Ecuadorians rally around decision to offer asylum for Assange (+video)
(Read article summary)Britain's forceful demands on Ecuador over Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, has rallied Ecuadorians around their country's decision to grant him asylum.
London
Julian Assange was not a household name in Ecuador until Wednesday night, when Ecuador’s Foreign Affairs Minister Ricardo Patiño read out a letter delivered to Ecuador’s embassy in London.
In the letter, technically an aide memoire in diplomatic speak, the UK government explained that it has the right to enter Ecuador’s embassy if the Ecuadorean government were to decide to grant asylum to Mr. Assange, the founder of the antisecrecy group WikiLeaks.
The letter was seen as a direct “threat” to the country, said Mr. Patiño. “We are not a British colony,” he said. “The days of the colony are over.”
This decision rallied support among Ecuadorians towards the decision – formally announced today – to grant asylum to Assange. Some hardliners, supporters of President Rafael Correa, protested outside the UK embassy in Quito on Wednesday night, while others cheered when Patiño officially announced Ecuador would grant Assange asylum in an early and longwinded press conference on Thursday.
For common people in Ecuador, it was good for their country to stand up against larger countries.
