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Bolivia: Officials Present Chile Case at The Hague

By Avery Kelly | The Argentina Independent | April 24, 2013

Bolivia presented its case against Chile regarding maritime sovereignty to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) this morning.

The Bolivian delegation, headed by former president and current Ambassador Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé and Chancellor David Choquehuanca, has brought the issue to The Hague in hopes that the principal judicial organ of the United Nations would resolve the sovereignty question. Veltzé and Choquehuanca are to present documents to the international court defending Bolivia’s maritime access rights.

Bolivia is calling for control of disputed ports accessing the Pacific Ocean along 400km of coast that it claims to be rightfully Bolivian although currently dominated by Chile.

Choquehuanca said: “Bolivia has resorted to this international meeting convinced that peace should come first between our nations.” He added: “Bolivia is looking to re-establish the rights of a country unjustly cloistered and confined to a sovereign exit to the sea after over 100 years.”

International lawyer and ex-government minister of Bolivia Wilfredo Chávez explained the importance of the issue to Venezuelan news agency teleSUR, stating, “We are convinced that this claim is just. It is transcendental… this is a central issue for all Bolivians. It is not a political concern–it is a state matter… We are united in this claim, we know that it is a difficult matter, but we are completely united.”

Chilean President Sebastián Piñera’s government has announced its confidence that the ICJ will reject the Bolivian claim and affirm Chile’s sovereignty over the port.

As the case is processed through the ICJ, Chile will be invited to present a counter statement against the claims presented this morning by Bolivia. After this is done, with the cooperation of both sovereigns, the international court will set deadlines for submission of written documents regarding claims to the ports and later hold official hearings.

April 25, 2013 - Posted by | Aletho News | , , ,

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