Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei received Bulivian President Evo Morales on Tuesday evening, who is in Tehran to participate in GECF. Leader of the Islamic Revolution praised ‘heroic resistance against the bullying of hegemonic imperialist powers’ by Bolivia and other Latin and South American countries, and believed that the US policies actively sought to create identity crises for the young generation of public in those countries; “these aggressive and domineering policies could only be resisted through strengthening of wills and improvement of regional alliances and cooperation; this resistance, I believe, has more weight and value than nationalization of oil industry in Bolivia during your incumbency,” he emphasized.
“Iran was the first country to free itself from under the yoke of serfdom of the US by popular movement led by Imam Khomeini (RA), and uniquely and single-handedly resisted a host of pressures and restrictions imposed on us by the two superpowers of the time; based on this premise, the Islamic Republic of Iran supports groups or countries who heroically resist against bullying powers,” Ayatollah Khamenei told Morales.
The Leader then turned to Bolivia’s ample natural resources and capacities, which would provide the rulers of the country as well as Iran the grounds for cooperation and which would provide necessary means for them to resist against the dominance of hegemonic powers; “economic development does carry value as long as it seeks to help political independence and flourishing of economic capacities; along with advances in hardware, growth in software is also worthy of serious attention by statesmen of country,” he added.
“The US policies on South and Latin America could be labeled ‘dangerous,’ as it systematically followed a crisis of identity among the native young population through new means of communication; if it succeeds in inculcating an American mentality in your youth, then political changes would dispense without hard means such as coup d’état, and will bring about their domination to all aspects of life,” the Leader emphasized.
Bolivian President Evo Morales, for his part, expressed euphoria for visiting the Leader and addressed him as a ‘spiritual father,’ and a sage leader whose inspiring and hope-bestowing remarks had taught many invaluable lessons about the revolutions especially in South America; on US interference in the internal affairs of countries in the region, Morales highlighted his responsibility vis-à-vis US officials’ discouraging warnings about his visit to Tehran; “I strongly emphasize that Bolivia is a sovereign country, and will not need the permission of others in its relations with any country especially Iran; we will not succumb to the pressures by the US officials,” Morales pointed out. “With nationalization of oil industry, we reinstate our independence and national sovereignty, effectively ending years of western denigration of and domination over our nation and values.”
Morales highlighted the Bolivian development and government services to the public which have multiplied during the independence years compared to the dark era of being a vassal state of the west; “currently, Bolivian GNP (Gross National Product) has risen to $36bn, showing a 4-fold increase compared to the era when we had been dependent upon west,” he added.
Bolivian president said that his country had always viewed Iran’s positions with a sense of praise and believed that Iran would continue its road to success; “we invest much hope in broadening of ties in all fields of interest; Bolivia will remain a sovereign nation and resistant as well with inspiration and support coming from revolutionary countries such as Iran,” he concluded.
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