Another round of verbal joust kicked off between Peru President Alan García and his Bolivian counterpart on Sunday, when the latter called García “vulgar” for granting asylum to three former Bolivian ministers indicted for the violent death of 63 civilians during Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada’s presidency.
“We believe that both asylum and refugee status could be applicable,” said Foreign Affairs Minister José Antonio García Belaunde. “So, we have granted the two ministers refugee status yesterday.”
Last week, Peru granted Jorge Torres Obleas political asylum, and has now granted two more Bolivian ex ministers, Mirtha Quevedo and Javier Torres Goitia, refugee status.
According to La Paz, the former ministers fled Bolivia when the judiciary set the proceedings against them to begin on May 18, 2009.
All three individuals stand to face criminal charges for aiding in the massacre of 63 people by the military and police forces, who sought to stamp out a popular uprising against Sanchez de Lozada six years ago. The massive riots ousted Sanchez de Lozada, who served as president from 1993-1997 and 2002-2003, and who is currently residing in the U.S.
But, according to Belaunde, “Peru has obtained no information from an independent judge to sustain these charges. There is only an accusation made by Morales, which has all the signs and characteristics of a political accusation.”
On Sunday, Morales warned Garcia that he had an obligation to expel the former ministers. He also called his Peruvian counterpart “vulgar,” alluding to remarks made by Peruvian Education Minister José Chang, who used the same term to describe Morales last March.
According to Venezuela’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, Rosales should have been arrested and then extradited to his home country, where he currently faces corruption charges. Venezuela disparaged Peru’s decision as “a mockery of international law” and then recalled its ambassador in Lima.
