LatAm countries back Ecuador in Assange case
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E-mail Xinhua, August 17, 2012
Latin American countries voiced support Thursday for Ecuador's latest decision to grant political asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, a move that triggered a diplomatic row between Quito and London.
The members of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA) -- Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Ecuador and three Caribbean island nations -- said in a statement that they "strongly object" to the British threat of raiding Ecuador's embassy in London to seize Assange, who has taken refuge there since June 19.
The statement said Britain would violate the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and face "grave consequences if the threats are carried out."
The ALBA also expressed its "steadfast solidarity" with Ecuador, which granted political asylum to Assange on Thursday.
Jorge Tarud, president of the Chamber of Deputies Foreign Relations Committee in the Chilean Congress, on Thursday asked the Chilean government to give full support to Ecuador on the issue.
Uruguayan Foreign Minister Luis Almagro also urged Britain to "respect the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and to guarantee the privileges, inviolability and immunity of Ecuador's embassy."
On the same day, Bolivia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that a British raid on Ecuador's embassy would be "unacceptable aggression," calling on regional organizations to hold talks on the issue to avoid any escalation.
Assange has stayed in Ecuador's embassy in London for fear of being extradited by the British government to Sweden for two sexual assault charges.
It was feared that Stockholm would hand Assange over to the United States, where he may face death penalty if being convicted of releasing tens of thousands of secret documents on the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Washington has been angered by the leaks of Assange's WikiLeaks website, saying the act would endanger U.S. national security.
