him be arrested out of their embassy, violating his asylum and their own sovereignty in the process. Yet another case of dirty deeds done dirt cheap.
It wasn’t that we didn’t see it coming. All the indicators were blazing red. But when it actually happened, it was still shocking,
The end of Assange’s asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London began when ironically named Lenin Moreno was elected president of Ecuador. Although Moreno ran as a lefty, he was anything but when he got into office. Soon he was trying to get rid of Assange, accusing him of cyber meddling and cutting off his Internet access. Moreno subjected him to constant surveillance. Then he accused him of stealing their secrets, although how he did this without internet access remains murky. Finally, Moreno made a deal with various governments including the UK to let the British authorities march in and take him.
They say Assange was tipped as early as Friday that arrest was coming within days if not hours. But nothing prepares you for a pre-dawn raid by imperial storm troopers.
Just prior to all this, the US rounded up Chelsea Manning again (previously released by Barack Obama) and asked her incriminating questions before a grand jury aimed at prosecuting Assange. When she refused to answer them on constitutional grounds, they locked her up in solitary where she’s been rotting for the better part of a month.
Right after the arrests, the United States and Sweden immediately chimed in with their charges, all ready and waiting for this day. Sweden wants to re-open the contested rape case they have prepared for him. The US wants to extradite him to this country where no doubt some dungeon awaits him. Online, Russians innocently suggest that Assange would have been better off seeking asylum in Russia than with Ecuador. Which is no doubt true, but unfortunately a little late to be useful. Meanwhile, Ecuador just got $4 billion from the International Monetary Fund.
The Assange version of The Empire Strikes Back has all the same elements — vassal states in the thrall of the imperial forces, independent actors playing both sides, and of course, villainous scum. I’ll leave it to the reader to tease out who these players are in the current episode. Meanwhile, the drama continues over the fate of the world’s most infamous journalist, the truth-teller who traffics in secrets and is now in the clutches of henchmen of the Empire. Will they manage to reel him in? Stay tuned….
