>> this is "bbc newsnight." funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stwoe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, shell, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to understand the industry you operate in, working to nurture new ventures and help provide capital for key, strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you?

>> at shell, we believe the world needs a broader mix of energy. that's why we are supporting -- providing cleaner-burning natural gas to generate electricity. it is also why with our partner in brazil, shell is producing ethanol, a bio fuel made from renewable sugarcane. let's broaden the world's energy vix. let's go. >> how small, peaceful protests marked the syrian rebellion. -- sparked the syrian rebellion. >> one of the first protests in damascus against president assad pierre find out how they now see their country's future. >> i am definitely ready to die. many of the syrian people are

prepared just to see assad go. >> julien assange has been granted asylum in ecuador. we ask where he goes from here. >> and life after the party -- one empoverished london district is struggling with a mixed legacy from the olympic games. hello. the narrative in syria these days is familiar to us. we have seen the violence, accounts conflicting on what is going on, and watch people flee to safety across the border. let's find out what it looks like to the people " 18 months ago were first to call for demonstrations in damascus.

>> damascus, january, 2011. news reaches the syrian capital of the demonstrations in tahrir square in cairo. six long sets -- six young syrians -- muslims and christians -- post an invitation on facebook 28 and a demonstration of support -- to attend a demonstration of support. >> the conditions have already been freed. the egyptians were on their way to be free. we thought it was our turn to be free, too. >> only syrian -- friendly russian tv recorded it. first, the authorities did not object. they, too, supported the movement to oppose egypt's president, whom they called a traitor because of his dealings with israel. >> we chanted.

we lit candles. we sang. the national anthem and other similar songs. maybe less than an hour later, one of the more enthusiastic crowds started chanting "the winds of change has blown." that is when security approached us and said that we had to stop. >> cameras were seized and they were told that criticism of the syrian government would not be tolerated. it was a warning of what was to come. >> i have spent the last few weeks tracking down those who attended the first demonstrations in damascus. many in syria in hiding, filling when they can, and fighting. some are dead and others have fled to watch the drama taking place in their country from abroad. >> i started my search in

germany where a charity has given an man refuge after he fled syria in april. he now lives in a village near cologne. he explains that after the first demonstration, he attended many more. the police came looking for him. he went into hiding, and they are arrested his father to get at him. only when he left the country, his father was released. >> when i came to europe, i was amazed by the way people live here. i realize that we are living in hell in syria under assad. we dream of getting rid of this tyrant. hardly anyone in the country has not had either his brother or his father arrested. he is suffocating us. >> exiled syrians now gather together in said groups all over

europe. the country's intellectual and revolutionary leaders who have been arrested and fled and who have no idea when they will go back. his friends include cities and kurds. they reflect the early ideas, some of those multi denominational syrians, united in a civil society, wanting an alternative to a military regime. they resent what they call the media's obsession with a sectarian civil war. >> right now, there is no civil war in syria. there is a war between and military regime that is slaughtering us and people who are being slaughtered. the security people and the army come from all sections of the country. so do the people. >> he blames the regime for militarizing their struggle.

i went to america to syracuse university in new york state to follow the state -- the story of another of the group who organized the first demonstration. at the end of last year, the christian from damascus signed up along with fellow students to hone his skills as a filmmaker. he had been making a documentary back home on how conflict is affecting the children of homs, how orphans whose parents were killed in the uprising must now fend for themselves.

because of his work, he was arrested several times and fled abroad where he was awarded a fulbright scholarship here at syracuse. so he was offered a share of the american dream, to study here and a celebrated university, all expenses paid, and the chance to escape his own country, which was on the brink of civil war. >> but, his friends explained, he could not stay. >> having witnessed what he has witnessed, i think it was just unsettling to him that people can live lives so calmly and quiet. >> do you think it -- he was right to go back? >> for him, it was at of the question to stay. people were struggling and dying there. this is how he saw it. it might be wrong or right.

