Alex Contreras Baspineiro
The
President of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Evo Morales Ayma, has
once again been spread like wildfire across the international headline
news. Seven years ago, the "first indigenous president" in the
continent made a tour of a number of countries in the world. But this
time he was "kidnapped" or held because four European countries
prevented the presidential aircraft, in mid flight, from entering their
air space.
"This is
not a provocation against Evo Morales, but against Bolivia and all of
Latin America. It's an aggression against Latin America on the part of
some European countries," said the Bolivian President concerning the
forced stopover in the Vienna (Austria) airport due to suspicions that
the ex-security agent of the U.S. government, Edward Snowdon, was
travelling in the presidential aircraft.
The head
of the Bolivian State was obliged to remain some fourteen hours in the
Austrian airport, where he made an emergency landing because France,
Portugal, Italy and Spain revoked their authorization of the use of
airspace and airports in his return from Russia to La Paz.
In Moscow (Russia) he had taken part in the Second Summit of the Forum of Gas Exporting countries.
Evo
Morales Ayma, in his intervention in the event, advocated the defence of
natural resources, considered as the property of peoples, insisted that
they should be administered by States and asked for technological and
scientific assistance to benefit nations involved and to attend to the
international demand for this energy source.
Defending
and sharing the experience of the nationalization of hydrocarbons, the
Head of State pointed out: "Those countries -- especially those of Latin
America and the Caribbean -- where natural resources are appropriated
by the State, are administered by the State and belong to the people,
come permanently under attack, since historically our resources were
looted; and the experience of Bolivia is how to recuperate these
resources for the benefit of the peoples", he said.
The
Organization of American States (OAS) demanded explanations from the
European countries that prevented the presidential aircraft from flying
over their territories, since they had placed the life of the president
"at risk", while the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) called an
extraordinary meeting to analyze the situation, and the Andean Community
of Nations (CAN) condemned the action since it violates international
agreements.
In the
name of the OAS Miguel Insulza stated today that the European countries
involved should provide explanations as to why they placed the life of
the President of Bolivia at risk. "Nothing justifies such a
disrespectful action against the highest authority of a country", he
said.
While
the UNASUR countries prepare to celebrate an emergency meeting called by
the President of Peru, Ollanta Humala, his Argentinian counterpart
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner wrote by Twitter: "Ollanta will call a
meeting of UNASUR. The time in Peru is 22h25. Tomorrow will be a long
and difficult day. Keep calm, they can't pull this off."
After
exchanging with the Bolivian Head of State on preventing the
Presidential Aircraft from inspection, Fernández wrote: "Simply
perfect, stand strong Evo.
From
Uruguay, President José Mujica expressed indignation for the
humiliation, while the head of Ecuadorian diplomacy, Ricardo Patiño,
said that this, to say the least, is a tremendous offence, and his
Venezuelan counterpart, Elías Jaua, affirmed that his country regards
the international aggression as being against itself.
"I
believe that this is a pretext to frighten me, intimidate me, to teach
me a lesson, and above all, to attempt to silence us in our struggle
against the policies of looting, against invasions and domination... I
cannot understand that France, Italy, Portugal and Spain claim that I
was detained because I was giving a lift to one Mr. Edward Snowden",
remarked the President of Bolivia.
Imperial kidnapping
Article
40 of the 1961 Vienna Convention stipulates out that "if a diplomatic
agent passes through or is in the territory of a third State, which has
granted him a passport visa if such visa was necessary, while proceeding
to take up or to return to his post, or when returning to his own
country, the third State shall accord him inviolability and such other
immunities as may be required to ensure his transit or return."
In face
of this violation of the Vienna Convention, from around the national
territory there were voices of rejection, protest and mobilizations.
Resuming
this sentiment, Vicepresident Alvaro García Linares described the
retention of the Head of State as a kidnapping tied to U.S. imperialism.
"We want
to tell Bolivians, we want to tell the whole world that President Evo
Morales, the Bolivian President, today has been kidnapped in Europe; we
want to tell the peoples of the world that President Evo Morales has
been kidnapped by imperialism and is being held in Europe", he declared.
Accompanied
by the full ministerial cabinet, García Linero denounced the flagrant
violation of the Vienna Convention concerning official flights and the
use of air space and airports previously authorized.
The
Bolivian dignitary also denounced an attempt at blackmail on the part of
a diplomatic official of Spain to bring Morales Ayma to accept --
against international norms -- a search of the official Bolivian
aircraft.
"I could
not allow a search of the aircraft because I am not a criminal and you
know that this is an official aircraft according to international norms.
The President has inviolable immunity, his right to go to any part of
the world. I refused on a question of dignity, I am obliged to defend
our dignity and sovereignty, since this is not an offence against the
President, it is an offence against a whole people, against a whole
region such as Latin America", said Evo Morales Ayma as he reassumed the
flight to the heart of the Latin American Continent.
The
Minister of External Affairs of Austria, Michael Spindelegger, assured
that, before the exit of the Bolivian President, the airport police of
Vienna undertook a "voluntary inspection" authorized by the pilot and
verified that Snowden was not on board the aircraft.
"It is
an important piece of information for everyone that there was no
stowaway on the presidential aircraft. It was a question of a persistent
rumour that had caused problems on a world scale", lamented
Spindelegger.
From
Brussels, the European Commission confirmed that it is within the
competence of every member State to decide whether to accept or reject
access to air space, according to the community spokesperson on
Transportation, Helen Kearns.
During
his life as a union leader, Evo Morales Ayma fought against the US DEA
(Drug Enforcement Administration) in coca producing areas and once
installed as President, expelled the U.S. Ambassador as well as entities
of the US.
What is
certain is that the arbitrary decision of the authorities of France,
Italy, Portugal and Spain to deny their airspace to the Bolivian
Presidential aircraft has generated a unanimous protest in all social
sectors of the national territory and in addition a huge repercussion at
a world level, because not only were international conventions violated
but this amounted to an attack against what is most sacred: the
sovereignty and dignity of a whole people...
- Alex Contreras Baspineiro is a Bolivian journalist
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