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THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT has rejected an asylum request from WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Friday, saying he did not face “immediate danger”.
“France cannot act on his request,” said the office of President Francois Hollande in a statement, after Assange wrote an open letter published in Le Monde seeking legal pretection from France.
“The situation of Mr Assange does not present an immediate danger. Furthermore, he is subject to a European arrest warrant,” Hollande’s office said.
But Assange, who turns 44 today and is into his fourth year in the Ecudorian embassy in London, has come out denying that he had never made an official asylum requested.
“My client has stated that, if the competent French authorities decided to give him protection, he would receive this offer positively. No part of the letter that was sent to the President of the Republic of France can be interpreted in any different way,” according to the response from his legal team this afternoon.
In his letter original to the president, published earlier Friday in Le Monde newspaper, Assange described himself as a “journalist pursued and threatened with death by the United States’ authorities as a result of my professional activities”.
“I have never been formally charged with an offence or a common crime, anywhere in the world, including Sweden and the UK,” wrote the Australian activist.
Luc Bronner / TwitterGuerre des taxis : UberPop jette l'éponge en France. Et l'appel de Julian Assange à Hollande. A la Une du Monde pic.twitter.com/F5Uq2xfNNd
— Luc Bronner (@lucbronner) July 3, 2015
He also raised the issue of US spying on French leaders, which caused controversy last week when WikiLeaks released documents indicating that the United States had wiretapped Hollande and his two predecessors.
“The scale of the scandal and the reactions that followed our latest revelations confirmed the legitimacy of our approach,” he wrote.“These revelations were made at the risk of our lives.”
Assange has spent over three years holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faces allegations by two women, one of rape and one of sexual assault, which he denies.
The former computer hacker fears extradition to Sweden could lead to him being transferred to the United States to face trial over WikiLeaks’ publication of classified US military and diplomatic documents.
WikiLeaks / TwitterFrance now admits #Assange has not asked for asylum https://t.co/1xCx9GWqGy pic.twitter.com/KdD56ci1fd
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) July 3, 2015
In his letter to Hollande, Assange said he had not seen his youngest child or the child’s mother — both French — for five years.
“I have had to keep their existence secret up to today in order to protect them,” he wrote.
He claimed last month that Swedish prosecutors had cancelled a long-awaited interview regarding his case.
Prosecutors had long insisted that he travel to Sweden for questioning but in March they agreed to go to London because some of the alleged offences will reach their statute of limitations in August.
But at the last minute, the interview was cancelled on the grounds that the prosecutors had not received permission from Ecuador to enter its embassy.
A criminal investigation is ongoing in the US into WikiLeaks’ release in 2010 of 500,000 classified military files on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and 250,000 diplomatic cables.
The main source of the leaks, US Army soldier Chelsea Manning, was sentenced to 35 years in prison for breaches of the Espionage Act.
© – AFP 2015 with reporting from Rónán Duffy
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This is a successful company that has built other parks in a number of countries. Don’t think there’s any danger of them collapsing like that other Celtic Tiger pipedream.
This type of parc is hugely popular in europe…france in particular…this is long overdue.they provide huge employment for a region.once the access roads arent causing problems for the locals then its all good.
Might stop the steady decline in house prices too…..
Mr Power sounds like Grandpa Simpson…
Dear Mr President there are too many states these days please eliminate three. P.S I am not a crackpot.
I’ll be deep in the cold, cold ground before I recognize missourah!
This is why we can’t have nice things in this country, the ‘Not in my back garden’ mentality still as strong as ever.
Not only that but you have clowns who don’t even live in the area that can object on multiple daft reasons.
A Dublin man living in Dublin, once stopped a building being built at Knock Airport.
Probably works for the daa. Those boyos try to destroy everything happening at other Airports.
Dauid, some of the objections are for changes rather than to the whole scheme and are well founded.
Some of them, as we see, are crackpots.
Describing this as a ‘giant water park’ is a little misleading. Not exactly water slides and log flumes…
Some may have to take one of the jobs on offer……just saying!
Something, something, Gift Horse, Mouth….
We have a great country but it needs a roof. Now we have it.
If I lived in the area I wouldn’t be disturbed by 2500 people per week arriving. I would be looking at setting up some business that would relieve these 2500 people of some of their holiday money.
What do we have to do in this country to have somewhere to go other than pubs. Every county should have one.
Something bringing employment to the area and some people cannot open their eyes to the benefits.
Because they want to stay on state benefits
“There’s no pleasing some people.”
“That’s just what Jesus said sir.”
Centre Parcs?
