08/16/12 08/16/12 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica, this is "democracy now!" >> today we received from the united kingdom the threat they could storm our embassy in london if ecuador refuses to hand and julian assange pretty >> ecuador is reportedly set to announce today it will allow wikileaks to assange to remain in its embassy in london indefinitely, but british authorities have threatened to storm the embassy and arrest

assange anyway. we will speak with john and assange's lawyer michael ratner and get a report from outside the embassy in london. thousands of young, undocumented immigrants waited in lines as long as a mile yesterday to apply to temporarily remain and work in the united states legally. >> these are young people who study in our schools, play in our neighborhoods, friends with our kids from a pledge allegiance to our flag. they are americans in their hearts and minds, and every single way but one -- on paper. >> arizona governor jan brewer has issued an executive order barring immigrants are granted a reprieve from receiving public benefits or getting a driver's license. we will speak with journalist roberto lovato the mexican poet javier sicilia whose son was is launching aar b

caravan against drug policy. ourselvesere to tell in them we will not turn this pain and our soul and body in more violence, but help to restore love, peace, justice, dignity, and the sputtering democracy we are losing. >> all of that and more coming up. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the government of ecuador is announcing his decision on the asylum but of wikileaks founder julian assange today. it is being reported ecuador is prepared to allow wikileaks founder julian assange to remain in its london embassy in definitely under a type of humanitarian protection. wednesday, britain threatened to raid the embassy if they did not

hand over assange. >> today we received from the united kingdom the clear and written threat they could storm our embassy in london if ecuador refuses to hand and julian assange. we want to make it absolutely clear that we are not a british colony and the times of colonialism are over. >> britain has told a quitter giving joy in assange asylum would not change a thing and mice to revoke the diplomatic status to allow the wikileaks founders extradition. we will have more on the case after the headlines. dozens of people up and killed in the latest attack by the regime of syrian president bashar al-assad hon. stronghold. at least 30 people including children died wednesday when syrian warplanes bombed the rebel-held town of azaz near the border with turkey. at least 10 homes were

reportedly destroyed in the attacks. speaking during a visit to syria, u.n. kyrgyz sirleaf cornyn dear valerie amos said the situation on the ground is getting worse. >> the situation clearly has gotten worse. our assessment at the end of march was about a million people needed help. in my discussion of government yesterday, it is clear that number has gone up significantly. >> the organization of islamic corp. has suspended the country's membership in protest of the assad regime's crackdown. the oic secretary general announce the move at a summit in mecca. >> this is a very strong message for the syrian regime, telling them the islamic world cannot accept the system that kills its people. and it is a message to the international community as well, telling in the islamic committee

supports a peaceful solution and does not want any more bloodshed. >> militants in pakistan have attacked an army base that some have speculated may store a number of the country's nuclear weapons. the attackers struck the air force base overnight, battling with pakistani troops until the early morning hours. seven militants and one soldier were reportedly killed. it's believed the gunmen had intended to target warplanes in anticipation of a pakistani military attack on the militant stronghold of north missouri stand. the base is believed to hold up some of pakistan's declare arsenal of an estimated 100 warheads, but the pakistani military has denied the storage of any nuclear-weapons there. tens of thousands of young undocumented immigrants waited in mile plunge in long lines across the u.s. wednesday to take advantage of an affair policy that may grant them legal status to temporarily remain and work in the united states.

under the deferred action for java rivals program, immigrants under 31, including students who are enrolled in school on the day they apply, will be eligible for a two-year reprieve from deportation if they demonstrate they came to the u.s. before their 16th birthday. blitzer for the past five years, have not been convicted of certain crimes, and do not pose a national security threat are required. republican governor jan brewer of arizona issued an executive order barring immigrants were granted a reprieve from receiving public benefits or getting drivers' licenses. she also instructed state agencies to make sure only legal residents access taxpayer financed benefits. we'll have more than a federal immigration policy later in the broadcast. a pennsylvania judge has upheld a controversial voter identification law that critics say will benefit republicans this november. the measure requires voters to produce photo id before they can cast ballots.

opponents of the law had sought to delay its implementation until after the november 6 elections. the aclu and other groups say they will appeal to the state supreme court. a security guard at the right wing from the research council in washington, d.c. was shot and wounded wednesdayly disagreed we group's views. police said the shooter opened fire after the security guard confronted him in the lobby of the group's offices. the suspect, identified as floyd corkins, reportedly expressed objections to the family research council's opposition to lgbt rights. corkins had volunteered at the d.c. center, an lgbt community center in washington, d.c. the center quickly joined with more than 40 other lgbt rights groups to denounce the attack, st. "we utterly reject and condemn such violence." seven major banks have been subpoenaed and a probe of the manipulation of the london

interbank offered rate, or libor, which provides the basis for rates on trillions of dollars in transactions across the globe. the manipulation meant millions of borrowers paid the wrong amount on their loans. new york officials have subpoenaed ubs, deutsche bank, royal bank of scotland, jp morgan, citigroup, hsbc, and barclays bank over the past several months. barclays was fined $453 million by u.s. and british authorities for its role in fixing libor in june. but the justice department and the attorneys general of new york and connecticut are conducting investigations. a federal probe into the failed commodities and derivatives brokerage house mf global is unlikely to result in any criminal prosecutions of top executives. and a file -- mf global filed for one of the largest bankruptcies in american corporate history last year with almost $40 billion in liabilities. regulators later discovered up to $1.2 billion in customer

funds that should of been kept segregated were missing "the new york times" reports from as the gators have concluded that losses were due to mistakes rather than fraud. jon corzine, who headed mf global, would be among those to evade prosecution. raging wildfires across parts of the western u.s. have forced hundreds of people to evacuate their homes. the fires have swept through more than a half-million acres in idaho, washington, oregon, and california so far. on the campaign trail, vice- president joe biden is under fire for what republicans call an attempt to link mitt romney to the policies of slavery. speaking virginia, biden said romney wants to put americans back in chains for his opposition to financial regulation. >> ever republican voted for, look at what they by and with a budget and what they're proposing. romney said in the first hundred days he will let the big banks write their own rules once

again. unchain wall street. they will put y'all back in chains. >> vice-president biden has stood by his remarks, saying he intended no comparisons to slavery. a group of retired military and cia officers have launched a public campaign accusing president obama of leaking national security information for political gain. in a lengthy web video and in advertisements planned for swing states, the officers say the obama administration has exploited intelligence victories including the killing of osama bin laden. >> these are the experts on the subject, the people who spent much of their lives in military and intelligence operation. they know what they're talking about and they have had enough. they have come together to make sure americans understand what is going on and what is at stake. protecting operational security. their mission?

stop the politicians from politically capitalizing on u.s. national security operations and secrets. >> with all due respect, mr. president, we need you to close your lips and shut up when it comes to operational security regarding our armed forces. it is critical for you as a leader to understand that and with the seals said, we do it, we don't talk about it. >> the video is drawing comparisons to the swift boat controversy of the 2004 election, when right-wing donors funded videos questioning then democratic candidate john kerry's military service in vietnam. the group behind the new video, the special operations opsec education fund, claims to be non-partisan, but a number of its members have ties to republican and tea party campaigns. the group shares office space with a republican consulting firm and it has refused to identify its donors so far. a prominent human rights activist and rain has been sentenced to three years in

prison for taking part in protests against the u.s.-backed regime. the president of the bahrain center for human rights was detained in june after criticizing the bahrain government in twitter messages and media appearances, including one on "democracy now!" in may. he had criticized u.s. support for the ruling monarchy. >> we are very upset about the united states trying to hide the violation happening in the country. [unintelligible] it is a big armor market. we have to suffer for that. we're victims for being a rich region. we are victims of being a region that has an interest with the united states. [unintelligible] ignored completely the crimes to

