CHARGE MEETING WITH BOLIVIAN FOREIGN MINISTER

C O N F I D E N T I A L LA PAZ 001964

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/2018
TAGS: ASEC BL CASC PGOV PREL PTER
SUBJECT: CHARGE MEETING WITH BOLIVIAN FOREIGN MINISTER

Classified By: A/DCM Mike Hammer for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) The Charge met with Bolivian FM David Choquehuanca
the night of September 14 to raise concerns about possible
protests at the Embassy and in the Zona Sur residential
neighborhood planned for September 15 and 16. The Charge
asked the Foreign Minister for security guarantees and for
the Bolivian government to live up to its Vienna Convention
obligations. FM Choquehuanca downplayed the prospects for
protests and said that he was not aware of any planned
demonstrations. He acknowledged that the government of
Bolivia has an obligation to protect diplomatic missions. At
the Charge's request, Choquehuanca promised that he would
discuss the matter with Minister of Government Alfredo Rada
and through his Ministry with the social movements (noting
that he has someone within the MFA that is a contact with the
social groups. This is the first time the government has
confirmed to us that it has contacts with social groups
regarding potential demonstrations.) The Charge pointed out
that there would be further consequences to the bilateral
relationship if the Mission and its personnel were not
provided appropriate protection by the government. FM
Choquehuanca told the Charge that his government does not
want a worsening of the bilateral relationship. The morning
of September 15, Government Minister Rada publicly announced
on television that the protesters should not march on the
Embassy because "the Ambassador has left the country." While
we welcome this unprecedented announcement by Rada, we do not
know if this will in fact defuse the potential for a violent
demonstration or if it was done so that the government can
say it tried but later assert that it is not responsible as
it does not control the social movements.


2. (C) The Charge further emphasized that demonizing the
Embassy and the opposition does not contribute to an
environment of dialogue. FM Choquehuanca questioned
Ambassador Goldberg's recent meeting with opposition prefect
(governor) Sabina Cuellar and the content of said meeting.
The Charge explained it was routine for us to have contact
with democratically-elected officials. The Foreign Minister
mentioned that the day after the meeting Prefect Cuellar
called for President Evo Morales to resign; Choquehuanca
implied that the Ambassador had something to do with her
actions. Charge pushed back and asked why the Bolivian
government does not question other Embassies when their
diplomats meet with opposition figures. Charge mentioned
that the current conditions are not right for a bilateral
dialogue but that A/S Shannon would consider a meeting on the
margins of United Nations General Assembly to discuss the
situation in Bolivia. FM Choquehuanca seemed receptive to
such a meeting.


3. (C) FM Choquehuanca said that his "government does not
endorse nor want violence." He complained that the
opposition takeovers of national offices were acts of
vandalism and that the "over thirty deaths" in Pando were by
hired killers. The Foreign Minister mentioned that a
statement from the USG against the opposition's violence and
calling for them to restore calm would help the situation.
The Charge pointed out that no statement from any country or
international organization classifies the opposition's
actions as vandalism and that two sides are involved. The
Charge also reiterated the U.S. position, stated publicly on
multiple occasions, that we support Bolivia's territorial
integrity and unity and want to see the country's problems
resolved peacefully through dialogue. FM Choquehuanca
replied that "it is possible our government has made some
errors." He added that the president has said he is willing
to discuss all the issues in contention, including tax
revenue distribution (IDH),with the opposition. FM
Choquehuanca said the issue of re-election in the new
constitution was not a big deal because "Evo has said he only
wants to be re-elected just one more time." The Foreign
Minister confirmed that President Evo Morales would travel to
Santiago, Chile on September 15 for an emergency meeting of
South American Presidents (UNASUR) called by Chilean
President Bachelet to deal with the Bolivian crisis. FM
Choquehuanca said that the opposition prefects (governors)
should not be allowed to participate as this is a meeting for
presidents only. We have heard from other sources that
opposition Senate President Oscar Ortiz is planning to travel
to Santiago.


4. (C) Note: Although the Charge mentioned that the
bilateral relationship is now downgraded and that there would
not be a new ambassador anytime soon, the Foreign Minister
did not seem to grasp the concept and insisted on calling the
Charge 'ambassador'. End note.
URS