65 lines
3.8 KiB
Markdown
65 lines
3.8 KiB
Markdown
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# Snowden Statement at Moscow Airport; Accepts Asylum Offers
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**See Also:** [National Uproar: A Comprehensive Overview of the NSA Leaks and
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Revelations][0]; I have not yet had the time to devote to writing a thorough
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follow-up of recent events and will likely wait until further information and
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leaks are presented.
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[Edward Snowden][1]---the whistleblower responsible for [exposing various NSA
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dragnet spying programs][0], among other documents---has been [stuck in the
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Moscow airport][2] for quite some time while trying to figure out how he will
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travel to countries offering him asylum, which may involve traveling through
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territories that may cooperate with the United States' extradition requests.
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[0]: /2013/06/national-uproar-a-comprehensive-overview-of-the-nsa-leaks-and-revelations
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[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden (Now with his own Wikipedia page)
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[2]: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/01/edward-snowden-escape-moscow-airport
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<!-- more -->
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Snowden [issued a statement today to Human Rights groups at Moscow's
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Sheremetyevo airport][3], within which he mentioned:
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> I announce today my formal acceptance of all offers of support or asylum I
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> have been extended and all others that may be offered in the future. With, for
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> example, the grant of asylum provided by Venezuela’s President Maduro, my
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> asylee status is now formal, and no state has a basis by which to limit or
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> interfere with my right to enjoy that asylum. [...] I ask for your assistance
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> in requesting guarantees of safe passage from the relevant nations in securing
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> my travel to Latin America, as well as requesting asylum in Russia until such
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> time as these states accede to law and my legal travel is permitted. I will be
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> submitting my request to Russia today, and hope it will be accepted
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> favorably.[3]
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Snowden had previously [withdrawn his request for political asylum in Russia][4]
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after [Vladmir Putin stated that he could stay][5] only if he stopped "bringing
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harm to our American partners"---something which [Snowden does not believe that
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he is doing][6]. Although Venezuela has offered Snowden asylum, as [explained by
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the Guardian][6], "he remains unable to travel there without travel
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documents". Even if he does obtain travel documents, there are still
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worries---earlier this month, the [Bolivian president's plane was diverted with
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suspicion that Snowden was on board][7], showing that certain countries may be
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willing to aid the U.S. in his extradition or otherwise prevent him from
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traveling.
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My focus on these issues will seldom be on Snowden himself---I would prefer to
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focus primarily on what he sacrificed his life to bring to light. But it is
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precisely this sacrifice that makes it important to ensure that Snowden does not
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fall out of the picture (though it does not appear that he will any time soon).
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The Guardian also seems to have adopted the strategy of slowly providing more
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information on the leaks over time---such as the recent revelation that
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[Microsoft cooperated with the NSA's Prisim program to provide access to
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unencrypted contents of Outlook.com, Hotmail, Skype and SkyDrive services][8]; I
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will have more on that later.
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I end this with a photograph taken yesterday of [Richard Stallman with Julian
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Assange holding up a picture of Snowden][9] that brings a smile to my face.
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[3]: http://wikileaks.org/Statement-by-Edward-Snowden-to.html
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[4]: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/02/edward-snowden-nsa-withdraws-asylum-russia-putin
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[5]: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/01/putin-snowden-remain-russia-offer
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[6]: http://m.guardiannews.com/world/2013/jul/12/edward-snowden-accuses-us-illegal-campaign
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[7]: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/05/european-states-snowden-morales-plane-nsa
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[8]: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/11/microsoft-nsa-collaboration-user-data
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[9]: http://twitpic.com/d279tx
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