what is happening. >> for the full interview, now sentenced to three years in prison, you can go to democracynow.org. this is just an, a nato helicopter has crashed in southern afghanistan, killing 11, including seven international troops. those are some of the headlines. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. "the new york times" is reporting ecuador is prepared to allow wikileaks founder julian assange to remain in its embassy in london indefinitely under a type of humanitarian protection. assange has been holed up in the embassy for two months, seeking asylum, but as of this broadcast, ecuador has not made an official announcement, though it may be making one as we broadcast and we will let you know. over the past 12 hours, there have been a number of dramatic developments. wednesday, britain threatened to raid ecuador's embassy in london

if they did not hand over assange. a british foreign spokesperson said -- the ecuadoran foreign minister responded to the british threat. >> today we have received from the united kingdom clear written threats the they could storm our embassy in london if ecuador refuses to hand in julian assange. we want to make it absolutely clear that we are not a british colony, and the times of colonialism are over. >> earlier today, britain told ecuador that giving julian assange asylum would not change a thing and it might still revoke the diplomatic status of ecuador's embassy in london to allow the extradition of the wikileaks founder. to an assange is attempting to

avoid extradition to sweden for questioning over sex crimes accusations. his lawyers say he fears sweden will extradite him to the u.s. ecuador said any attempt to remove the diplomatic status of its embassy would be considered a hostile and intolerable act. this is baltasar garzón, the famed spanish judge and prosecutor, now an attorney for julian assange. >> hypothetically, if asylum is granted, great britain cannot say they won't send him. one can always say no. we're tired of seeing international conventions being breached or not agree with by different countries. but legally, they cannot do it because ecuador is a sovereign state, a free, democratic state, exactly like the united states. nothing more, nothing less. >> for more on the list of elements, we're joined by

michael ratner, attorney for julian assange, president emeritus of the center for constitutional rights here in new york. can you tell us what is the latest you understand at this point? ecuador holding a news conference as we speak, holding it in spanish, and started off by talking about how critical they are a bridge in st. it is violating international law for threatening them in london. >> we do not know what answer the ecuadoreans are going to give. they're deciding on whether to give julian assange asylum or not. we are hopeful they will. julian assange has every right to asylum under the law. the law is clear. the u.s. itself actually gives asylum to people who are journalists, whistleblowers. they have done ever chinese journalists and others. the idea he might not be

entitled to asylum is completely outrageous to me. the fact the british -- i was as shocked as anyone that the british yesterday said they might invade the embassy to get their hands on julian assange. it is such an incredible violation of international law that it is unheard of. think about the chinese going into the u.s. embassy to get chen out in china, or have the brazilians gone into the honduran embassy to get out the zelaya. this is unheard of in law, and heard up in diplomacy, and an outrageous and egregious undermining of the right of the country to give asylum. asylum is considered to be a humanitarian and a political act. you undercut that not just for julian assange, but for every person who seeks asylum in the world by saying another country can simply grab them. >> we're joined right now outside the ecuadorean embassy

in london by been griffiths, an activist for veterans for peace u.k. why the standing outside the embassy right now? >> julian is a war resister. the iraq war, the afghan war diaries, videos, has done more to the true nature of war, so we have been supporting julian since he was threatened with extradition almost two years ago. >> you are a veteran of both the iraq and afghanistan wars. can you talk about why you think wikileaks has served your cause? >> palast conflict was the iraq war. i came back from that conflict and started pickingspeaking out about the true nature of the war. people were saying, where is your evidence?

others would say, what you know, you're just a soldier? he provided us with the evidence that showed helicopter gunships killing innocents. the afghan war logs described torture and death. the iraq war logs highlight the real numbers of those killed in iraq, people you would not have even known about before the logs came out. this guy has done a great service to the world in showing us the true nature of the wars are governments are fighting. >> can you talk about the pressure outside the embassy right now? i have been watching a live stream since late last night outside the ecuadorean embassy, because of the concern the british authorities would raid the embassy and take julian assange out. >> i got to the embassy last at about midnight. there was a police presence they were the static one, and one of uniformed officers.

