Spain's weasel apology to Morales "The ambassador said there was a misunderstanding, we apologize"

[Catherina]

(What exactly happened with the Spanish Ambassador in Austria?)

First France closed their airspace midflight as we were just about to enter their territory, then Portugal right after that, then finally Italy. We were informed by the control towers. Then Spain let us know that if we wanted to refuel, as planned and cleared beforehand, that they needed to inspect our plane. I said, why do you need to inspect the plane? … I don't know that North American man (Snowden) and why you think we're carrying him. We're very responsible and respectful of international conventions.

(That's when they informed you it was because of Snowden? Directly?)

Yes, that's when they told us. “I said to the airport officials, ‘You can’t search the Presidential plane. They said ‘We can if you invite us onboard for a cup of coffee so we can come on the plane’. They wanted me to invite them for coffee inside the plane!" I said "No you can't, you can't come on the plane. If you want to enter by force, you can do so but I'm not inviting you on because this is not legal".

The Europeans and Americans, colonial countries, think that we are still living in the era of empires and colonies. They are wrong. We are free people. They think that by intervening in our affairs, staging coups, installing neoliberal governments or military dictatorships they can suck out our resources. But that's over, they can't anymore. Those resources belong to the people.

They think that with blackmail and conditioning like they did before, they'll be able to humiliate us and we'll submit, make us change our politics. No they won't be able to. The politics are ours and it is impossible now to impose new politics at the service of the North Americans because it's illegal.

This will never be forgotten by the Latin American or Caribbean people, especially not by the indigenous people.

I'm convinced that my sin is to be indigenous and anti-imperialist.

http://actualidad.rt.com/actualidad/view/99364-morales-rt-avion-snowden-entrevista-exclusiva

Gawd, watch how these jerks parse their words. Spain didn't technically close their airspace, what Spain did was insist for 14 hours that they would not refuel the plain unless President Morales "allowed" them to inspect. All this while running back and forth to "consult with our friends" (the US). That's how the story was supposed to end, that Morales invited them onboard for a cup of coffee. Instead Morales got all uppity with the former slave-masters and refused for 14 hours telling them "I have my dignity, and the dignity of all of Latin America" and the scandal was growing so large, so visible with the world watching, that they had to cave in. These guys didn't expect it to backfire like this, with the President of Argentina, Ecuador, Venezuela etc tweeting their outrage and informing their people in real time. Solidarity. Populism. Concepts the colonial world run for the 1% has difficulty grasping. They fucked up the blue-link special where propagandists would tell the world that that indigenous President made an emergency landing in Austria, and had a cup of coffee with the Spanish Ambassador. Much ado about nothing. I guess the Spanish Ambassador in Austria represents the US government and the Austrian government? What's the Spanish Ambassador doing on Austrian territory trying to run the show? Only a monkey would fall for this charade.

So now Spain, after refusing to apologize, changes their tune and is trying to slither by with a weasel apology which for all intents and purposes boils down to 'that dumb Indian, he misunderstood our offer for a cup of coffee' and the technicality that unlike France, Italy and Portugal, they didn't technically close their airspace, they just demanded an illegal inspection if he wanted to enter it.

The ambassador said there was a misunderstanding and we apologize

9 jul 2013 | 8:18 GMT



"Our ambassador in Vienna tells us that there was a misunderstanding and we apologize to Evo Morales," Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, said Tuesday during a press conference organized by Europa Press.

During the event, the Chancellor said that Spain has no objection to apologizing to Bolivia if there was a misunderstanding. At the same time, he insisted on Madrid's official position is that Spain never closed its airspace and always authorized the technical stop-over (for refueling) the Bolivian president's plane.

However, he made clear that "there was an extradition (document)" for the former American CIA employee, Edward Snowden.

"Relations with the U.S. are based on transparency and clarity" Margallo said, adding that "we can be useful for the U.S."

Latin America strongly condemned the closure of European airspace to the Bolivian leader's aircraft and demanded a public apology for the incident.

...

Texto completo en: http://actualidad.rt.com/actualidad/view/99545-espana-disculpas-morales-bolivia-margallo

I guarantee you this won't fly. As Allin99 pointed out, from the [link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evo_Morales |entry] on Evo Morales' wiki page, here is who the old colonial world is dealing with- uppity natives.

"In September 2008, Morales accused the U.S. ambassador to Bolivia, Philip Goldberg, of "conspiring against democracy" and encouraging civil unrest, and went on to order him to leave the country. The U.S. government responded to Morales's action by ordering the Bolivian ambassador, Gustavo Guzman, out of their own country. The following day Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez stood in solidarity with his Bolivian allies by ordering the U.S. ambassador Patrick Duddy out of his country, telling him to "go to hell 100 times" and withdrawing the Venezuelan ambassador to the U.S."

Related:

The little Spanish Bushbot Ambassador who offered Pres. Morales 'coffee' as he violated his rights

Pres Morales: "NO You can NOT inspect my aircraft!" Emergency UNASUR meeting. Hague Tribunal?

It was the US AMBASSADOR to Austria who called the FM to say Snowden was on Pres Morales' plane

The Cochabamba Declaration (UNASUR) (on the assault on President Morales)

Spanish FM: Spain doesn't owe any apology to Bolivia.

France issues weasel apology to Bolivia
[link:http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023170507|
If you speak Spanish, Evo Morales is speaking right now]

Evo Morales: "certain European countries need to liberate themselves from the North American Empire"

Venezuela to evaluate its relationship with Spain after grave offense to Evo Morales

[LuvNewcastle]

1. I'm glad the South Americans are standing up for themselves.

No one could blame them if they cut ties with the U.S., considering all that our government has done to them through the years.

[Downwinder]

9. There have been some who stood up in the past,

but they had unfortunate things, like plane crashes, happen to them.

[formercia]

2. It's been long overdue.

The Natives are getting their Dignity back after all these Centuries of repression.

[Catherina]

5. Over 500 years of it!

I've been so happy to see them united, pushing back in solidarity and growing as an economic bloc. Those 500 years of pain have not been forgotten. Spain is still so behind the times. Guatemala as a huge indigenous population that's hanging on to its 26 indigenous languages, with many people in the rural areas refusing to speak or learn Spanish, as well as the old culture, the old clothes woven by hand that last for generations instead of that cheap free-trade stuff which is the 21st century equivalent of land and resources in exchange for whiskey and beads.

How the the elegant ones in the old country must laugh when they see all those cute little indigenous people, dressed in their native garb, and their quaint socialist traditions of governance

Video in Spanish of Evo Morales discussing giving Snowden asylum with his people. I love this video because of the way Morales, who was supposed to be transporting Snowden on his plane, doesn't even know his name (minute 1:08) Thanks to our total bungling of this situation, now everyone in Latin America knows his name. Even people who don't have computers or cell-phones! We took a double-barrel shotgun and blasted both clay feet.

[reformist2]

3. It's sad to see how much Europe is under the thumb of the US.

[idwiyo]

4. K&R

[byeya]

6. I am glad that Spain issued even this sorry excuse of an apology. The Spanish leader

is hanging on to his job by a thread and with 25% unemployment he'll be lucky to survive in any sense of the word. Diplomats are weasels at times but it's better than an outright denial, imo.

[JustAnotherGen]

7. He determined it was

In the best interest of his country to issue that apology - nothing more and nothing less. Really - none of them mean what they say - they are just out for themselves. As well - every country should be for itself . . . Including Bolivia and the US.

[zeemike]

8. It is long overdue.

It is time they said no to our exploitation of their resources.

[BlueCheese]

10. So I guess it wasn't a fuel gauge problem after all?

I'm shocked.