All Law is Gone: Naked Power Remains

Thursday, July 4, 2013

All Law is Gone: Naked Power Remains

Russia chides France, Spain and Portugal over Morales aircraft incident

Published time: July 04, 2013 10:19
Edited time: July 04, 2013 16:13

The plane of Bolivia's President Evo Morales lands at Las Palmas airport, on the Spanish Canary Island of Gran Canaria on July 3, 2013. (AFP Photo)

Russia has blasted the European countries which barred the Bolivian presidential aircraft from entering their airspace as unfriendly action, adding that such moves could compromise passengers’ safety.
“The actions of the French, Spanish and Portuguese authorities could hardly be seen as friendly towards Bolivia and towards Russia, from which the Bolivian President Evo Morales was leaving upon completion of his Moscow visit. The refusal to grant the aircraft the right to overfly could create a threat to the security of its passengers, including the head of a sovereign state,” reads the statement released by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday.
Russian diplomats added that they will continue to press for unconditional observation of international rules that guarantee the personal immunity of heads of state that prevent any attempts on their life, freedom and dignity.
On Wednesday, the Bolivian presidential aircraft had to land in Vienna, Austria, and remain grounded for 12 hours as France, Spain and Portugal closed their airspace for transit over a suspicion it could have been carrying NSA leaker Edward Snowden.
Bolivia immediately called the grounding an act of aggression, accused the US authorities of backing the unfriendly move and promised to file a complaint with the UN.
“We're talking about the president on an official trip after an official summit being kidnapped,” Bolivia's Ambassador to the United Nations in New York, Sacha Llorenti Soliz, told reporters in Geneva on Wednesday.
“We have no doubt that it was an order from the White House,” Ambassador Llorenti said. “By no means should a diplomatic plane with the president be diverted from its route and forced to land in another country.”
President Morales demanded an explanation from the governments of the countries that refused him entry into their airspace, saying he was not a criminal and the world was no longer in the colonial period. He also denied the possibility that Snowden could be on board of his plane, noting that “this young man isn’t a suitcase that I can take with me to Bolivia.”

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Craig Murray

Former Ambassador, Human Rights Activist

by Craig Murray

July 3, 2013 8:39 am in Uncategorized

The forcing down of the Bolivian President’s jet was a clear breach of the Vienna Convention by Spain and Portugal, which closed their airspace to this Head of State while on a diplomatic mission. It has never been thought necessary to write down in a Treaty that Heads of State enjoy diplomatic immunity while engaged in diplomacy, as their representatives only enjoy diplomatic immunity as cyphers for their Head of State. But it is a hitherto unchallenged precept of customary international law, indeed arguably the oldest provision of international law.
To the US and its allies, international law is no longer of any consequence. I can see no evidence that anyone in an official position has even noted the illegality of repeated Israeli air and missile strikes against Syria. Snowden, Manning and Assange all exposed illegality on a massive scale, and no action whatsoever has been taken against any of the criminals they exposed. Instead they are being hounded out of all meaningful life and ability to function in society.

Read More Here

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