RTWed, 17 Apr 2019 10:49 UTC
© RuptlyAssange protest in the streets of Quito, Ecuador
Riot police have attacked scores of people who flooded onto the streets of Ecuador's capital and
branded their president a "traitor." Protesters were venting anger at the decision to hand Julian Assange over to the UK.The massive rally in Quito was held to voice unease over the role Ecuador played in arranging for Julian Assange's arrest last week in London. The situation became more tense when police - wearing heavy riot gear - clashed with protesters, using batons to chase them down the street.
A Ruptly video shows some protesters being beaten and taken to the ground amid the demonstration.
Others were filmed running away as mounted police closed in.
People who came to the rally were infuriated by President Lenin Moreno's decision to revoke Assange's political asylum which helped him avoid arrest for almost seven years.
"Out traitor, out! We voted for you so you govern, not for you to sell us to the United States. Despicable traitor!" one protester was heard saying in the video.
Comment: A SOTT reader in Quito, Ecuador informs us that:
Approximately 20,000 citizens of all ages and backgrounds - although especially lower income workers and middle class social-media users - took part in a peaceful protest.
The people were seriously pissed! Chants and cries inundated the streets:
"Traitor! Traitor!... Free Julian Assange... You betrayed our Sovereignty!... Out with the Son of a Bitch!... Lenin Moreno, You're going down!"
There were a considerable amount of activists with Anon Guy Fawkes masks. The historical center was made inaccessible by riot police and at around 7:30pm, some of the younger men couldn't contain their indignation and things got violent, from both sides: stone throwing, tear-gas bombs, swinging batons...
At the moment of this writing, the privately-owned mass media has kept the general public seriously misinformed of international reactions to Assange's arrest event...
From
RT: Roger Waters slams UK as accomplice of US Empire in Assange saga:
"To think that the UK has become such a willing accomplice and satellite of the American Empire that it would do such a thing in contravention with all laws, moral, ethical, and actual legal restrictions is absolutely, stunningly appalling and makes me ashamed to be an Englishman.
"If we let the UK get away with allowing him to be extradited to the United States, we allow the United States government, at their whim, to torture him and to detain him possibly for the rest of his life."
See also:
Comment: A SOTT reader in Quito, Ecuador informs us that:
From RT: Roger Waters slams UK as accomplice of US Empire in Assange saga: See also: