Snowden the Nowhere Man

WASHINGTON: With country after country rejecting his asylum application, American whistleblower Edward Snowden has become anowhere man. Living in limbo and out of sight in the transit area of Moscow's Sherematyavo Airport, Snowden heard a dozen governments from the list of 21 he wrote to via Wikileaks, including New Delhi, reject his asylum request on various grounds, primarily fear of US retribution. 

In Washington, an Obama administration official said Snowden was welcome to return home on a one-way ticket to face trial. ''He's still a US citizen. He still enjoys the rights of his US citizenship, which include the right to a free and fair trial for the crimes he's been accused of," State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said. 

India, Brazil, and Norway were among the countries that shut the door on Snowden. Russia and Ecuador, the two countries seen as most likely to offer him a home, also backed down under withering American pressure. Venezuela held out a tantalizing promise. 

"We think this young person has done something very important for humanity, has done a favor to humanity, has spoken great truths to deconstruct a world... that is controlled by an imperialist American elite," the country's President Nicholas Maduro, bravely said during a visit to Moscow, amid speculation on whether he could take Snowden back to Caracas on his plane. 

Pressed with that question, Maduro seemed to back off a little, joking: "What we're taking with us are multiple agreements that we're signing with Russia, including oil and gas." 

But it was Moscow's reaction to Snowden's plight that was most surprising. Russian President Vladimir Putin, himself a former KGB spy, said Snowden is free to remain in Russia on the condition that he stop divulging information that is ''damaging our American partners.'' When Snowden reportedly balked at the idea and withdrew his asylum application, he was told to decide where he wanted to go and move there. 

But without any travel document (the US has revoked his American passport), Snowden is evidently caught in an immigration bind, unable to even board a flight to any destination. A meek return to the US and a civil liberties scrap appears to be the only option although the Bradley Manning fate is not exactly inspiring. 

Speculation abounded on what deals Moscow could be cutting with Snowden and his Wikileaks patrons, even as Washington explored ways of coaxing him back to the US. Traveling in Tanzania, President Obama said he was hopeful the Russian government ''makes decisions based on the normal procedures regarding international travel and the normal interactions that law enforcement [agencies] have.'' 

In the US meantime, a group of civil liberties activists began canvassing for asylum for Snowden in various countries starting with Ecuador. An organization called Just Foreign Policy sent a letter to Ecuador President Rafael Correa signed by several celebrities, including Hollywood director Oliver Stone, pressing him to open his doors for Snowden. 

''Unprecedented government secrecy and an unprecedented crackdown on whistleblowers are threatening the ability of Americans to control their government,'' the organization's policy director, Robert Naiman, said. ''If President Correa grants asylum to Snowden, all Americans who love freedom will be in his debt." But Correa had already backed down under intense pressure from Washington.