i do not think it is built. i think it is love. >> i have the same situation in my country in a different way. we always say the world is just watching what is happening and not doing anything. we did not want to be part of this world who is watching and not doing anything. >> went back to homs earlier this year to make another film describing the reality of living in a city which has been bombarded with heavy weapons now for more than a year. with snipers on the rooftops, he shows how hard it is for people to get just from one side of the

street to the other. >> you can hear him. i cannot imagine the fear he was facing. then he did make it to the other side but was later killed by a syrian government army attack on the house he was sheltering in. he was 28. those of his friends who are still in the country came together outside his local church in damascus to mourn the death of the young filmmaker. the priest tried to hold a service for him in the church, but the authorities refused. >> the ones that prayed for him are from different religions. it does not matter if you pray

in a mosque or a church for him. he died for a better life, not for a country shredded into parts and religion. but it was sad because he deserved more than this in his death and his funeral. >> the third of our pioneer demonstrators still lives in syria. across the front to meet me, traveling from damascus to just across the border in lebanon. we've met in what was once a popular tourist site. now deserted and we hope without

the syrians known to frequent the area. thinking back to the first demonstration, she cannot believe how quickly her country has disintegrated. >> we were hoping for something similar to the way the egyptians had organized their resolution -- the revolution. there would be a movement similar to that that took place in egypt, and we would be able to organize in the long run something similar, but we were thinking in terms of maybe a few years. more optimistic people were thinking in terms of a few months. no one thought it was coming in a few weeks time. we were really overwhelmed with the violent reaction of the regime. >> she uses a false name because she, too, is a film maker trying to document human tragedy. where is your father, she asks this little boy. "in prison." >>"y?"

know," he answers. >> if i remember correctly, all of us have been arrested at some point and released. if not once, then several times. you never know when you need to flee. you are always ready. your papers are ready. you expect that one day or the other, the phone call will, or the knock on the door will come, and you will have to sleep. >> now, she faces frightening opponents. the army are attacking the suburbs of damascus. >> to many helicopters going around. random shots. snipers over buildings shooting everything that moves. i did not know this when the

shot came in because the window was open, so there was no broken glass. there was just so much random shooting and bombing going around. i could not tell that it was actually in my bedroom. i woke up the next morning and realized there was a hole in the wall above my bed. >> after our interview, maya returned to damascus to work, but with the constant fear of arrest or of being killed. before she left, i asked her what she would wish for her country. >> i would like to wake up tomorrow and not find a single body. that would be perfect. >> back at syracuse university, they are planning a memorial next month. meanwhile, they watch events in syria in despair. >> what is happening is people

being crushed silently without anybody being able to do anything. >> and amir says he is going back. >> i am definitely ready to die. my friends and many of the syrian people are prepared to risk death just to see assad go. >> almost exactly two years ago today, julian assange had his heart set on sweden. he applied for a residence permit to live and work there. he hoped to create a base forbes wikileaks in sweden because of the country's laws protecting whistle-blowers. now he has his heart set on ecuador. this week, we witnessed the kind of diplomatic international incident that wikileaks used to cause. >> julian assange once traveled the globe championing freedom of

information and apparently rewriting the rules of what could and could not be kept secret. now his world has shrunk to two rooms at the back of the ecuadorean embassy in london, but even this refuge may not be safe, for the british government has made clear diplomatic immunity might be revoked. >> it is unprecedented. it is a letter from the u.k. authorities about the possibility of going into the embassy to pick him up. that is what mystifies me. i am still shocked about it. the application of that is so massive. if they would indeed do it, i think that would actually jeopardize the concept of diplomacy forever. >> with supporters bearing police were about to storm the

embassy, the counterculture arrived -- with supporters fearing police were about to storm the embassy. the ecuadorian government, meanwhile, bridles at the suggestion that british law might be used to nullify their sovereignty and gave their guest what he craved. them of the ecuadorean government, loyal to its tradition to protect those who seek refuge with us, has decided to grant diplomatic asylum to mr. assange. >> that news comes as supporters outside the block up the for office. >> i think the foreign office played this exactly right. they have been talking behind the scenes, quiet diplomacy, for something like two months. i think there does come a moment

where you actually have to say, "these are the options, and by the way, we do have this act of parliament, which gives us the right to lift diplomatic immunity when it is being abused. >> to the protesters, this is all about wikileaks and american vengeance, but in truth, none of the charges framed against himself far relate to that. >> it is brought to our understanding that this is not about mr. assange's activities with wikileaks in the united states of america. he is wanted in sweden on allocation of serious sexual offenses. >> he would also face british charges if he left the embassy while united states has yet to show its hand legally. with neither the uk or acquittal

in governments likely to back down, this seems to be a chance of a prolonged standoff, from which only high charging international lawyers might benefit. meanwhile, julian assange may not be in prison, but he is certainly confined. so mr. assange will have plenty of time to gaze out at the expense of cars dropping off customers while the british government bides its time. >> the ecuadorean president has fallen into a trap of its own making. they have and the embassy the sitting talent from hell who could be there for another 25 or 30 years. rose? the model for us now is just play it cool. go back into behind-the-scenes talks with the ecuadorean. >> and what of the longer term? bradley manning, the u.s. soldier accused of providing wikileaks with most of its information, faces trial in september.

