This morning one of the campaigners to free Cesar Zelada received a phone call at his workplace from an officer of the intelligence service of the Belgian Federal Police! The reason for this unusual call was a “complaint” filed by the Bolivian Embassy against the organisers of the peaceful visit last Friday (see Friday, September 24: a day of action for Cesar Zelada). The police officer remained very vague in describing the nature of the grievances of the Bolivian diplomats. He said that it was not legal to organise actions without the authorisation of the police. We replied that we had not held a protest “demonstration” and therefore did not need any authorisation for a meeting with the embassy. We were a delegation of trade unionists and student activist concerned about the fate of human and political rights in Bolivia and in particular of the case of Cesar Zelada. We had not tried to force our way into the embassy!
Contrary to businessmen and diplomats, we were not accepted with open arms by the embassy. So much is clear. The police officer also tried to inquire in our future intentions and activities. He insisted that next time we needed to contact the police before any action was undertaken. The officer who was clearly ignorant of the trade union movement told us he had phoned the national office of the trade unions to ask how he could speak to individual shop stewards who supported the campaign (he had the names of the activists who had signed the letter of protest).
To conclude the phone conversation, we answered that if the embassy persisted with the complaint we will consider taking legal action against them for pursuing a “reckless and frivolous lawsuit”. Despite the exhortations of the Minister Counsellor of the embassy “to try and solve conflicts through dialogue”, the embassy seems engaged in a course of intimidation very similar to the policies against the workers and peasant movement in Bolivia!
Brussels,
September 28, 2004
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