Bolivian president to sue US govt for crimes against humanity
Published time: September 20, 2013 04:50 Edited time: September 20, 2013 06:27
He
has decried the US for its intimidation tactics and fear-mongering
after the Venezuelan presidential jet was blocked from entering US
airspace. “I would like to announce that we are preparing a lawsuit against Barack Obama to condemn him for crimes against humanity,” said President Morales at a press conference in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz. He branded the US president as a “criminal” who violates international law.
In
solidarity with Venezuela, Bolivia will begin preparing a lawsuit
against the US head of state to be taken to the international court.
Furthermore, Morales has called an emergency meeting of the Community of
Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to discuss what has been
condemned by Venezuela as “an act of intimidation by North American imperialism.”
The
Bolivian president has suggested that the members of CELAC withdraw
their ambassadors from the US to send a message to the Obama
Administration. As an additional measure he will call on the member
nations of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas to boycott the next
meeting of the UN. Members of the Alliance include Antigua and Barbuda,
Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Saint Lucia. “The US cannot be allowed to continue with its policy of intimidation and blockading presidential flights,” stressed Morales.
The Venezuelan government announced on Thursday that President Nicolas Maduro’s plane had been denied entry into Puerto Rican (US) airspace.
Bolivian president offers asylum to NSA leaker Snowden
Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, Bolivian President Evo Morales
By Daniel Arkin, Staff Writer, NBC News
The
president of Bolivia joined a group of South American countries that
have indicated they would offer asylum to fugitive NSA leaker Edward
Snowden, who is believed to be hiding inside the transit zone of
Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport as the United States continues efforts to
have him extradited.
Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela and Daniel Ortega
of Nicaragua said Friday they would grant safe haven to the former
National Security Agency contractor.
Evo Morales of Bolivia made his offer Saturday, three days
after a plane carrying the leftist leader over Europe was rerouted amid
reports that Snowden was aboard, setting off a diplomatic storm that heightened tensions between the U.S. and the South American nation.
Venezuela "decided to offer humanitarian asylum to the young American
Edward Snowden" so he can live without "persecution from the empire,"
Maduro said, referring to the United States. He extended the invitation
to Snowden during a speech Friday commemorating the anniversary of
Venezuela's independence, according to the Associated Press.
REYKJAVIK,
Iceland—Icelandic lawmakers introduced a proposal in Parliament on
Thursday to grant immediate citizenship to National Security Agency
leaker Edward Snowden, who admits to revealing key details of U.S.
surveillance activities. Ogmundur Jonasson, whose liberal
Left-Green Party is backing the proposal along with the Pirate Party and
Brighter Future Party, put the issue before the Judicial Affairs
Committee, but the idea received minimal support.
Snowden is
believed to be stuck in a Moscow airport transit area, seeking asylum
from more than a dozen countries. At one point, he told the Guardian
newspaper that he was inclined to seek asylum in a country that shared
his values—and that "the nation that most encompasses this is Iceland."
But to apply for asylum in Iceland, Snowden would have to reach the island nation's soil.
Granting
Snowden immediate citizenship would circumvent that issue. The same
tactic helped get eccentric chess master Bobby Fischer to Iceland from
Japan in 2005 to escape U.S. prosecution for breaking sanctions imposed
on the former Yugoslavia.
Posted:
Jun 21, 2013 8:43 AM CST
Updated:
Jun 21, 2013 10:43 AM CST
(AP Photo/Kin Cheung). A banner supporting Edward Snowden, a
former CIA employee who leaked top-secret documents about sweeping U.S.
surveillance programs, is displayed at Central, Hong Kong's business
district, Friday, June 21, 2013.
(AP Photo/Kin Cheung). A TV screen shows the news of Edward
Snowden, a former CIA employee who leaked top-secret documents about
sweeping U.S. surveillance programs, at a shopping mall in Hong Kong
Friday, June 21, 2013.
By JENNA GOTTLIEB Associated Press
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) - An Icelandic business
executive said Friday that a private plane is on standby to transport
National Security Agency secrets leaker Edward Snowden from Hong Kong to
Iceland.
Olafur Vignir Sigurvinsson said he has not spoken
directly with Snowden but has been in touch with a third party
representing him.
The businessman, who has connections to the
WikiLeaks secret-spilling organization, said he has access to planes in
Hong Kong and mainland China that Snowden could use.
But Iceland's government says it has not received
an asylum request from Snowden, who has revealed his role in providing
secret NSA documents about widespread surveillance programs.
Iceland Interior Ministry spokesman Johannes
Tomasson said Snowden hasn't approached the ministry and could initiate
an asylum request if he was already in Iceland.
When asked about the reports of Sigurvinsson
chartering a private plane to fly Snowden to Iceland, Tomasson said: "We
don't object to that. But we don't have any knowledge other than what
has been in the news. We can't comment any further on that."
U.S. officials have expressed an interest in
prosecuting Snowden for his admitted role in the publication of the
documents. Snowden fled to Hong Kong and is hiding.
Sigurvinsson said that Snowden's potential private flight is being funded by private donations.
Published time: July 04, 2013 10:19
Edited time: July 04, 2013 16:13
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.”
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.
Vladimir Putin and Evo Morales met on Tuesday. Photograph: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
Bolivia threw a possible lifeline to the surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden
on Tuesday, telling Russian television it would consider granting him
political asylum to escape from what it called the espionage network of
the US "empire".
As other options began to fade for Snowden, trapped in the transit zone of a Moscow airport, Bolivian president Evo Morales said his country was keen to "shield the denounced".