my personal opinion, the police , tried to put political pressure on ecuador and the ecuadorian embassy and wikileaks to try to stop them from making the decision to grant asylum in levels of police and the threats that were given in ecuador are a big laugh. i do not think the british would dare invade the sovereign territory. it would cost too many problems around the world. others around the world would be threatened by it if any group in the country that just decided they did not like the british [unintelligible] i don't expect a raid on the embassy. >> we just want to turn for 20 seconds to the foreign minister whose the ecuadoran foreign minister speaking right now. we believe this is a preface to their announcement announcing julian assange can stay in the

ecuadorean embassy in london. this is what is happening right now. capri will go back to ricardo patino. [speaking spanish] >> michael ratner, so for the foreign minister bettino is rebuking the british government. he is sent ecuador is a free democratic state, that is not subject to any foreign influence. he has said we're dissatisfied with the british government because we have not received yet any apology. and he said, we're not subject to the tutelage of any foreign entity. michael ratner? >> amy, and just turn briefly what you said. the ecuadorians have been very

strong about this assault on their sovereignty. they said they are being treated as if they're still a colony. they have been incredibly strong. with the british are doing smacks of early of with the british have done as an empire for hundreds, if not 1000, years, in terms of thinking that can kick around other countries. if ecuador were the united states, there would be no way it would be threatening ecuador with going into the embassy. you have to ask yourself what is really going on. is this really about the u.s. being the "hidden hand" behind the british so they can get ahold of john assange, a triumph for espionage, and put an end to him into jail and be treated badly like bradley manning? the u.s. will do anything it can to get its hands on julian assange, even pushed the british to violate the diplomatic

embassy in england, which is completely, as i said earlier, unheard of in diplomatic glock, that you would go in and actually see is someone out of the embassy. a >> michael ratner, to those who say, why doesn't he simply go to sweden to answer the questions about sexually abusing two women? why can he go and do that? >> the issue and that is, first, the ecuadorian government to try to avoid the system that would escalate it, to ask sweden and they would be willing to come to the united kingdom and question julian assange. let's remember, this is about allegations and questioning. there's been no charges or crime, etc., charged. they asked sweden and they would come. so far sweden has said they will not. sweden could have avoided this in two seconds by that.

it is not about sweden. if julian assange were to go to sweden, he would be put in jail immediately. he is not allowed to get bail in sweden. let's understand he would be in prison in sweden and he could no longer apply for asylum. you cannot apply for asylum from jail when you're in the very country that is meaning to persecute you or prosecute you. at that point, the u.s. files its extradition request. julian assange never sees the light of day and winds up going to the u.s. his only choice, when he made the choice, with either go to sweden and be put in jail and wind up in the u.s., or take the risk that you could get political asylum from ecuador and thereby, ultimately, get out of the hands of the united states. >> of ecuador's foreign affairs minister is saying, as we speak, saying in spanish in his announcement, "julian assange's actions are protected under

freedom of speech and freedom of the press. it assange ended up in the u.s., he would not get a fair trial." >> we have worked hard on this and what the right of asylum is. it is very clear that political speech, which is what a publisher and a journalist does with regard to wikileaks or other issues, when there whistleblowers, revealing government crimes or government misconduct and corruption, it is protected under international free speech and is grounds for asylum. so the ecuadorian minister is completely correct legal grounds. on the second issue, i think is clear julian assange cannot get a fair trial in the united states. not only are their calls for his lynching, essentially, with vice president biden calling him a can to high-tech terrorist, but you understand what has happened to bradley manning the minute they got their hands on him in

the united states. essentially, underground solitary prison, stripped has been called krill and inhumane treatment, akin to torture and said it is likely torture. this is what julian assange would be facing. in addition, the as and -- act itself is a political statute used to go after free speech. design forat it was don the first world war. that is why they won julian assange. they want to kill the messenger because they do not like the message. rather than doing that, they should look at their own crimes and going after the people who have committed crimes. the ecuadorean ambassador or minister is correct. he has a right to asylum under the refugee convention. he will not get a fair trial in the united states. >> foreign affairs minister patino is saying julian assange

is a victim of political persecution we will wrap up with you right now, michael ratner, and come back to you as a news conference ends and then make their announcements, which is reportedly that julian assange to remain in the london embassy, that not come to that point in the news conference "the new york times" has reported that. we will get the latest on what that means. we and speaking with michael ratner, legal advisor to julian assange and wikileaks. we will talk with michael again later in the broadcast. but now we're going to go to phoenix after this break. ♪ [music break]

