Bolivia: European Parliament calls former Bolivian President Jeanine Áñez a “political prisoner” | International

The Bolivian opposition waited with hope and then celebrated the outcome of the European Parliament’s deliberation on the human rights situation in the Andean country after the arrest of former President Jeanine Áñez and two of her former ministers , in March this year, accused of participating in a coup d’état against President Evo Morales in November 2019. The European Parliament on Thursday approved a joint resolution in which Áñez and his former collaborators are considered “political prisoners” and their detention is “denounced and condemned arbitrarily and unlawfully”. The resolution calls on the Bolivian authorities to “release them immediately and drop the charges of a political nature against them”. He also calls for “a transparent and impartial framework of justice, without political pressure”, and urges the authorities to “provide all the medical assistance necessary to guarantee his well-being”.

The Bolivian ruling party had anticipated the European message. The Chamber of Deputies, controlled by the Movement for Socialism (MAS), on Wednesday approved a statement rejecting interference by international organizations in Bolivian affairs. At the same time, Evo Morales tweeted: “We reject the interventionist initiative promoted by the far right in the European Parliament which promotes impunity for the deaths and serious human rights violations during the coup. . Bolivia is a free people who exercise their sovereignty with dignity and identity ”. In addition, a close associate of the former president attacked the European Union delegation in Bolivia in 2019. According to MAS, this contributed to the overthrow of Morales and the consolidation of Áñez’s cabinet, to which he offered financial support and rapid recognition of European countries.

On the other side, Carolina Ribera, Áñez’s daughter, thanked the European Parliament for its position. “This is further proof that my mother’s government has been and continues to be supported by the international community. We hope that the national government will take this resolution with the respect it deserves (…) and will not try to silence it with senseless attacks, ”he told the local press.

In its preliminary considerations, the document, which was approved by 396 votes in favor, 267 votes against and 28 abstentions, declares that in Bolivia the separation of powers is not respected and that the national justice acts several times for political reasons. . He also intervenes in a very heated discussion in Bolivia, declaring that Áñez succeeded Morales in accordance with the Constitution. According to this, there would have been no coup, as the ruling Bolivian party claims.

On March 12, the prosecution incorporated Jeanine Áñez and her closest collaborators into legal proceedings for the alleged 2019 coup. These proceedings do not judge the repressive acts ordered by Áñez, as Evo Morales’ tweet suggests. . The former president and her ministers have been accused of terrorism, sedition and conspiracy to do what they allegedly did before Morales resigned on November 10 of the same year. This is why prosecutors were able to arrest Áñez, because if the prosecution referred to events during his tenure as governor, he should have been tried by Parliament. The defense argues that neither she nor the other defendants participated in the protests or political negotiations that preceded and followed Morales’ resignation. At the same time, it was noted that instead, the real leaders of these protests are not being investigated.

Both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International described the prosecution of Áñez as political, which is reiterated in the European Parliament’s resolution. This resolution reiterates the criticism of the aforementioned human rights organizations regarding the scale and ambiguity of the accusation of “terrorism” in Bolivia and other similar countries.

Simultaneously with this process, the Bolivian government presented three charges to the Legislative Assembly against Áñez and members of his cabinet. The most serious of them accuses him of the murder of more than 30 people as part of the crackdown on demonstrations against his government in the towns of Sacaba and Senkata. However, these accusations are unlikely to succeed because the MAS does not have two-thirds of the votes necessary to prosecute a former president.

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