BOLIVIA SLAMS US MILITARY AID TO SYRIAN REBELS
LA PAZ, Bolivia, Jun 18 (NNN-XINHUA) - The Bolivian government criticised the United States for arming Syrian rebels, warning that the move would only intensify and prolong a conflict that has already killed tens of thousands in that country. Bolivia "rejects any intervention in the internal conflicts of any country in the world, such as supporting a domestic armed conflict with weapons, as is the case with Syria," Bolivian President Evo Morales told a press conference, in the presidential palace in La Paz. The United States' support of Syrian rebels with arms, aims to "deepen the civil conflict" that has battered that country for more than two years, he accused. Bolivia hailed the decision by some countries, including Russia and China, to condemn the US move, and United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon's warning, that arming the rebels is tantamount to intervention. The United Nations "has observed that supporting a group opposed to the (Syrian) government with weapons, is another means of intervention," and "any problem in any country calls for peaceful solutions," said Morales. Morales also described as "false" allegations, that military intervention by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), helped resolve the fighting in Libya. Foreign intervention by the United States, NATO or UN peacekeeping troops, rarely seek to bring peace, but instead aim to take control of the occupied country's natural resources, Morales said. Interventionist governments are mistaken to think they can break the will of a nation, such as Syria, where people have the awareness and willingness to defend their natural resources, he added.-- NNN-XINHUA