South American bloc repudiates U.S. on spying, Snowden [View all]

[Catherina]

Last edited Fri Jul 12, 2013, 06:56 PM - Edit history (1)

Official photo of Mercosur Leaders who just met at Montevideo


South American bloc repudiates U.S. on spying, Snowden

By Malena Castaldi

MONTEVIDEO | Fri Jul 12, 2013 2:57pm EDT

(Reuters) - South American leaders sent a tough message to Washington on Friday over allegations of U.S. spying in the region and to defend their right to offer asylum to fugitive U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden.

Washington wants Snowden arrested on espionage charges after he divulged extensive, secret U.S. surveillance programs. Stuck in the transit area of Moscow's international airport since late June, he is seeking asylum in various countries.

Capping two weeks of strained North-South relations over the Snowden saga, presidents from the Mercosur bloc of nations met in Montevideo, Uruguay. Complaints against the United States were high on the agenda, as Washington warned the international community not to help the 30-year-old computer whiz get away.

"We repudiate any action aimed at undermining the authority of countries to grant and fully implement the right of asylum," Mercosur said in a statement at the close of Friday's summit.

"We emphatically reject the interception of telecommunications and espionage activities in our countries, as they are a violation of human rights and citizens' right to privacy and information," it said.

...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/12/us-usa-security-snowden-latinamerica-idUSBRE96B0TP20130712

A few quotes from the article:

"This is the world we live in; a world with new forms of colonialism. It is more subtle than it was two centuries ago, when they came with armies to take our silver and gold." - Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, in her closing remarks

"Any act of espionage that violates human rights, above all the basic right to privacy, and undermines the sovereignty of nations, deserves to be condemned by any country that calls itself democratic." - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff

Bricio Segovia ?@briciosegovia 43m

Evo #Morales calls at #Mercosur for an int'l lawsuit against the #USA for int'l #espionage. It should be filed in a US court, he said.

Bricio Segovia ?@briciosegovia 53m

Evo #Morales at #Mercosur: some countries are spying on us. They are planning to steal our natural resources to solve their financial crisis

Verdades Venezuela ?@VerdadesVE 1m

Mercosur (countries) summoning European Ambassadors for the Evo Morales (plane) incident
El Mercosur llama a consultas a sus embajadores en Europa por caso Morales: Los países del Mercosur acordaron hoy ... http://bit.ly/15BmQRx

"the decision was taken by the Presidents of Argentina, Cristina Fernández; Brasil, Dilma Rousseff; Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro; and Uruguay, José Mujica, "

They also made a very strong statement against the Trans Pacific Trade Partnership but I need to find it to translate it.

Ecuador joining Mercosur and Paraguay's suspension lifting.

Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile... demanding explanations for the spying.

What a god-awful mess.

Just apologize, forget about Snowden and start getting it over with.