Chile will open this Friday the oral phase of the international trial for the waters of the Silala. Ximena Fuentes, the new deputy foreign minister of the neighboring nation, will take the stand to present the lawsuit that asks the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to declare the water reserve an “international river.”
That day, in Potosí, civic members and representatives of civil society organizations will go out to claim the Government for not having been consulted for the preparation of the defense of those waters.
The convocation of the Civic Committee of Potosí (Comcipo) is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Friday, after Fuentes’ presentation at the ICJ. According to the time zone, the litigation will begin at 9:00 in Bolivia and will last until noon. In The Hague it will be 6:00 p.m. when the first day of allegations concludes.
The deputy from Potosí Lissa Claros, from the opposition alliance Ciudadana Community (CC), said that in recent days “Unofficial information circulated indicating that the Government accepted the shared use of the waters of the Silala and that this position will be revealed during the oral arguments”.
He also pointed out that The Government “must inform the country of the amount it is spending on the trial and on the trip of the entourage who will be in The Hague for the beginning of the allegations” that will last until April 14.
But the concern is not only from the opposition. The governor of Potosí, Jhonny Mamani, pointed out that there is no good prognosis in this process. “There are some things that concern us. In this we must be very sincere and, above all, we are going to defend the interest of the people of Potosí. I’m very worried. People have to know what the consequences will be in the worst case scenario that a resolution can be issued and that it goes against the interests of the people of Potosí and the Bolivian people, ”said the departmental authority to the Unitel de Potosí network.
The climate on the Chilean front is different. Fuentes, who is also his country’s agent in this case, arrived in The Hague on Monday to organize his presentation. He issued optimistic messages and anticipated that one of the axes of his country’s position will be, precisely, the right to “share” the Silala based on international law. He said that this possibility was accepted by the country when, in one of his briefs submitted to the Court, he admitted that part of the waters from the spring flow to the neighboring country naturally.
“On the slopes of the Inacaliri volcano (is) the ravine, carved for thousands of years, through which the Silala River flows to Chile, an international watercourse that can be used by both States,” said Fuentes through his account on Twitter and as a preview of his presentation before the 15 judges of the high court.
In the “application” that Chile presented to the ICJ, it is also demanded that “the right to equitable use of the waters of the international channel”, without prejudice to the identification of obligations in Bolivia regarding the care of the waters.
On your side, Foreign Minister Rogelio Mayta is already in The Hague. He met with part of the international legal team and agent Roberto Calzadilla, to fine-tune the arguments in defense of the Silala waters. After Chile’s intervention this Friday, Bolivia will respond on Monday, April 4.
Chile will open this Friday the oral phase of the international trial for the waters of the Silala. Ximena Fuentes, the new deputy foreign minister of the neighboring nation, will take the stand to present the lawsuit that asks the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to declare the water reserve an “international river.”
That day, in Potosí, civic members and representatives of civil society organizations will go out to claim the Government for not having been consulted for the preparation of the defense of those waters.
The convocation of the Civic Committee of Potosí (Comcipo) is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Friday, after Fuentes’ presentation at the ICJ. According to the time zone, the litigation will begin at 9:00 in Bolivia and will last until noon. In The Hague it will be 6:00 p.m. when the first day of allegations concludes.
The deputy from Potosí Lissa Claros, from the opposition alliance Ciudadana Community (CC), said that in recent days “Unofficial information circulated indicating that the Government accepted the shared use of the waters of the Silala and that this position will be revealed during the oral arguments”.
He also pointed out that The Government “must inform the country of the amount it is spending on the trial and on the trip of the entourage who will be in The Hague for the beginning of the allegations” that will last until April 14.
But the concern is not only from the opposition. The governor of Potosí, Jhonny Mamani, pointed out that there is no good prognosis in this process. “There are some things that concern us. In this we must be very sincere and, above all, we are going to defend the interest of the people of Potosí. I’m very worried. People have to know what the consequences will be in the worst case scenario that a resolution can be issued and that it goes against the interests of the people of Potosí and the Bolivian people, ”said the departmental authority to the Unitel de Potosí network.
The climate on the Chilean front is different. Fuentes, who is also his country’s agent in this case, arrived in The Hague on Monday to organize his presentation. He issued optimistic messages and anticipated that one of the axes of his country’s position will be, precisely, the right to “share” the Silala based on international law. He said that this possibility was accepted by the country when, in one of his briefs submitted to the Court, he admitted that part of the waters from the spring flow to the neighboring country naturally.
“On the slopes of the Inacaliri volcano (is) the ravine, carved for thousands of years, through which the Silala River flows to Chile, an international watercourse that can be used by both States,” said Fuentes through his account on Twitter and as a preview of his presentation before the 15 judges of the high court.
In the “application” that Chile presented to the ICJ, it is also demanded that “the right to equitable use of the waters of the international channel”, without prejudice to the identification of obligations in Bolivia regarding the care of the waters.
On your side, Foreign Minister Rogelio Mayta is already in The Hague. He met with part of the international legal team and agent Roberto Calzadilla, to fine-tune the arguments in defense of the Silala waters. After Chile’s intervention this Friday, Bolivia will respond on Monday, April 4.
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