LatAm leaders meet over Morales jet row
BOLIVIA: Leftist Latin America leaders are preparing to meet
in Bolivia on Thursday following the controversial diversion of
President Evo Morales's aircraft in Europe, La Paz said Wednesday.
Bolivian officials accuse France, Portugal, Italy and Spain of
denying entry to Morales's jet late Tuesday as it flew back from Russia
after “unfounded rumors” US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden was on
board.
“Several Latin American Presidents were expected to meet yesterday
(Thursday) in the city of Cochabamba, starting at noon,” Bolivian Vice
President Alvaro Garcia said. Among those expected to attend are
Ecuador's Rafael Correa, Argentina's Cristina Kirchner, Venezuela's
Nicolas Maduro, and Uruguay's Jose Mujica, among others, Garcia said,
without giving a definitive list of attendees.
Correa earlier announced his intention to promote -- alongside
Peruvian President Ollanta Humala -- a summit of the Union of South
American Nations (UNASUR) to discuss the incident.
The incident has sparked a bitter row, with Morales saying it “was
like a near 13-hour kidnapping” and his government announcing it had
lodged a complaint with the United Nations.
Latin American countries have joined across ideological lines in
expressing anger over the incident, with UNASUR expressing “outrage and
profound regret.”
The regional bloc issued a statement calling the European diversions
“unfriendly and unjustifiable acts, which also posed a serious security
risk to the Bolivian head of state and his entourage.”
AFP |