Snowden's father, meanwhile, stepped up the rhetoric in favour of his son's actions on Tuesday, publishing an open letter that compared him to colonial independence fighter Paul Revere.
The
letter was signed by Lon Snowden and his lawyer, Bruce Fein, who also
reported receiving a phone call from WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
Fein told the Associated Press that Assange, in the phone call on
Saturday, delivered what he said was a message from Snowden to his
father, asking him to keep quiet.
Speaking in Moscow, Morales said
Bolivia had not received a formal application for asylum from Snowden
yet, but hinted it would consider any request favourably.
"If there were a request, of course we would be willing to debate and consider the idea," Morales told RT Actualidad, the Spanish-language service of Russian broadcaster RT.
"I
know that the empires have an espionage network and are against the
so-called developing countries. And in particular, against those which
are rich in natural resources," he added.
His comments were echoed by favourable noises from the Venezuelan government, another possible exit route for the former NSA contractor. President Nicolas Maduro said Caracas was also ready to consider Snowden's asylum should he ask for it.
Maduro
said Snowden should be given a "humanitarian medal" for revealing
details of NSA surveillance programmes on US and foreign citizens. "He
did not kill anyone and did not plant a bomb," Maduro told Russia's
Interfax news agency. "What he did was tell a great truth in an effort
to prevent wars. He deserves protection under international and
humanitarian law."
Edward Snowden asylum: Bolivian president's plane diverted – live
France
and Portugal refused to let Evo Morales's plane cross their airspace
because of suspicions that NSA leaker Edward Snowden was on board,
Bolivia's foreign minister says
The Bolivian minister of foreign affairs,
David Choquehuanca, speaks during a press conference in La Paz, Bolivia,
Photograph: MARTIN ALIPAZ/EPA
My colleague Helen Davidson has just been on the phone with general aviation staff at Vienna international airport.
Staff confirmed that the plane carrying Morales has landed there, and
has not left. They said they were unable to say how many passengers
were on board as they were not given a passenger list.
My colleague in Washington Dan Roberts has just filed this report, which summarises the events so far.
He has also just spoken to White House officials, asking for their
response to claims made by the Bolivian defence minister that Portugal's
decision to refuse Morales' plane access to their airspace was
influenced by the US.
White House officials say that these are questions for the Austrian and Portugese authorities to answer.
Updated
The Bolivian president, Evo Morales, right,
met the Russian president Vladimir Putin earlier on Tuesday. Photograph:
Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
Background
President Morales was returning to Bolivia from Russia where he had
met with president Vladimir Putin at a summit of major gas exporters in
the Kremlin.
Speaking to RT Actualidad,
the Spanish-language service of the Russian broadcaster Russia Today,
Morales said Bolivia had not received an asylum request from Edward
Snowden, but hinted any request would be looked at favourably.
He said:
If there were a request, of course we would be willing to debate and consider the idea.
I know that the empires have an espionage network and are against the
so-called developing countries. And in particular, against those which
are rich in natural resources.
Updated
Associated Press has published extracts from a statement issued by
the Bolivian defence minister, Ruben Saavedra, who was also on the
redirected plane.
It says the plane was allowed to land in Spain for refueling before flying on to Austria.
It describes the rerouting as a "hostile act" by the US goverment:
This is a hostile act by the United States State Department which has used various European governments
Bolivian presidential plane forced to land in Austria over suspicions Snowden on board
Published time: July 02, 2013 22:39
Edited time: July 03, 2013 00:31
After departing from Russia the plane of Bolivian
President Evo Morales was forced to landing in Austria Wednesday morning
over suspicions that NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden was on board, a
claim Bolivian authorities denied.
Snowden had requested asylum from Bolivia, which has yet to
answer; he also petitioned Austria but was rejected. Reports
indicated the plane was hindered in navigating Western Europe as
France and Portugal would not allow the La Paz-bound plane to
enter their airspace.
David Choquehuanca, the Bolivian Foregin Minister, refuted the
idea Snowden was on the plane, saying “we don’t know who
invited this lie, but we want to denounce to the international
community this injustice with the plane of President Evo
Morales.”
“This is a lie, a falsehood. It was generated by the US
government,” Bolivian Defense Minister Ruben Saavedra told
CNN. “It t is an outrage. It is an abuse. It is a violation of
the conventions and agreements of international air
transportation.”
Edward Snowden has made 21 applications for asylum. Photograph: The Guardian/Reuters
According to a statement from WikiLeaks, the US whistleblower Edward Snowden
has applied for asylum in a total of 21 countries. Snowden, who has
been charged under espionage laws in the US after leaking top-secret
documents on US surveillance programmes, has been trapped in Moscow's
Sheremetyevo airport since 23 June after flying in from Hong Kong. He
has yet to receive a positive response to his applications for asylum.
Some countries have yet to respond but a number have already rejected
his request.
No.
The interior minister, Johanna Mikl-Leitner, said Snowden would have to
submit his request for asylum while on Austrian soil. But she added
that he would not be deported if he arrived in Austria because "there is
no international arrest warrant".
Possible.
President Evo Morales said no application has been received, but if it
were it would be considered. "If there were a request, of course we
would be willing to debate and consider the idea," Morales told Spanish
language RT Actualidad.
No. The president, Rafael Correa, said he was not considering Snowden's asylum request.
In an interview with the Guardian, Correa said Snowden would have to
reach Ecuadorean territory before the country would consider any asylum
request. The US has cancelled Snowden's passport, and Correa said his
government would not give Snowden an authorised travel document to
extract himself from Moscow airport. "The right of asylum request is one
thing, but helping someone travel from one country to another – Ecuador
has never done this."