>> this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. tens of thousands of young undocumented immigrants waited in lines as long as a mile on wednesday to take advantage of a new federal policy that may allow them to temporarily remain and work in the united states legally. under the new policy, immigrants aged 30 or younger be eligible for a two-year reprieve from deportation if they demonstrate they can to the u.s. before their 16th birthday and met other requirements. president obama first announced the so-called deferred action for childhood arrivals program back in june, after initiating it using his executive authority. >> young people who study in our schools, they play in our neighborhoods, they are friends with our kids. they pledge allegiance to our flag. they are americans in their hearts and minds, in every

single way but one -- on paper. let's be clear. this is not amnesty. this is not immunity. this is not a path to citizenship. it is not a permanent fix. this is a temporary stopgap measure. >> the new policy could halt the deportation of as many as 1.76 million undocumented immigrants who were brought to the u.s. as children. unlike the stalled dream act, the program does not provide any legal immigration status like a green card. one student applying for deferred action is the peruvian- born sofia campos who spoke to abc news. >> i have been here since i was 6 years old. as undocumented members of this community, we're often living in the shadows every day because of shame, fear of deportation. >> while thousands of young immigrants lined up across the country to apply for deferred action wednesday, arizona

republican governor jan brewer issued an executive order barring immigrants were granted a reprieve interstate from receiving public benefits or getting drivers' licenses. she also instructed state agencies to make sure only legal residents access taxpayer financed benefits. for more we go to phoenix, arizona where we're joined by roberto lovato, a writer with new america media. he blogs at ofamerica.wordpress.com. roberto lovato, welcome to "democracy now!" you are in phoenix today where the governor has just made this very controversial announcement. talk about the significance of the incredibly long lines around the country of tens of thousands of young immigrants and what is happening in arizona. >> what is happening is that the young dreamers are getting ready to collect on the work they did

to actually get us here in the first place. the republicans and democrats were resistant to their demands for some sort of reprieve. so it is historic for the dreamers who deserve this an actual legalization, and you are, unfortunately, facing massive bureaucracy and the federal government and immigration processing system. there are one of the people who fall through the cracks. i get with deferred and forced departure for salvadorans, which is what they gave salvadorans and patients and other groups when they want to give temporary status. people are going to have to be renewing their status every couple of years and are vulnerable at any moment to having his revoked. if we were to have a romney presidency, god forbid, romney

could revoke this because it is an executive order. >> you say god forbid, yet under president obama, there have been more deportations than we have ever seen. >> god forbid we would not talk about the democrat's role in making the lives of the dreamers and possible to difficult. i get a certain nasty feeling when i see democrats, when the young dreamers came out with the dream act, they opposed it because it would get in the way of their big plans for something called comprehensive immigration reform. it seems ironic some of the same the rig rights groups in d.c. and party operatives who are doing everything they can to smash the ideals of these young dreamers, are now some of the primary spokespeople and the spanish-language television explaining and applauding and everything.

a right now the immigrant rights movement, the dream act movement, the democrats, everyone seems to be pleased -- and rightfully so -- with the announcement, which took a lot of work from the dreamers and other groups that supported them. >> and governor or to find president obama once again, saying the young immigrants are actually approved will not be able to get, for example, a driver's license in arizona? >> well, the dreamers right now are gearing up as we speak for protests happening today to go and announce complete repudiation of this ridiculous policy. it appears she does have, as governor, the right to do this. it will be challenged. i would suspect. it just shows a continued political capital that

republicans and democrats draw from the immigration theme, which ultimately, it's not benefiting anybody except people's political aspirations and doing a lot of damage to the lives of friends of mine, friends of a lot of us, who were doing great things in school and society in general. i think of my friends and arizona -- in arizona, and i am appalled to see that governor burqa were -- by the way, joe arpaio and phoenix has just announced that he is going to not respect -- he will continue arresting people, probably. they're continuing this infantile and that republicans and democrats have made out immigration. what is lost is the truth and the opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of people. >> janet napolitano, was the governor of arizona, now the head of homeland security, which is working with the executive

