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Bolivian presidential plane grounded in Austria over
Snowden stowaway suspicions
“I
am not going to allow them to search my plane. I am not a
thief,” tweeted Argentine President Cristina Kirchner,
citing the Bolivian President Morales, who she spoke with by
telephone.
Rafael
Correa, the Ecuadorian president, has called on other South American
leaders to “take action.”
morales is in good mood ;)
Spain
has authorized Bolivia’s presidential jet to pass through its
airspace and continue its journey to Bolivia, the Austrian President
has said. The plane was grounded in Austria Wednesday morning over
suspicions that Edward Snowden was on board.
RT,
3
July, 2013
The
Austrian President, Heinz Fischer, announced that the Bolivian
presidential jet will be on its way to La Paz "shortly" following
a meeting with President Evo Morales.
Morales'
jet was forced into landing in Vienna on Wednesday after several EU
countries barred the plane from entering their airspace over
suspicions that whistleblower Edward Snowden had stowed away aboard.
Snowden
had requested asylum from Bolivia, which has yet to answer his
request. The fugitive whistleblower has 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 Foreign Minister, refuted the idea Snowden
was on the plane, saying“we don’t know who invented this lie,
but we want to denounce to the international community this injustice
with the plane of President Evo Morales.”
Bolivian president Evo Morales (RT
photo / Semyon Khorunzhy)
“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.”
'Kidnapped by imperialism'
Spanish
authorities requested permission to search President Morales’ plane
as a condition of transiting through the country, but Bolivian
officials refused.
“The Spanish ambassador has told us that his country hasn’t yet allowed the flight over its territory,”Defense Ministry head Ruben Saavedra pointed out.
As for the demand to search the plane, he stressed, “This is blackmail, we are refusing these conditions.”
“The Spanish ambassador has told us that his country hasn’t yet allowed the flight over its territory,”Defense Ministry head Ruben Saavedra pointed out.
As for the demand to search the plane, he stressed, “This is blackmail, we are refusing these conditions.”
The
Bolivian vice president, Alvaro Garcia, said Morales had
been "kidnapped by imperialism."
The
president, meanwhile, indicated that some Latin American leaders have
already contacted him, expressing their support.
“Maduro has called, he is concerned and looking for a legal means to put an end to this detention, hijack, I don’t know what you would call it legally.”
“Maduro has called, he is concerned and looking for a legal means to put an end to this detention, hijack, I don’t know what you would call it legally.”
Austrian
ministry officials have confirmed that Snowden was not on Morales’
plane, according to AFP.
“President
Morales will leave early Wednesday morning for La Paz,” Austrian
ministry spokesman Alexander Schallenberg said. He denied any
knowledge of why the plane landed in his country.
Bolivian President Evo Morales talks
to the media as he waits for his flight at the Vienna International
Airport in Schwechat July 3, 2013. (Reuters)
“Decisive
hours for UNASUR (Union of South American Nations)! Either we
graduated from the colonies, or we claim our independence,
sovereignty and dignity. We are all Bolivia!” Correa
proclaimed via Twitter.
“This
is an unacceptable and unjustifiable act that offends Latin America
and the Caribbean,” said
the Cuban Foreign Minister in a statement.
“Everyone
has gone insane. The head of state and his plane have total immunity.
This level of impunity is unprecedented,” tweeted
Kirchner.
Ecuador
suggested an emergency meeting of the UNASUR after the incident
Tuesday.
The
rare instance of two countries denying airspace to the leader of a
non-adversarial country is indicative of Snowden’s current
situation. Morales previously told RT that Bolivia would
consider granting Snowden asylum if he were to make such a request.
"It
is possible that they want to intimidate us due to the statement made
by President Morales that we would analyze an asylum request from Mr.
Snowden," said Defense Minister Ruben Saavedra.
"We
have the suspicion that [France and Portugal] were used by a foreign
power, in this case the United States, as a way of intimidating the
Bolivian state and President Evo Morales." Saavedra
confirmed that Italy had also denied Bolivia’s aircraft entry into
its airspace.
According
to the Associated Press, Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca has
rejected any claims that the plane carrying the Bolivian head of
state was denied entry over France and Portugal for anything other
than political reasons.
"They
say it was due to technical issues, but after getting explanations
from some authorities we found that there appeared to be some
unfounded suspicions that Mr. Snowden was on the plane ... We don't
know who invented this lie," said Choquehuanca.
Meanwhile,
the number of countries that would agree to provide asylum to Snowden
continues to decrease by the day.
Venezuelan
President Nicholas Maduro, speaking with RT, said he would leave the
decision up to the Venezuelan people.
“If
Snowden stays alone, he will be destroyed,” he
said. “But
what kind of crimes did he commit? What kind of bombs did he explode
or what kind of missiles did he launch? He tries to fight against
controlling weak countries. This is why we say that we share what
this young man says and that protecting Snowden will protect peace.”
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