Snowden asylum case: ‘European leaders are slavishly obedient to American policy’

Evo Morales

In the debate between security and privacy the US government went way too far in the direction of security, but the European leaders are obedient to American policy, Gerolf Annemans, member of the Belgian Vlaams Belang party, told RT.
RT: How do you explain this decision to ground the Bolivian President’s plane, surely it goes against any understanding of presidential immunity?
Gerolf Annemans: This shameful situation is due to the fact that European governments and European politicians, European leaders are slavishly obedient to American policy, they all are, and that’s why they handled this matter in this way.
RT: And this is just days after Europe was expressing very vocally its anger with the US threatening repercussions over Snowden’s spying revelations. Are those threats just populism?

GA: Of course there is a paradox between the fact that during the last 20 years Europe's population has been submerged by political asylums from all over the world which mostly are fake political asylums, whereas now there is a matter of a clear political asylum that should be hosted instead of chased all over Europe. In the debate between security and privacy it is clear that the US government went way too far in the direction of security and that the privacy that was put on the table by Mr. Snowden should apply, just to conclude, this is a political matter and he should be hosted as the political asylum seeker.
RT: Why would France and the EU risk a continental scandal just for the chance to catch a man wanted in another country, where’s the logic here?
GA: I think that the logic is the logic of the Geneva Convention. If a political asylum seeker seeks asylum to be defended against the violence, eventual violence or prosecution in his country, in this case the US. Europe should be hosting this person because he is political asylum seeker in the sense of the word, I mean in the sense of the Geneva Convention. And that’s why, and there is no other reason. It should be in the safety of guardians in Europe instead of being chased all over the world because the world is anxious not to confront the US.
RT: What kind of response are you expecting from Latin America, are their threats and  outrage also going to go hollow? 
GA: I can perfectly understand the anger in Southern America because what happened to their President is unprecedented and I think that European excuses could be the only thing that come from Europe to Southern America states. 
 http://rt.com
4/7/13
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