Bolivian union leaders to protest Peru’s FTA with European Union

LIP | 19 November, 2008

Bolivian union leaders to protest Peru’s FTA with European Union

Living in Peru
Jobana Soto

This week, Bolivians are in Lima to help organize a protest against Peru and Colombia for agreeing to sign a Free-Trade Agreement with the European Union.

Peruvian chancellor, José Garcia Belaunde, made it known that if protesters try to intervene in Peruvian politics they will be sent back to Bolivia.

Naturally, Peruvian officials are not so keen having their fellow Latin American neighbors start political trouble, especially during the country’s most important event, the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima this week.

“We’re going to see what they [Bolivians] do, but evidently, they cannot intervene in Peruvian politics. If there is any kind of intervention from these people, they will be sent back to their country,” Belaunde affirmed.

A total of 14 union leaders have coordinated with other Peruvians to mobilize a joint protest refusing Free-Trade Agreement negotiations with Canada and the European Union.

According to the Bolivian Ambassador, Franz Solano, he assures that although Bolivian President Evo Morales is opposed to the Free-Trade Agreement involving Peru, Canada and the EU, he is not advocating for union leaders in his country to start protests in Lima.

“That is a matter strictly of the social movements in Peru, not of Bolivia,” Solano told Andina, adding that in no way would the president want to intervene in the commercial decisions of his neighboring countries.

source : LIP

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