branch and instituting this reprieve for young immigrants. roberto lovato, i would ask about the latest controversy surrounding bain capital. it concerns how mitt romney helped found the company with investments from central american elites linked to death squads in el salvador, where you're from. earlier this month, "democracy now!" spoke to ryan grim is a the store is called, "mitt romney started bain capital with money from families tied to death squads." i asked him how romney responded to his investigation. let's go to that clip. >> they sent me a paragraph of an article from the "salt lake tribune" in 1999 that read -- as they uncovered no unsavory links to drugs or criminal activity.

that is impossible to believe. these families were certainly connected to death squads. >> that was ryan grim. you know this history well. >> i have a personal relationship to some of these death squads that operated not just in el salvador, but in places like arizona. there are a lot of books about this. it is part of history. they operated against us in el salvador -- by the way, i was born here. they chase this down in el salvador and here in the united states. anybody with any familiarity with the salvadorian universe new the death squads were operating, where their operating because there were news all the time, and they knew who were the people involved in these death squads.

not just the u.s.-trained founder of the death squads, but people in the financial and other economic sectors in el salvador that are responsible for this. even romney, if you recall, the san reports show -- the same reports show romney was concerned he was not getting money that was "tainted" by death squads and other scary people. so it is kind of absurd. people in el salvador are buzzing about this. i imagine there maybe some people coming out to start talking about this, about the obama campaign. i would go and get people from el salvador who are impacted by the desk was to come and speak out about what they know about the connection between people like [unintelligible] and others of what used to be called the 14 families, which were really about 100 families,

that were behind the financing of this apparatus of terror that ended up killing more than 80,000 people in the 1980's and 1990's. >> roberto lovato, thank you for being with us from blogs at ofamerica.wordpress.com, co- hist speaking to us from phoenix when we come back, we will speak with javier sicilia. first, we go back to michael ratner, legal advisor to julian assange and wikileaks. the news conference continues. the foreign affairs minister of ecuador has announced that julian assange has been granted asylum by ecuador. michael ratner, if you can talk about the significance of this? julian assange now on the ecuadorean embassy in london, he has been granted asylum by the country of ecuador. what does this mean? >> first of all, i am thrilled and moved.

julian assange has been under such incredible pressure with threats to go in and get him, by the u.s. prosecutions, etc. this is a courageous move by ecuador. julian assange, and doing what he and wikileaks did, stood up to the great powers of the world. now use the ecuador, again, standing up to the powers. we should applaud and support ecuador for doing what was legally required here, which is to give julian assange asylum for his role as a journalist and publisher of wikileaks. what does it mean? first of all, the british should just back off and the u.s. should back off. he has a legal right to asylum under the refugee convention, under the u.n. declarations there cannot be any efforts, consequences for countries granting asylum. it is considered a humanitarian act. for the british to say they

will go into the embassy and get out someone who has been granted asylum, which are in the refugee convention and asylum complete on its head. it is unheard of. as far as i know, it has never been done before they go into an embassy to pull out some and granted asylum. the british are only doing this as belize. most likely been bullies for the united states. once you've been given asylum, which is this great moment, really, still a long road to get julian assange's freedom and to get the right to publish again without adverse consequences, but it is a great moment. in my view, he has a right to leave that embassy, get on a plane, and ecuador. will the british ever honor that with the kinds of threats they are making against julian assange? i doubt it right now but that is the lock, to me. you're given asylum. the british cannot pick him up

and send him to a country where he will then be persecuted. that is what the road is. he will go to sweden as they pick him up, and then to the united states. it is as if you're sending someone back into the hands of those who were persecuting him. they cannot do it. they should not only back off the embassy, they should ensure he is allowed free passage out of the united kingdom. >> michael ratner, if someone was granted political asylum as julian assange has, if he got into a car to go to the airport, what is that territory considered? the actual car? >> that is an open question. i think it should be considered under the diplomatic protection of the ecuadorean embassy. i think there's enough lot to say that. but the additional point here, the one i making, once you have been given asylum, is not like you can then be picked up by a country and sent into the hands of your persecutor, whether it

