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| The leaders of the G8 |
The previous week has been a truly tumultuous time for the international community, especially the European Union. Diplomatic relations between numerous countries have been tested, and many of those tensions have originated within the United States of America.
On the 30th June, the deadline for Greece to repay their debts to the IMF (International Monetary Fund) passed. Greece both failed to secure a new deal and failed to repay what they owed, leading to concern amongst the leaders of the European Union, tensions over the state of the Euro and anxiety within the Greek Populace.
However, during the run up to the deadline, a series of documents released by the non-profit organisation Wikileaks revealed some very concerning NSA operations. Espionnage Élysée refers to Wikileaks continued publishing of classified documents, the most recent of which were revealed on the 29th of June, the day before Greece's deadline.
These documents, the latest in particular, have revealed that America's National Security Agency (NSA) have covertly spied on three administrations of the French Government, including the Presidencies of Jacques Chirac (1995-2007), Nicolas Sarkozy (2007-2012) and the current incumbent, François Hollande.
One of the intercepts in particular revealed that French President Hollande, dismayed over German Chancellor Angela Merkel's refusal to budge over the Greek Financial Crisis, planned meetings with the Merkel's opposition.
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German Chancellor
Angela Merkel |
A further set of documents revealed by Wikileaks today, on the 3rd of July, have revealed that the USA has also been spying on the German Government, including Angela Merkel.
It has also been revealed that the US allowed the "Five Eyes" partners to view the information they had gathered. The Five Eyes consists of the five main English speaking nations, namely the United States, the New Zealand, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, who are a a member state of the European Union, along with France and Germany. It has been strongly implied that the United Kingdom has benefited well from the information they have received.
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French President
François Hollande |
The situation seems even more dire when we fit it into the current context. All of these leaks have been revealed directly in the run up to the Greek IMF negations. No doubt, this has had an incredible effect on the internal tensions between various governments involved. At some point this week, it is understood that an American Representative was summoned to speak with the German Chancellor, though it must be stressed that this is unconfirmed.
And yet, a further event transpired this week, that quite possibly revealed weaknesses within the French Government.
Shortly after the revelation regarding the NSA's monitoring of France, a French minister implied that she would "Not be surprised" if Paris offered Julian Assange, the founder and editor-in-chief of Wikileaks, political asylum.
Julian Assange has been confined to the Ecuadorian Embassy, where he has been granted asylum, for three years now, avoiding extradition to Sweden regarding sex offences he is alleged to have committed. The sex cases against Assange are highly complex, due to varying reports, media distortion and the perception that it is largely a United States field witch hunt against Assange for documents he leaked in 2010.
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Julian Assange, founder and editor-in-chief
of the non-profit organisation Wikileaks |
Julian Assange's crimes are cited as "sexual coercion" and "sexual molestation." In reality, Assange had sex with two different women, but either refused to wear a condom, purposefully ripped the condom during sex or both. When these two women discovered they had both slept with Assange, they demanded he take an AIDs test, lest they go to the police.
By the time Assange had agreed to the test, it was too late and the girls had already gone to the Swedish Police. At first, one of the girls cases was closed, but then suspiciously reopened by the Swedish authorities.
Julian Assange, following much encouragement, submitted a formal request for asylum to France... Which, today, on the 3rd of July, was rejected by the French Government. Today is also Julian Assange's 44th birthday. No doubt, it is difficult to celebrate in the wake of such disheartening news.
The French Government's refusal to grant Assange asylum could be considered a distinctive show of weakness, it could be considered that they are bending over backwards to honour their, admittedly strained, ties to the United States. It is a well known fact that the US apparently has a secret court case against Assange being constructed in Virginia, where they are trying to find a way to indict him under the Espionage Act.
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Great British Prime Minister
David Cameron |
Of course, it is not just France who has refused to grant Julian Assange asylum. The British Government have vowed to arrest Assange if he should ever step out of the Ecuadorian Embassy, in London, and onto British soil. Presumably, they will then send him for questioning in Sweden.
Most curiously, the Swedish authorities have offered numerous times to question Assange in the UK, which Assange has been more than open to, though last month the Swedish Police backtracked, deciding they would rather question the man in Sweden.
Many believe that Julian Assange is the victim of a United States witch hunt, and that there may well be a secret relationship between the USA and Sweden.
Regardless, as the situation stands, it doesn't look like Julian Assange will be able to escape the US witch hunt anytime soon, or leave the Ecuadorian Embassy.
One can only imagine how dismaying it must be, to have their application for asylum be rejected on their birthday. It is even harder to imagine how it must feel to see a government that you have specifically helped with your leak turn their back on you so coldly.
If you wish to read more about the developing stories on the Wikileaks website, please click one of the links below:
