QUITO, Ecuador: Ecuador said Thursday that Britain could grant safe passage to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange under an extradition treaty between the two countries dating back to the 19th century.
The treaty — signed September 20, 1840 — makes it possible to “demonstrate to the United Kingdom that it can deliver safe passage,” Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino told South American broadcaster Telesur.
The text “foresees that no one shall be extradited if the offense in question is not political in nature,” Patino added.
The minister said he had addressed the issue with his British counterpart, Foreign Secretary William Hague, when the two met earlier Thursday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Hague “recognized the validity of this accord, even if his interpretation differs from ours,” according to Patino.
Following their meeting, both sides said they had yet to resolve their differences over Assange, who sought refuge in the Ecuadoran embassy in London in June to avoid extradition to Sweden for questioning in a sexual assault case, and was later granted diplomatic asylum by Quito.
The Australian activist claims the case against him is political and has been orchestrated by the United States, which was infuriated by WikiLeaks’s release of thousands of US frontline war reports from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as a slew of confidential diplomatic cables. The 41-year-old fears that if extradited, Sweden will hand him over to the United States, where he could face prosecution.
Assange has sheltered inside Ecuador’s embassy in London, beyond the reach of British police, since June 19 — a total of 100 days. He is seeking to avoid extradition to Sweden for questioning over sex crimes allegations.
Though Ecuador has granted Assange asylum, if he steps outside the building he will be arrested and flown to Sweden. Meanwhile, an Army private charged with sending reams of US secrets to WikiLeaks claims lengthy delays have violated his right to a speedy trial.
Pfc. Bradley Manning is seeking dismissal of all charges in a motion his lawyer posted on his website Thursday.
It’s been two years and four months since Manning was detained in Iraq and accused of sending hundreds of thousands of classified war logs and diplomatic cables to the anti-secrecy website. His trial is set to begin in February.
Defense attorney David Coombs says the Military District of Washington commander rubber-stamped all prosecution requests to delay Manning’s arraignment and improperly excluded other periods from the speedy-trial clock.
Coombs says the delays made a mockery of the requirement that an accused be arraigned within 120 days.
UK may allow safe passage to Julian Assange: Ecuador
UK may allow safe passage to Julian Assange: Ecuador
Rohingya refugees hope new leaders can pave a path home
- Some 1.7 million Rohingya Muslims displaced in Myanmar's military crackdown live in squalid camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh
COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh: Rohingya refugees living in squalid camps in Bangladesh have elected a leadership council, hoping it can improve conditions and revive efforts to secure their return home to Myanmar.
Spread over 8,000 acres in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, the camps are home to 1.7 million members of the stateless group, many of whom fled a 2017 military crackdown that is now subject to a genocide probe at the UN court.
In July, the refugees held their first elections since their influx began eight years ago, resulting in the formation of the United Council of Rohang (UCR).
“They are working to take us home,” said Khairul Islam, 37, who back home had a thriving timber business.
The new council has brought him a glimmer of hope amid an uncertain future.
“We can hardly breathe in these cramped camp rooms... all our family members live in a single room,” he said.
“It’s unbearably hot inside. Back in Myanmar, we didn’t even need a ceiling fan. In summer, we used to sit under tall trees,” Islam said, his eyes welling up.
More than 3,000 voters from across 33 refugee camps cast their ballots to elect an executive committee and five rotating presidents to focus on human rights, education and health.
Addressing a gathering at one of the camps, UCR president Mohammad Sayed Ullah urged refugees not to forget the violence that forced the mostly Muslim group to flee Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
“Never forget that we left our parents’ graves behind. Our women died on the way here. They were tortured and killed... and some drowned at sea,” said Sayed Ullah, dressed in a white full-sleeved shirt and lungi.
“We must prepare ourselves to return home,” he said, prompting members of the audience to nod in agreement.
A seat at the table
“UCR wants to emerge as the voice of the Rohingyas on the negotiation table,” Sayed Ullah later told AFP.
“It’s about us, yet we were nowhere as stakeholders.”
The council is not the first attempt to organize Rohingya refugees.
Several groups emerged after 2017, including the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights, once led by prominent activist Mohib Ullah.
But he was murdered in 2021.
And even before that, many organizations were shut down after a major 2019 rally, when the Rohingya said they would go home only with full rights and safety guarantees.
“Some newspapers misrepresented us, claiming we wanted to stay permanently in Bangladesh,” Sayed Ullah said.
“Many organizers were detained. The hardest blow was the assassination of Mohib Ullah.”
But trust is slowly building up again among the Rohingya crammed in the camps in Cox’s Bazar.
“Of course we will return home,” said 18-year-old Mosharraf, who fled the town of Buthidaung with his family.
“UCR will negotiate for better education. If we are better educated, we can build global consensus for our return,” he told AFP.
Security threats
Many refugees have started approaching the body with complaints against local Rohingya leaders, reflecting a slow but noticeable shift in attitudes.
On a recent sunny morning, an AFP reporter saw more than a dozen Rohingya waiting outside the UCR office with complaints.
Some said they were tortured while others reported losing small amounts of gold they had carried while fleeing their homes.
Analysts say it remains unclear whether the new council can genuinely represent the Rohingya or if it ultimately serves the interests of Bangladeshi authorities.
“The UCR ‘elections’ appear to have been closely controlled by the authorities,” said Thomas Kean, senior consultant at the International Crisis Group.
Security threats also loom large, undermining efforts to forge political dialogue.
Armed groups like the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army and Rohingya Solidarity Organization continue to operate in the camps.
A report by campaign group Fortify Rights said at least 65 Rohingyas were killed in 2024.
“Violence and killings in the Rohingya camps need to stop, and those responsible must be held to account,” the report quoted activist John Quinley as saying.
