Julian Assange’s fate hangs in the balance once again and I was going to say the whole world is watching, but actually it’s just a few of us that are watching. The vast majority of this world couldn’t be bothered, not to mention there are quite a few who would cheer at the news of his arrest, as they’ve been told Assange is bad.
One of the things that’s been bothering me over the past few years is why there is no one staging a rescue operation? At this point, it is obvious trusting in justice and a legal course of action is useless. Clearing his name in a court of law is, sadly, not an option. The minute this man steps out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London he’s on his way to a US prison. The only way to avoid this fate would be a covert operation to have him shipped to a safe country. Like Russia. Snowden has been living in Moscow for two years now. Maybe not the best option, but it beats an American jail term.
During the Cold War, such rescue operations could be arranged. Take, for instance, the case of double-agent Oleg Gordievsky, whom the British helped escape from the USSR. In 1985, the Soviets were tipped off about his involvement with the MI6 so Gordievski was ordered back to Moscow, where he was interrogated and placed under surveillance. Being a valuable assets, the MI6 staged a daring operation, transporting Gordievski into the boot of an embassy car over the border to Finland.
The situation is far more complex now, but still I would have liked to see a rescue attempt. Yes, that would cause an uproar, but Russia doesn’t have that much to lose. Its image in the Western mainstream media is already bad and they’ve been accused of countless evil things. One more accusation wouldn’t make any difference at this point. On the other hand, by saving Assange a country like Russia would have scored major points with those who still entertain outdated notions like justice and freedom of speech or information. I don’t know if such a rescue would be doable or if Assange himself would be interested, but as things stand it wouldn’t be his worst option.
As you probably know, the news of Julian Assange’s imminent expulsion from the embassy broke last night and protests were called for today. In the live feed this morning, yes, there were maybe a few dozens present in front of the embassy. My mid-afternoon only a handful were left. In a city of over 8 million people, only a handful care enough for the truth. Each to its own, you might say. Still, what I find beyond infuriating is the knowledge, the absolute certainty that in a couple of weeks’ time there will be thousands of people gathered in front of the hospital that obnoxious duchess is due to give birth. Thousands of people will consider it worthwhile to wait in the street just to catch a glimpse of a woman holding a baby, both of them totally irrelevant, they’re only merit being they provide entertainment to the masses. The man who exposed a lot of uncomfortable truths about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, well, screw him!
This complete lack of interest in the fate of Julian Assange can only bolster US efforts to have him extradited and prosecutes, they can do whatever they want. Nobody cares!
