THE FAMILY of Michael Dwyer, who was shot dead in Bolivia last year by anti-terrorist police, have expressed frustration with Irish and Bolivian authorities over the failure to establish an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.
Ahead of the first anniversary of his death, a family spokesman said they were “anxious and frustrated” with the slowness of securing answers into his killing.
Last October, the Bolivian ambassador to Britain and Ireland, Beatrice Suveron, said that her government would co-operate with an independent international inquiry into Mr Dwyer’s death.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin also said at the time that he would press Bolivian authorities for answers over the death of Mr Dwyer.
However, the family spokesman said they were disappointed at the lack of progress.
“The family understood that bilateral efforts would be stepped up once the Bolivian elections had taken place last December and were assured that the Irish Ambassador to Argentina would be deployed to Bolivia to raise issues concerning Michael’s killing with the government and authorities in December or January,” he said.
“They feel disappointed that the ambassador has not yet travelled down. The longer such an engagement is delayed, they feel the lower down in priority the issue will become for all authorities involved.”
Mr Dwyer, from Ballinderry, Co Tipperary, was shot dead in the eastern Bolivian city of Santa Cruz in the early hours of April 16th last year. Two other men were also gunned down by an elite police squad.
Bolivian authorities claimed the the trio were part of an international gang of foreign mercenaries planning to kill President Evo Morales.
Mr Dwyer’s family and friends have rejected the claims, saying he was not interested in politics and had been taking part in a security course.
Mr Dwyer’s family has called for a Government-sponsored fact-finding mission to Bolivia, together with a legal specialist and a forensic specialist. This, they say, could run in parallel to ongoing contacts between the governments.
“They believe such a mission could help to establish some facts about Michael’s death and this could inform communications with the Bolivian authorities,” the spokesman added.
“It would also send a clear message to the Bolivian authorities that the Government is still very concerned about the circumstances of Michael’s death.”
A number of questions have been raised in the months following the killing over the way Mr Dwyer died.
State Pathologist Prof Marie Cassidy told the coroner’s court that he was shot once in the heart, contradicting the findings of Bolivian authorities who had claimed that Mr Dwyer was shot six times.
Bolivian authorities also said Mr Dwyer had two guns in his room and that gunshot residue was found on him. However, Dr Cassidy said she had no evidence of this.
Labour MEP Alan Kelly, who has met the Dwyer family, said yesterday he would raise the matter in the European Parliament.
He said the fact that one of Mr Dwyer’s colleagues who was killed – Árpád Magyarosi – was a Romanian meant that the EU should play a role in seeking answers.
“This warrants an independent investigation that is internationally observed. It needs to happen soon, as the longer this is delayed, the less evidence there is,” Mr Kelly added.
“It is also disappointing that the Irish Ambassador in the region still hasn’t visited Bolivia. We need action sooner rather than later.”
