海角大神

Latin American leaders slammed European governments on Wednesday for diverting Bolivian President聽Evo Morales' plane on rumors it was carrying a wanted former U.S. spy agency contractor, and announced an emergency summit in a new diplomatic twist to the Edward Snowden听蝉补驳补.

Bolivia聽said Morales was returning from聽Moscow聽on Tuesday when聽France聽and聽Portugal聽abruptly banned his plane from entering their airspace due to suspicions that Snowden, wanted by Washington for leaking secrets, was onboard.聽Italy聽and聽Spain聽also banned the plane from their skies, it said.

The unusual treatment of the Bolivian military aircraft touched a sensitive nerve in the region, which has a history of U.S.-backed coups. Regional leaders, particularly from the left, rallied behind Morales,聽Bolivia's first indigenous president and a former union leader of the country's coca farmers.

"(These are) vestiges of a colonialism that we thought were long over. We believe this constitutes not only the humiliation of a sister nation but of all聽South America," Argentine President聽Cristina Kirchner聽said in a speech in聽Buenos Aires.

Heads of state in the 12-nation South American bloc Unasur denounced the "unfriendly and unjustifiable acts." The grouping issued a statement late on Wednesday saying the presidents of聽Ecuador,聽Bolivia,聽Venezuela,聽Argentina,聽Uruguay聽and Surinam had agreed to attend a summit in聽Cochabamba,聽Bolivia, on Thursday.

"Latin America聽demands an explanation," tweeted Ecuadorean leader聽Rafael Correa. "If what happened to Evo does not merit a Unasur summit, I don't know what does."

Dilma Rousseff, president of regional economic powerhouse聽Brazil, issued a statement repudiating the European countries that denied Morales access to their airspace based on what she called the "fanciful" notion that Snowden聽might be on board.

The聽Chilean Foreign Ministry聽issued a statement saying it "lamented" what happened to Morales and that more clarity was needed on the facts.

Much more blunt was the statement from聽Mexico's聽Congress聽condemning what it called the "disgraceful and discriminatory" treatment Morales had received in聽Europe.

A spokesman at聽France's Foreign Ministry聽blamed the flap on "an administrative mishap," saying聽France聽never intended to ban Morales from its airspace and that there were delays in getting confirmation that the plane had fly-over permits.

International agreements allow civilian airplanes to overfly countries without obtaining permission ahead of every flight. But state aircraft including聽Air Force One, the plane that carries the U.S. president, must obtain clearance before they cross into foreign territory.

Government aircraft, whether carrying diplomats or missiles, always require approval before they can enter foreign airspace, legal experts said.

"Every state on the basis of state sovereignty has the right to deny overflight to state aircraft," said聽John Mulligan, a research fellow at the聽International Aviation Law Institute聽at聽DePaul University in Chicago.

Anti-U.S rhetoric聽

Bolivian officials were quick on Tuesday to accuse the聽United States聽of strong-arming the Europeans into denying access to their air space in an "act of intimidation" against Morales for suggesting that while attending an energy conference in聽Moscow聽he would consider granting asylum to Snowden聽if requested. Morales said earlier this week no request had been made.

The聽White House聽declined to comment on the assertion that it was behind the plane scandal.

President聽Barack Obama聽has warned that giving Snowden聽asylum would carry serious costs.

Morales was expected back in聽Bolivia聽on Wednesday night.

Snowden is believed to be still in the transit area of a聽Moscow聽airport, where he has been trying since June 23 to find a country that will offer him refuge from prosecution in the聽United States聽on espionage charges.

The聽Bolivian government聽said it had filed a formal complaint with the聽United Nations聽and was studying other legal avenues to prove its rights had been violated under international law.

Morales has yet to restore full diplomatic relations with the聽United States聽after expelling the U.S. ambassador in 2008.

In May of this year, Morales expelled a U.S. development agency from聽Bolivia聽in protest after U.S. Secretary of State聽John Kerry聽referred to聽Latin America聽as Washington's "backyard."

The comment was a stark reminder of the聽United States' history exploiting聽South America's natural resources and supporting some repressive right-wing governments.

This week's diplomatic mess was bad news for American expatriates planning to celebrate the Fourth of July at the U.S. Embassy in La Paz. The embassy said late on Wednesday that its聽Independence Day party聽had been put off "until further notice."

(Additional reporting by David Ingram in Washington, Daniel Ramos in La Paz, Marco Aquino in Lima, Brian Ellsworth in Caracas, Anthony Boadle in Brasilia, Miguel Gutierrez in聽Mexico聽City, and Alexandra Ulmer in Santiago; Editing by Xavier Briand and Peter Cooney)