La Paz (AFP) – Bolivia’s President Evo Morales lashed out Tuesday as a “biased” International Court of Justice ruling that rejected La Paz’s demand for access to the sea from neighbor Chile.
Morales told reporters in La Paz that he would personally send a letter to the court “showing the contradictions” in the court’s verdict “which did not give justice to Bolivia.”
Morales — who petitioned the world court in 2013 to oblige Chile to give landlocked Bolivia a land corridor to the Pacific — attended the reading of the court verdict in The Hague.
Bolivia lost 400 kilometers (250 miles) of coastline in a 1879-1883 war with Chile. Ever since, Santiago has rejected every attempt by its smaller and poorer neighbor to win it back.
The issue has long been a strain on relations between the two South American countries.
Morales told reporters on his return from The Hague that the court “knows very well where this injustice comes from: the invasion of Bolivian territory.”
“It is not possible for the court to benefit invaders,” the firebrand leftist leader said.
Morales — who has been in power since 2006 — also announced he would send a letter of protest to the United Nations so that world opinion would be aware of the injustice suffered by Bolivia.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.