Centre parcs is cool. Love the Centre parcs.
Crazy people lodging crazy planning objections is hardly news
Some of them will be afrid they will be offered a job !
This is absolutely fantastic for the area. Never mind the hundreds of jobs it will create, it’ll be great for the businesses in the wider area too. The ones in the uk offer off-site activities like quad biking, go karting, laser and clay pigeon shooting, that kind of thing, and hotels restaurants and b&bs in the area get a lot of business from it too – when we go we usually stay overnight somewhere the night before our stay starts, so we get there nice and early on our first day to make the most of it. You also get people shopping in the area before they go (the parcmarket isn’t the cheapest place to shop) or going out for a meal in one of the local restaurants even during their stay.
Also, it isn’t a water park. There is a swimming pool, but that’s a small part of what Center Parcs is
1750 jobs, at least 1500 of them will be taken by foreigners.
by “foreigners”, do you mean Dublin? Besides, nothing wrong with an auld “mix of the gene-pool”
Eamonn…you may be right..i suspect quite a few local young adults have emigrated from this area and the jobs eventually on offer at this parc wont be viable enough to enable them to come home and take them….so its likely that immigrants will take them….many of the employees in these type of parcs actually stay in accomodation provided.
- 1750 jobs, at least 1500 of them will be taken by foreigners.
1750 jobs all of which will be filled by people who apply for them.
@Eammon
So?
Coming from a country that exports a fair amount of people per year since time immemorial, I think your statement is a bit rich Eamo
Nope, no accomodation for staff on site, the space is too valuable
By ‘foreigners’ do you mean people who have a good attitude and are not work-shy?
John..ive been to several similar parks in europe and ive come across a number of young irish working as lifeguards,entertainers etc for the summer..i assume when this park open a lot of the staff will be french,italian etc….a fantastic adventure..and i dont think bad attitude and work shy will be tolerated..
@Matt Connolly,
Matt you are some illiterate, if you think a foreigner is someone from Dublin.
@John Mulligan,
No. Look the word up in a dictionary.
@Peter Fechter,
They won’t be French or Italian.
They’ll be Eastern Europeans working for subsistence wages.
@Phil Blanc,
They will get the jobs because they will undercut the Irish workers.
Jesus, longford needs something, it’s a hole.
Rachel..it has diversity.
lol…. wow, remind me to put longford on list of places to go for my summer holidays then! im humbled.
Anyone else thinking “league of gentlemen”?
That artist’s impression needs a roof and four walls with heating enclosing that pool!
Lol.
Better if it was built in Wexford.
The sunny south east..
Stuff Wexford! You have enough attractions, Longford is sadly in need of something like this!
That’s a lot of jobs. I doubt its that many at all. Seasonal work and part time included won’t hit that figure.
Have you ever been to Center Parcs? They employ a ridiculous number of people. Bear in mind the number of businesses that will be opening – it isn’t just Center Parcs, (think a 1000 room hotel with all associated staff) it’s the half dozen or more restaurants, the bars, the cafes, Starbucks, shops, each with their own full complement of staff. Then the dozens of lifeguards, sports staff, coaches etc, the groundskeeper guys, housekeeping. I think you’re underestimating the impact this will have on jobs in the area
Adam…..it might even offer some competition for Trabolgan…..
Oh I wouldnt go that far… I mean, it’s good n all, but, like, Trabolgan man!
Its all year round jobs lads!
And some people wonder why there is nothing in the country
This is absolutely fantastic for the area. Never mind the hundreds of jobs it will create, it’ll be great for the businesses in the wider area too. The ones in the uk offer off-site activities like quad biking, go karting, laser and clay pigeon shooting, that kind of thing, and hotels restaurants and b&bs in the area get a lot of business from it too – when we go we usually stay overnight somewhere the night before our stay starts, so we get there nice and early on our first day to make the most of it. You also get people shopping in the area before they go (the parcmarket isn’t the cheapest place to shop) or going out for a meal in one of the local restaurants even during their stay.
Do centerparcs allow locals to pay as you go?if so I’m happy…
Objectors probably the suits from Dublin 4
Me Power, please tell my which village in the Longford area is missing you? If you dont return they will have to pick a NEW village idiot! You always get one nutter……
Mr Power…….
This is who is behind it:
Blackstone Group
After the subprime mortgage crisis, Blackstone Group LP has bought more than $5.5 billion single-family homes for rent, to be sold when the prices rise. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blackstone_Group#Real_estate Still happy for it to go ahead? How many have had their homes repossessed here in Ireland? This crowd are sitting on homes waiting to make a killing when the prices rise.
have your say