is in a car or on the street or wherever you are. it is illegal to do so. it is illegal for the british to go into the embassy. it is illegal for them to try to stop genocide from getting to -- stopped doing assange from getting to ecuador. and here to what the law is. the loss not clear considering what a recall the gunboat diplomacy, if you want to even call it to plumb sick, but the british essentially using the gun but against julian assange. >> we were just talking about death squads and el salvador. in 1980 when the archbishop sall salvador, oscar romero, just a few months before, january 31, 1980, and guatemala, the nobel peace prize winners father had

taken refuge in the spanish embassy in guatemala and he and many others were killed as the guatemalan forces burned the spanish embassy to the ground. >> i am familiar with that as you are. it is an incredible -- what is says is the kinds of government that do with the british are doing are basically inhumane and have blood stains on them for generations for doing this. bloodstains regeneration is. if the british are acting like this, they are essentially acting the equivalent of what the guatemalans did to minchu's father. >> this is actual political asylum. he stays in the london embassy. what about sweden's demands he be extradited? what does this mean for him now? he has been there for several months. >> first of all, it is an

incredible plus for julian assange and wikileaks and the work they are doing. it shows that under political asylum, that being a truth teller, being a publisher of truth is something that is protected by fundamental international law. on its first level, it is really gives a perimeter of a positiveness to what wikileaks has done over the last couple of years. and very important. the second thing, and makes julian assange into an international protected person. telling the world, leave your hands off him. you cannot take him to sweden and then push him into the united states where the ecuadorian government is essentially found dramatically he will not receive a fair trial in the u.s.

that he will be treated like bradley manning has been treated, will be treated like the guantanamo detainees have been treated. that he will be treated under a system to the extent that ever offered a fair trial, certainly does not offer it anymore. that is an incredible indictment of the united states. ecuador is st. julian assange is a protected person under international law. you cannot come into our embassy and get him. he has the right to leave that embassy in go to ecuador. let's just see how this plays out. ecuador is a small country. it has just good up to the most powerful countries in the world -- the u.k. and the united states. let's hope the rule of law, the understanding of what the asylum convention meant in 1951, what asylum means today, will be adhered to by the british. >> michael ratner, the significance of baltimore garzón

becoming one of the attorneys for julian assange, the well- known spanish judge and prosecutor who is consulting with the ecuadorian government. what about his presence as part of your team? >> part of our team would be an understatement balthazar garzón really is the head of the team. he has the ability of political ability to move in that america and around the world, but to be able to negotiate and politically with the next steps are for julian assange. but what is really interesting about baltasar garzón case is how similar would happen to him related to what is happening to julian assange. baltasar garzón lost his job as a judge in spain because he wanted to be a truth teller, open up the thousands that were disappeared in the spanish war in the 1930's.

the conservative, the right wing in spain did not want him to do that and came up with excuses to get him try and get knocked off the bench. he is a truth teller in the same way to an assange and wikileaks are truth tellers. in a certain way, doing assange and baltasar garzón are joined at the hip. extraordinary, incredibly supportive, done everything he can to ensure that julian assange will get the asylum -- would get asylum and that he will be protected. he understands the diplomacy of its critics michael ratner, thank you very much for being with us, legal advisor to julian assange and wikileaks. i know you're getting calls from around the world. ecuador has announced political asylum to julian assange breed he is in the embassy in london

right now. ecuador has agreed he can stay. the british authorities, the question was, with a raid at the embassy? that continues to be a question. we will continue to cover this situation. final words, michael, as we leave you to deal with the world media kind of fun at the latest analysis on what is taking place. >> it is an incredibly moving an important day for julian assange. we've been hoping for this moment for julian, for wikileaks, for free press. it is incredibly and orton. for all of us, supporting ecuador's decision to give joy in assange asylum and a push back the british and u.s., one to try and extract him and put him on trial as a scapegoat for their own crimes. incredibly important day and moving day for julian assange, wikileaks, and free press critics to you for joining us, michael ratner when we come

