THE MINISTER for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin has welcomed comments made by Bolivian president Evo Morales that he would be willing to facilitate an international investigation into the shooting dead of three men, including Irishman Michael Dwyer, last week.
Mr Morales, in an interview with the BBC yesterday, said he would be happy for such an investigation to be held.
Mr Dwyer (24), from Co Tipperary, and two other men were killed by police in the city of Santa Cruz, in the east of the country.
Authorities in Bolivia have alleged that the three men were involved in an international plot to assassinate Mr Morales. One of those shot dead was a former combatant on the Croatian side in the Balkans war: Eduardo Rózsa Flores, who was of Hungarian and Bolivian nationality and is alleged to have been the group’s leader.
Mr Martin told The Irish Times yesterday that he had spoken to Ramón Quintana, the minister of the office of the president (effectively the prime minister) on Wednesday evening, during which he had requested the setting up of an international inquiry.
He said that Mr Quintana had undertaken to convey the request directly to Mr Morales.
He said the Bolivian minister had also committed to the Irish authorities being given full access to, and disclosure of, all papers and reports connected with the incident.
Mr Martin said he had followed up the telephone conversation with a formal letter requesting an inquiry, which he sent to David Choquehuanca, the Bolivian minister for foreign affairs. He added that he was encouraged by what Mr Morales had said to the BBC.
“I welcome President Morales’ comments on an international inquiry and we will follow up on that,” he said. There was precedent for such an international inquiry, he added. An international commission of inquiry was set up by the Association of South American Nations following violent clashes in the Pando region of Bolivia in September 2008 that left 18 people dead.
Mr Martin said that the Bolivian authorities had co-operated fully with the Irish diplomat Derek Lambe, who travelled to Santa Cruz following the deaths of the three men. The authorities had been prompt in securing the remains and facilitating the repatriation of Mr Dwyer’s body, he said.
“We did express concern about the way in which remains were dealt with in terms of photographs that were taken,” said Mr Martin.
“The circumstances also remain unclear. There have been given a few different accounts. We have liaised with the governments of the countries of [the two other deceased]. But we will make no judgment in advance.
“The Dwyer family deserve a full description of what happened to Michael. From a consular point of view, we have a legitimate right to inquire as to how an Irish citizen was killed in a violent manner in Bolivia,” he said.
Mr Martin said it was his view that an inquiry would command a lot of international respect.
The Government’s viewpoint was that it was dealing with the consular rights of an Irish citizen and its approach was strictly confined to that, he said, adding: “There is no attempt to destabilise the Bolivian government. Evo Morales is democratically elected.” This was a reference to reports suggesting that Ireland and Hungary were involved in a conspiracy to destabilise Bolivia. Mr Morales himself said he was not linking either government to the events.
It has also emerged that An Garda Síochána may become involved in trying to establish what Mr Dwyer was doing in Bolivia.
The Irish Times has established that three men – two Hungarians and a Pole – went to Bolivia with the Tipperary man last November but returned to Ireland when a planned bodyguard course fell through. The men all worked for Integrated Risk Management Services, which provides security at Shell’s Corrib pipeline in Co Mayo.
Mr Dwyer stayed in Bolivia and took security work from Eduardo Rózsa Flores. One of the men Mr Dwyer went to Bolivia with knew Mr Rózsa Flores and is believed to have introduced the Irishman to him. Garda sources said if the Bolivians asked gardaí to speak to the men about Mr Dwyer’s time in Bolivia, statements could be taken from here and sent to Bolivia. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing on the men’s part.