You can sign an online petition to the government of Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa in support of Julian Assange's extradition request.

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To:

Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado

President of the Republic of Ecuador

Ricardo Armando Patiño Aroca

Minister of Foreign Relations, Republic of Ecuador

CC:

Raúl Gangotena

Ambassador of the Republic of Ecuador in Australia

Luis Felipe Valencia

Consul General of the Republic of Ecuador in Australia

Dear President Rafael Correa and Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño,

As members of the Latin American community and solidarity activists living in Sydney, we are writing to urge you to grant the request by Mr Julian Assange, an Australian citizen and WikiLeaks founder, to seek asylum.

Mr Assange has gone to the Ecuadorian embassy in London after having been denied his basic human rights and given no real assistance by the Australian government while being held under house arrest in the UK without charge for nearly two years.

Although officially Mr Assange is wanted for questioning in Sweden, there is much evidence to suggest that his case is political. It has been motivated as a result of the WikiLeaks' revelations of United States Embassy cables that initially exposed the reality of the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and since then details of the real thinking by the US and its allies.

Human rights lawyers fear, with reason, that once in Sweden, Assange will be handed over to the US authorities who have labelled him a “high tech terrorist”, as US Vice President Joe Biden put it. Other US political figures have even called for Assange's assassination.

Knowing the crimes that the US government has committed under the so-called “war on terrorism” -- including the illegal and brutal detention of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, the use of torture and of

extra-ordinary rendition -- we have no doubt that Mr Assange’s life and physical security is in danger.

We are also well aware that, much like Mr Assange, your government has been the target of this hostile campaign due to the dignified stand you have taken in defiance of the US government, such as the closure of a US military base on Ecuadorian territory.

We recognise that it was WikiLeaks' disclosure of information about activities of the US embassy in Quito that lead to your government’s decision to expel the US ambassador.

We know the Ecuadorian government understands what is at stake when it comes to Mr Assange’s life, as evidenced by your 2010 offer to give Mr Assange residency in Ecuador, and the comment made by President Rafael Correa to Mr Assange in a recent interview: “Welcome to the club of those who are persecuted!”

We therefore urge you to grant him asylum as he rightful deserves.

Regards

Federico Fuentes

Latin America Social Forum

Victor-Hugo Munoz

Committee for Human Rights in Guatemala

Raquel Iglesias

Grupo Ibiray-Fondo Raul Sendic

Jorge Gonzalez

Chilean Communist Party, Sydney

Giovanni Ortiz

Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) Committee, Sydney

Helen Arcia

Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), Sydney

Lisa Macdonald

Australia Venezuela Solidarity Network