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A miracle of Western diplomatic cooperation was achieved today as the US State Department coordinated its allies Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal in a successful effort to deny Bolivian President Evo Morales a clear path and refueling rights on his way out of Europe. The presidential plane was forced to land in Austria, where it was held for 13 hours while Austrian police attempted to search the aircraft for fugitive American whistleblower Edward Snowden, who may be seeking political asylum without a valid passport. The Austrian President later came to the airport and the standoff was defused when Austrian police were allowed to walk through but not thoroughly search the aircraft.
The search was a clear violation of international law as there is no international arrest warrant for Snowden. All attempts by the United States to acquire Snowden have so far relied on bilateral extradition treaties. It is not known why Austria took the historically unprecedented step of invading Bolivian territory in an attempt to arrest a man not wanted for any crime in Austria.
The Bolivian President was detained in the Vienna airport for 13 hours while the plane was searched and refueled before receiving permission to leave. Spain threatened to detain Morales at his next refueling stop in order to perform a second search for Snowden. It is not known what the Spanish police hoped to find that the Austrian police had not, as Snowden was reportedly still in Russia.
Bolivia had previously said it would consider granting asylum to Snowden if he applied and could reach Bolivia. It is suspected that the United States coordinated this unlawful six-nation effort in order to send a message to smaller countries of the global south that their sovereignty is a paper fiction in the face of the demands of the nations of Europe and North America.
France later denied that it had refused Morales overflight permission while Spain later denied that it had also demanded to search the aircraft. Portugal claimed that unspecified technical problems prevented them from refueling the Bolivian Presidential Aircraft. The United States denies having any involvement.
Protestors in the Bolivian capital marched on the French embassy demanding the expulsion of the French Ambassador and burning the French flag. Bolivia has called for a meeting of Latin American states to discuss the issue later this week in La Paz. Bolivia has also begun the process of filing a formal complaint with the United States.
Simultaneously to the near kidnapping of Morales, Ecuadorian officials revealed that they had discovered a hidden microphone in their embassy in London where Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has been holed up since seeking asylum. It is not known what role the listening device, which was discovered over a month ago but not revealed until today, played casting suspicion on Morales for smuggling Snowden as a stowaway.
Ecuador has also said it will complain to the UN as the governments of Argentina and Cuba have joined in condemning the actions of the European nations involved.
The search was a clear violation of international law as there is no international arrest warrant for Snowden. All attempts by the United States to acquire Snowden have so far relied on bilateral extradition treaties. It is not known why Austria took the historically unprecedented step of invading Bolivian territory in an attempt to arrest a man not wanted for any crime in Austria.
The Bolivian President was detained in the Vienna airport for 13 hours while the plane was searched and refueled before receiving permission to leave. Spain threatened to detain Morales at his next refueling stop in order to perform a second search for Snowden. It is not known what the Spanish police hoped to find that the Austrian police had not, as Snowden was reportedly still in Russia.
Bolivia had previously said it would consider granting asylum to Snowden if he applied and could reach Bolivia. It is suspected that the United States coordinated this unlawful six-nation effort in order to send a message to smaller countries of the global south that their sovereignty is a paper fiction in the face of the demands of the nations of Europe and North America.
France later denied that it had refused Morales overflight permission while Spain later denied that it had also demanded to search the aircraft. Portugal claimed that unspecified technical problems prevented them from refueling the Bolivian Presidential Aircraft. The United States denies having any involvement.
Protestors in the Bolivian capital marched on the French embassy demanding the expulsion of the French Ambassador and burning the French flag. Bolivia has called for a meeting of Latin American states to discuss the issue later this week in La Paz. Bolivia has also begun the process of filing a formal complaint with the United States.
Simultaneously to the near kidnapping of Morales, Ecuadorian officials revealed that they had discovered a hidden microphone in their embassy in London where Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has been holed up since seeking asylum. It is not known what role the listening device, which was discovered over a month ago but not revealed until today, played casting suspicion on Morales for smuggling Snowden as a stowaway.
Ecuador has also said it will complain to the UN as the governments of Argentina and Cuba have joined in condemning the actions of the European nations involved.