back, we go back to phoenix. there's a caravan across the country for the war on drugs led by javier sicilia. ♪ [music break] >> this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we turn now to a peace caravan led by mexican activist which has kicked off a month-long

cross-country journey across the united states to call for an end of the u.s.-backed drug war. the caravan will criss-cross some 20 states to "call for the change in the by national policies that have been from a six-year drug war, super of hard organized crime, corrupted mexico's vulnerable democracy, claimed lives and devastated human rights on both sides of the border." the caravan is organized by mexican poet and activist javier sicilia, whose 24-year-old son, juan francisco, was murdered by drug traffickers in mexico. in his son's memory, javier sicilia created the movement for peace with justice and dignity to urge an end to the drug violence -- violence that has left an estimated 60,000 people dead, 10,000 disappeared, and more than 160,000 mexicans displaced from their homes over the past six years. javier sicilia led a similar caravan across mexico last june. we're going to join the peace caravan, which made its way from

los angeles to phoenix, arizona. javier sicilia is with us. "time" included his profile in the 2012 person of the year issue, dedicated to protesters around the world. he's been interpreted by jen hofer. javier sicilia, welcome to "democracy now!" why have you come to the united states to challenge the drug war here, come here from your country in mexico? >> [inaudible] the united states plays a part in the responsibility for the drug war that began with drug-

trafficking at the beginning of the administration. we believe drugs are not a question national security, brother of public health. -- a rather a public health. this is a war based on izzy, the same as the prohibition of al alcohol. [inaudible] they have armed the military as well as organized crime. it seems a large part of the ydanis states government, barack obama -- the united states government, barack obama, they do not feel responsible for the situation ri. we come here today to say they are responsible, behind their attics and the united states,

their weapons are our dead. and we must construct piece together, change this policy of war into a policy of peace. >> what do you feel is the most important issue the united states should take on right now? you have said is from the united states that the drugs have the on-the guns have come over the border into mexico, and where the drug demand is. the issue of guns and the demand for drugs, javier sicilia? >> i think it is both of those things. in addition to money laundering, which has not been addressed directly at all, so i think it is not just one thing. it is three things that go hand in hand.

in addition, it has provoked incredible criminalization of african american communities and also latino communities. it is important to take up these questions from our perspective together. but there foundation really has to do with the providing of drugs. if we look at the narrative to directory, starting in the 1920's with the prohibition of alcohol, it is easy to realize with that prohibition produced an increase in criminality meant, the -- increasing criminality, the mafias, corruption. it is the same thing is happening now, but on an

international level. with the prohibition of drugs, the war against drugs. the only people who benefit from this war are the lords of death, the lords of war, the lords of money and the counter productive businesses go-which, the only thing they achieve, is to damage our democracy and our freedoms. >> finally, javier sicilia, you're making your way from los angeles. today you are in phoenix. you're moving on to texas. your journey, where it is, and a message for president obama? you will end up in washington, d.c. how many people are joining the along the way? >> we hope that many people will

join us. from this program, we are calling on people to come to gather with us -- together with us. we're going to washington and hopefully, many people will come to washington with us in order to place these questions, these issues, as a priority on the political agenda. i want to ask people to join us. you can send a peace message via text their senate president obama can do without having to go through congress in order to control the merchants of death to sell assault weapons, deadly weapons that are sold illegally to mexican murderers.

people can send a message of solidarity by sending a text to 225568 and in that way, adding their signature, their solidarity. so we can take that message to president obama and let him know that we have the support among the people for him to be up to make change, given his capacity -- >> javier sicilia thank you so much for being with us. in phoenix, traveling across the country in an anti-drug war caravan to washington, d.c. that is today's broadcast. the latest is from ecuador has granted political asylum to wikileaks founder julian assange two months after he took refuge in the london embassy to avoid

extradition to sweden to face questioning for alleged sexual misconduct. he was concerned he would then be extradited to the u.s. and britain says they will still extradite him. [captioning made possible by democracy now!] democracy now!]