Sign the Letter to George Bush Demanding Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada's Return to Bolivia

Dear Readers:

It has now been more than thirteen months since the government of Bolivia (note: under former President Rodriguez, not Evo Morales) exercised its authority under international law to formally request that the US government serve ex-President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada with papers demanding his return to Bolivia to give testimony in the legal case against him for abuse of power. Those charges stem especially from the violent repression undertaken by Sanchez de Lozada in October 2003 that left dozens dead (including several small children and one pregnant mother), more than a hundred wounded, and forced Sanchez de Lozada to flee to the US.

The failure of the US government to meet its legal obligations and serve these legal papers to Sanchez de Lozada and two ex-aides living in the US is certainly not the most grave violation of international law committed by the Bush administration of late, but it is one more on the list.

There are words that take on new meaning when you live in another culture and for me, living in Bolivia, one of those words is impunity. Throughout Latin America people are adamant that when leaders abuse their power and innocent lives are destroyed in the process (whether it be thousands or dozens) those leaders should not be simply left to live in comfort in the suburbs of Maryland. Leaders learn a lot from history and the lesson they need to learn from this one is that even the mighty will be held accountable.

It seems quite clear that the Bush administration is happy to play host to Sanchez de Lozada and has little intent to serve the papers demanded by the Bolivian government. A few months ago I filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the US State Department, which later claimed that it had not a single paper in its possession regarding the Bolivian government request.

In Bolivia human rights groups are now engaged in a weekly vigil, every Thursday morning, in front of the US Embassy in La Paz, noting the number of weeks since the request has been made and the Bush administration's refusal to act on that request. They have also established on on-line letter that supporters in the US can send directly to President Bush. We encourage our readers to visit that site and add their name to that letter here.