John Pilger, in an article in the New Statesman entitled ‘The Pursuit of Julian Assange is an Assault on Freedom and a Mockery of Journalism’, published today in Swedish translation by Fria Tider, mentions the historic significance of the British government’s threat to invade the Ecuadorean embassy and seize Assange. It is not perfectly clear that a threat could properly be considered to have been made.
What would be of historic significance, it seems to me, is if, before diplomatic relations were legally severed etc., the British police actually did invade the building of the embassy, and only the many Assange supporters witnessing and livestreaming the attempt in the middle of the night prevented them from actually entering the embassy and seizing him. That, as I understand it, is what Assange himself said happened. Why is there not more discussion about this?
Everything else in Pilger’s article seems to me accurate or plausible.
Fria Tider also continues to publish essential articles on the case in English, explaining some of what mainly British and American conservative critics of Assange and defenders of his Swedish enemies fail to understand:
(Thanks also to Ewa C. who first drew my attention to Pilger’s article by posting it on fb a couple of days ago.)
Jan Olof Bengtsson 
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