Chile president welcomes ICJ’s decision on Bolivia claim

SANTIAGO: Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera on Monday welcomed the rejection by the UN’s top court of a bid by landlocked Bolivia to force his country to give it access to the Pacific Ocean.

“The court has done justice and has put things in their place, establishing clearly and categorically that Chile has never had any obligation to negotiate an exit to the sea,” said Pinera.

His remarks were applauded by triumphant officials and political leaders who gathered at the presidential palace in Santiago to follow the reading of the 12- 3 verdict by judges at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

“Today is a great day for Chile, for international law, for respect for international treaties and for healthy and peaceful coexistence between countries,” said Pinera.

Pinera accused his Bolivian counterpart Evo Morales of creating ‘false expectations’ for his people in bringing the case to the ICJ in 2013 and effectively losing five ‘ valuable’ years of bilateral relationships with Chile and other countries.

La Paz took Santiago to The Hague in 2013 over its bid to regain access to the sea, a long-running strain on relations between the two South American countries.

Bolivia lost its route to the sea in a 1879-1883 war with Chile, and Santiago has rejected every attempt since by its smaller and poorer neighbour to win it back. — AFP

Morales reacts outside the International Court of Justice, the UN’s highest court for disputes between states, after the ruling on a dispute between Bolivia and neighbour Chile on access to the Pacific Ocean, in The Hague, the Netherlands. — Reuters photo