Fat chance, sweetie
http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/mother-of-wikileaks-julian-assange-dont-hunt-my-son/19739480
By Lauren Frayer
(Dec. 1) -- The mother of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has gone into hiding in Australia, saying she's "reacting as any mother would" and is extremely "distressed" by a global manhunt targeting her son.
Christine Assange, who runs a puppet theater in Australia's Queensland state, told the country's Sunshine Coast Daily newspaper that she's temporarily moved to an undisclosed spot on the coast to escape media scrutiny.
"He's my son and I love him, and obviously I don't want him hunted down and jailed. I'm reacting as any mother would. I'm distressed," Assange told Australia's ABC Radio and TV New Zealand today. "A lot of stuff that's written about me and Julian is untrue."
Assange said she's particularly worried that Interpol has issued a "Red Notice" for her son because of a sexual assault investigation in Sweden. The 39-year-old WikiLeaks founder denies the charges, saying he had consensual sex with two WikiLeaks volunteers in Sweden. His lawyers have appealed a Swedish prosecutor's order that he be detained for questioning. But the Interpol alert will likely make it difficult for Assange to travel freely. His whereabouts are unknown.
And now one of the only countries offering Assange residency, Ecuador, has backtracked on the offer.
On Monday, Ecuador's deputy foreign minister, Kintto Lucas, said his country was open to giving the embattled Assange residence "without any kind of trouble and without any kind of conditions," The Associated Press reported. The Foreign Ministry even issued a statement to that effect, saying Assange "could do investigative work and train researchers in Ecuador," according to Reuters.
But a day later, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa held a news conference to announce that "no official offer was made." He said Lucas was speaking on his own behalf and not in an official capacity.
Correa is a left-leaning socialist elected in 2006 on a promise to expose corruption among Ecuador's elites. But on Tuesday, he condemned WikiLeaks' work in strong terms, saying the website "committed an error by breaking the laws of the United States and leaking this type of information."
The U.S. has dubbed WikiLeaks' work a "serious crime" and wants Assange tried for espionage.
Assange has said he believes the sexual assault allegations in Sweden are all part of a conspiracy to discredit him because of WikiLeaks' work, which has stoked ire, embarrassment and outrage among world leaders, especially in Washington. His website has provided a venue for whistle-blowers to leak classified documents from U.S. military and diplomatic cables.
Assange himself has been the target of much of the backlash rather than those who allegedly stole the secret information. A 22-year-old Army intelligence analyst, Pfc. Bradley Manning, faces charges in at least one of the leaks.
But in a Time interview Tuesday, Assange pressed his offensive. He called on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to resign. "She should resign if it can be shown that she was responsible for ordering U.S. diplomatic figures to engage in espionage in the United Nations, in violation of the international covenants to which the U.S. has signed up," he said, speaking via an Internet connection from an undisclosed location.
Meanwhile, Congress is poised to pass legislation giving employees in sensitive government jobs a way to report abuse or corruption through in-house channels rather than turning to an outside group like WikiLeaks. The bill also bars reprisals against whistle-blowers who accuse their superiors or colleagues of mismanagement.
In another interview in August, Christine Assange acknowledged her son's mixed reputation.
"My son is a good person who is doing good for others," the Sunshine Coast Daily quoted her as saying. "He wants people to know the truth. He's a hero to some people, a villain to others."
"Which one do you think I believe?"
By Lauren Frayer
(Dec. 1) -- The mother of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has gone into hiding in Australia, saying she's "reacting as any mother would" and is extremely "distressed" by a global manhunt targeting her son.
Christine Assange, who runs a puppet theater in Australia's Queensland state, told the country's Sunshine Coast Daily newspaper that she's temporarily moved to an undisclosed spot on the coast to escape media scrutiny.
"He's my son and I love him, and obviously I don't want him hunted down and jailed. I'm reacting as any mother would. I'm distressed," Assange told Australia's ABC Radio and TV New Zealand today. "A lot of stuff that's written about me and Julian is untrue."
Assange said she's particularly worried that Interpol has issued a "Red Notice" for her son because of a sexual assault investigation in Sweden. The 39-year-old WikiLeaks founder denies the charges, saying he had consensual sex with two WikiLeaks volunteers in Sweden. His lawyers have appealed a Swedish prosecutor's order that he be detained for questioning. But the Interpol alert will likely make it difficult for Assange to travel freely. His whereabouts are unknown.
And now one of the only countries offering Assange residency, Ecuador, has backtracked on the offer.
On Monday, Ecuador's deputy foreign minister, Kintto Lucas, said his country was open to giving the embattled Assange residence "without any kind of trouble and without any kind of conditions," The Associated Press reported. The Foreign Ministry even issued a statement to that effect, saying Assange "could do investigative work and train researchers in Ecuador," according to Reuters.
But a day later, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa held a news conference to announce that "no official offer was made." He said Lucas was speaking on his own behalf and not in an official capacity.
Correa is a left-leaning socialist elected in 2006 on a promise to expose corruption among Ecuador's elites. But on Tuesday, he condemned WikiLeaks' work in strong terms, saying the website "committed an error by breaking the laws of the United States and leaking this type of information."
The U.S. has dubbed WikiLeaks' work a "serious crime" and wants Assange tried for espionage.
Assange has said he believes the sexual assault allegations in Sweden are all part of a conspiracy to discredit him because of WikiLeaks' work, which has stoked ire, embarrassment and outrage among world leaders, especially in Washington. His website has provided a venue for whistle-blowers to leak classified documents from U.S. military and diplomatic cables.
Assange himself has been the target of much of the backlash rather than those who allegedly stole the secret information. A 22-year-old Army intelligence analyst, Pfc. Bradley Manning, faces charges in at least one of the leaks.
But in a Time interview Tuesday, Assange pressed his offensive. He called on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to resign. "She should resign if it can be shown that she was responsible for ordering U.S. diplomatic figures to engage in espionage in the United Nations, in violation of the international covenants to which the U.S. has signed up," he said, speaking via an Internet connection from an undisclosed location.
Meanwhile, Congress is poised to pass legislation giving employees in sensitive government jobs a way to report abuse or corruption through in-house channels rather than turning to an outside group like WikiLeaks. The bill also bars reprisals against whistle-blowers who accuse their superiors or colleagues of mismanagement.
In another interview in August, Christine Assange acknowledged her son's mixed reputation.
"My son is a good person who is doing good for others," the Sunshine Coast Daily quoted her as saying. "He wants people to know the truth. He's a hero to some people, a villain to others."
"Which one do you think I believe?"