GAZA - BOLIVIA MAKES A STAND - DECLARES ISRAEL: TERRORIST STATE

Declaring Israel a 'terrorist state,' Bolivia's president ends free entry for Israeli visitors Published July 30, 2014 Associated Press LA PAZ, Bolivia – Bolivia's leftist president has declared Israel a "terrorist state" because of its offensive in the Gaza Strip, and his government will now require Israeli citizens to obtain a visa to visit the Andean nation. President Evo Morales already broke off diplomatic relations with the Jewish state in 2009, calling Israel's treatment of Palestinians "a genocide." The action announced Wednesday will especially hit young Israelis, who often travel for extended periods, with South America a popular destination. Other South American countries, including Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Peru, have recalled their ambassadors from Israel in protest over the fighting in Gaza. Source - Fox News - here.

As it states, President Evo Morales has strongly spoken out -- and spoken out before.

Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Peru have withdrawn their ambassadors from Israel.

That's a pretty strong message from Morales.


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President Evo Morales

Widely regarded as the country's first democratically-elected president to come from the indigenous population, his administration has focused on the implementation of leftist policies, poverty reduction, and combating the influence of the United States and transnational corporations in Bolivia. A democratic socialist, he is the head of the Movement for Socialism (MAS) political party.

July 2013 flight diversion
Main article: Evo Morales grounding incident

On 2 July 2013, Bolivia's foreign minister said that the diversion of Morales's presidential plane ... when Portuguese, French, Spanish and Italian authorities denied access to their airspace due to suspicions that Edward Snowden was on board the aircraft, had put the president's life at risk. France apologized for the incident the next day.  The presidents of Argentina, Ecuador, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela, Morales's political allies in the region, gathered to demand an explanation of the incident.

Aftermath

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon asserted that "a head of state and his or her aircraft enjoy immunity and inviolability"

France apologized for the incident immediately.   The Spanish ambassador to Bolivia apologized two weeks later, citing inappropriate procedures.  The Italians have made no such apology.

On July 3, Jen Psaki, spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, acknowledged that the U.S. had been "in contact with a range of countries across the world who had any chance of having Mr. Snowden land or even transit through their countries". 

On September 20, Evo Morales announced a lawsuit against the U.S. government for "crimes against humanity" for repeatedly blocking presidential flights, after an incident in which authorization for an overflight of Puerto Rico by President Maduro of Venezuela was delayed, although U.S. authorities said that they were entitled to three days' advance notice. Maduro had been en route to arrive in Beijing for bilaterial talks with the People's Republic of China.

In the aftermath of the incident, eight Latin American countries – Bolivia, Argentina, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela – voiced their concerns to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who asserted that "a Head of State and his or her aircraft enjoy immunity and inviolability".   Ban also emphasized that it is important to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.

[wikipedia]

VIVA BOLIVIA!