american authorities have yet to indict julian assange on any charge, but his claim that he could face death in parts of the u.s. has bought parts of his asylum argument. >> very important to know that sweden will not extradite anyone to the u.s. if there is a real fear that they would be subject to the death penalty, so that certainly is not something that is a real risk in his case. it will not happen. what i think is a greater risk is that he will be subjected to the same kind of treatment that bradley manning has, who obviously is the wikileaks defense and in the u.s. who has been held in pretty unsavory conditions. >> ecuador has been criticized by both british and swedish governments for obstructing the workings of justice in two western democracies. u.s. pressure has yet to begin in earnest. julian assange's supporters were hardly opening the champagne.

>> they say they might not be the quickest, but they do not forget, and they do not forgive. >> the embassy is equivalent to a tennis court. it is a small world to be cooped up indefinitely. supporters think he might escape, but where to? ecuador remains defiant for now, but who can predict how they will behave in america turns up the heat -- if america turns up the heat? >> secure location for the olympic games, i too was chosen in part because an enormous amount of public money might help to generate one of the poorest areas of the country. the london borough of the work has played host to some of the finest sporting events many of us can remember. plus, the obvious disruption associated with being a center of the world for two weeks, but what has it gained? >> the olympics is about the

sponsors. corporate companies. >> we are not saying there should be no development. we are saying there should be no development at our expense. they want to displace us. >> it is home to one of the most diverse populations in the u.k., but also one of the least well- off. some local people told us that despite all the money pumped into staging the game, they fear only a small amount will triple to people like themselves. >> raising the aspirations, raising the hopes, especially in the local community. for seven years, we have been

looking forward to the olympics. legacy does not pay the mortgage. legacy does not pay the bills. we have suffered. it is all nice if you do not mind it. you want to live two miles away from the stadium's with the work is -- it ain't nice. >> there are also those who fear that the generation will merely mean gentrification, leading to the displacement of locals. on board with the outstanding views of the liver parts, hosted a number of broadcasters, but residents are battling the local council over plans to demolish their homes to make way for a new development. >> there is a real strong community and hub of activity

there. they do not tend to talk about those things. the standard press release is not true. there's volume businesses here. there is a lively residents community here. they think their community is something they will create. one of the things they have said is we need to raise the aspiration of residence. they are not our parents. they do not need to raise my aspirations. i have been to university. there are professionals here. it is patronizing to say they are going to raise aspirations of the president without understanding the residents that they actually talked about. >> there are also plenty who are hopeful the positive flow will continue, and a recent nationwide poll showed support was strongest among the under 35. >> when the bid for the london olympics was announced, i was at home that day. i was in primary school.

i was young and did not really understand much. they said i might be working there. but, yes, she said that. it actually came true, surprisingly enough. . i do think things will change for the better. this was my first paid job working at the olympics, actually. all other work the gun was volunteering. meeting people from a big company, that it will open doors. my biggest hope for the future would be a job at there. after i graduate, obviously, the first thing would be to be employed. that is my biggest hope. >> one local group was forced

off the olympic site when it was redeveloped. it has been promised a home in the new park. >> we sincerely believe that this community is great for the park. we are going to be some of the first people, and we will be the first key to the authority was the understanding genuinely how local people are going to resettle back in the environment and the finish doing all the building work. i hope it is a park that does grow in an organic way and does become somewhere where families like to stay in a comfortable and secure -- they are a good example of coastal olympic legacies, whereby it has been a massive failure and those areas have become kind of know-go zones and difficult places for people to manage.

that would be a dreadful waste. the east end of london is the best and of london. >> that is all for us from this week. thanks for watching. goodbye. >> funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stwoe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to know your business. offering specialized solutions and capital to help you meet

your growth objectives. we offer expertise and tailored solutions for small businesses and major corporations. what can we do for you? >> "bbc newsnight" was presented by >> "bbc newsnight" was presented