Morales lands in Spain after Snowden saga
The aircraft carrying Bolivian President Evo Morales home to Bolivia has landed in Gran Canaria airport for its scheduled pit stop. Spain earlier gave the plane permission to use Spanish airspace after it was forced to make an emergency landing in Vienna amid rumours US intelligencer leaker Edward Snowden was on board.
Morales' plane landed in Spain after 4pm this afternoon, Spanish media reported.
Bolivia's foreign minister on Tuesday denied that fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden was travelling with President Evo Morales in his plane, which had earlier been forced to land in Austria.
The Bolivian minister, David Choquehuanca, told reporters France and Portugal had closed their airspace to the presidential plane over the "huge lie" that Snowden was on board.
Defense Minister Ruben Saavedra said Italy had closed its airspace as well.
Snowden, a former IT contractor, has been the target of a US arrest warrant issued since Friday June 21st when he leaked details of massive US cyber-espionage programmes to the media.
On Wednesday, however, Spain opened a route home for Morales.
The President said that Spain's Ambassador in Austria, Alberto Carnero, had visited him at Vienna's airport in the morning and that the two of them had taken coffee together on the plane, Spanish media outlets reported on Wednesday.
They then set up the arrangements which will see Morales about to fly over Spanish airspace and make a technical stop in the Canary Islands, an event now taking place.
This version of events was, however, disputed by Spanish diplomatic sources.
These sources said the Spanish ambassador had mediated with Morales "all night" to persuade him to allow the Austrian authorities the examine the plane at the behest of the US, according to Spanish national daily El País.
"Bolivia has again requested overflight and a stopover and we granted it at 9.30am this morning," or 0730 GMT, a spokesman for the Spanish foreign ministry said.
Departure is expected soon.
Evo Morales had been on a visit to Moscow, where Snowden has been holed up in an airport transit area for more than a week.
"The president was forced to land in Vienna," said Choquehuanca, alleging that Morales's life had been put in danger by what he called a forced emergency landing.
"There were unfounded rumors that Mr Snowden may have been on board the aircraft. We have no idea who made up this huge lie."
The Bolivian leader was attending a meeting of natural gas-producing nations in Moscow and had met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Earlier, Morales told Russian media his country would "debate and consider" granting political asylum to Snowden "if there were a request".
Bolivia is one of 21 nations to which Snowden had applied for asylum, according to the anti-secrecy WikiLeaks website.
"Bolivia is there to shield the (accused), whether it is espionage or control. In either case, we are here to assist," Morales told Russia's state-run RT television in comments translated by the channel from Spanish.
Choquehuanca said Morales's plane had been scheduled to refuel in Portugal, but both Lisbon and then Paris denied overflight.
"Inexplicably we were informed (by Lisbon) that the overflight and landing permission had been cancelled," the top diplomat said.
The plane was re-routed to include a stop in Spain's Canary islands, but France then refused to allow overflight of its territory, Choquehuanca said.
"We would like to make it known that we are unhappy and upset because the President's life has been put in danger," he said.
Saavedra told Telesur news network that just an hour before entering France's airspace, the plane was told not to enter, with authorities citing unspecified technical reasons.
"They violated air traffic rights," a visibly upset Choquehuanca said, maintaining Morales' life had been in jeopardy.
"They are trying to intimidate us. This is discrimination," Choquehuanca argued.
France's foreign ministry said it could not immediately comment on the situation.
Some hours later, Saavedra told state media from Austria that France now had approved overflight by Morales's plane. An Austrian foreign ministry official said Morales would leave "early Wednesday" for La Paz.
Bolivia's leftist regional allies Ecuador, Nicaragua and Venezuela rallied behind Morales, voicing outrage.
"This is an attack against President Morales's life," Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said.
"We must make ourselves heard to the European and US governments who are behind this outlandish and brutal, uncivilized attack, putting a president's life in danger."
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Morales' plane landed in Spain after 4pm this afternoon, Spanish media reported.
Bolivia's foreign minister on Tuesday denied that fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden was travelling with President Evo Morales in his plane, which had earlier been forced to land in Austria.
The Bolivian minister, David Choquehuanca, told reporters France and Portugal had closed their airspace to the presidential plane over the "huge lie" that Snowden was on board.
Defense Minister Ruben Saavedra said Italy had closed its airspace as well.
Snowden, a former IT contractor, has been the target of a US arrest warrant issued since Friday June 21st when he leaked details of massive US cyber-espionage programmes to the media.
On Wednesday, however, Spain opened a route home for Morales.
The President said that Spain's Ambassador in Austria, Alberto Carnero, had visited him at Vienna's airport in the morning and that the two of them had taken coffee together on the plane, Spanish media outlets reported on Wednesday.
They then set up the arrangements which will see Morales about to fly over Spanish airspace and make a technical stop in the Canary Islands, an event now taking place.
This version of events was, however, disputed by Spanish diplomatic sources.
These sources said the Spanish ambassador had mediated with Morales "all night" to persuade him to allow the Austrian authorities the examine the plane at the behest of the US, according to Spanish national daily El País.
"Bolivia has again requested overflight and a stopover and we granted it at 9.30am this morning," or 0730 GMT, a spokesman for the Spanish foreign ministry said.
Departure is expected soon.
Evo Morales had been on a visit to Moscow, where Snowden has been holed up in an airport transit area for more than a week.
"The president was forced to land in Vienna," said Choquehuanca, alleging that Morales's life had been put in danger by what he called a forced emergency landing.
"There were unfounded rumors that Mr Snowden may have been on board the aircraft. We have no idea who made up this huge lie."
The Bolivian leader was attending a meeting of natural gas-producing nations in Moscow and had met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Earlier, Morales told Russian media his country would "debate and consider" granting political asylum to Snowden "if there were a request".
Bolivia is one of 21 nations to which Snowden had applied for asylum, according to the anti-secrecy WikiLeaks website.
"Bolivia is there to shield the (accused), whether it is espionage or control. In either case, we are here to assist," Morales told Russia's state-run RT television in comments translated by the channel from Spanish.
Choquehuanca said Morales's plane had been scheduled to refuel in Portugal, but both Lisbon and then Paris denied overflight.
"Inexplicably we were informed (by Lisbon) that the overflight and landing permission had been cancelled," the top diplomat said.
The plane was re-routed to include a stop in Spain's Canary islands, but France then refused to allow overflight of its territory, Choquehuanca said.
"We would like to make it known that we are unhappy and upset because the President's life has been put in danger," he said.
Saavedra told Telesur news network that just an hour before entering France's airspace, the plane was told not to enter, with authorities citing unspecified technical reasons.
"They violated air traffic rights," a visibly upset Choquehuanca said, maintaining Morales' life had been in jeopardy.
"They are trying to intimidate us. This is discrimination," Choquehuanca argued.
France's foreign ministry said it could not immediately comment on the situation.
Some hours later, Saavedra told state media from Austria that France now had approved overflight by Morales's plane. An Austrian foreign ministry official said Morales would leave "early Wednesday" for La Paz.
Bolivia's leftist regional allies Ecuador, Nicaragua and Venezuela rallied behind Morales, voicing outrage.
"This is an attack against President Morales's life," Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said.
"We must make ourselves heard to the European and US governments who are behind this outlandish and brutal, uncivilized attack, putting a president's life in danger."
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