22 July 2021
Human Rights compares Cox with Arce Gomez and denounces him to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the United Nations (UN) for “abuse of power”
The Permanent Assembly for Human Rights of La Paz (APDHLP) denounced the Vice Minister of Internal Affairs, Nelson Cox, before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for actions that it considers to be “abuse of power” and statements comparable to those of the Minister of the military dictatorship Luis Arce Gomez.
The denunciation against Cox mentions two particular facts: one in which the Vice Minister warned in public statements that those who try to “confuse” the population would be held accountable for what he called a “coup d’État” in the context of the investigation of the alleged “illicit arms trafficking”. The second fact mentioned is the case of the arrest of the citizen Mario Bascope.
The legal secretary of the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights of La Paz (APDHLP), Franco Albarracin, stated that recent statements by Cox can only be compared with those issued in 1980 by Luis Arce Gomez, who was Minister of Internal Affairs under the dictatorship of Luis Garcia Meza, and who then warned opponents that they had to walk “with the will under their arms.”
“Then, according to Nelson Cox, we should walk with the will under our arms, but since they control justice and it is a different context from the time of the dictatorship, I would say that, according to Nelson Cox, we should walk with a [legal] brief under our arms,” said Albarracin.
The activist warned that with Cox’s statement, everyone who thinks differently from the Government’s version would be prosecuted, and warned that this constitutes a serious action against freedom of expression and constitutional guarantees.
He pointed out that, apparently, if someone thinks differently than the Government, Nelson Cox will order his/her arrest or even torture. He also compared the Vice Minister with former Ministers criticized in their administrations such as Arturo Murillo, Sacha Llorenti, and Carlos Romero.
In the case of Mario Bascope, the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights of La Paz (APDHLP) denunciation indicates that, according to press monitoring, the Vice Minister had influenced in the “arbitrary” detention of this citizen.
Bascope is a member of the Cochabamba [Youth] Resistance and was arrested at the time of [leaving] the Palmasola prison, to answer for another opened [case] in Sucre for destruction in the Prosecutor’s Office in 2020. Cox justified the arrest, while the Pro Santa Cruz Committee denounced that the activist was tortured.
The APDHLP legal secretary clarified that the institution is not interested in Bascope’s political affiliation, but in the person who in this case was arrested without being summoned.
The Ombudsman’s Office also referred to Cox’s statements in the Bascope case and reminded the Bolivian State that the International System for the Protection of Human Rights establishes the presumption of innocence as a human right and a judicial guarantee.
Albarracin affirmed that with these events Cox shows that he is an “extremely violent” person.
He recalled that the Vice Minister was a defense delegate in Cochabamba and that, with his revealed attitude, it is evident that the Ombudsman’s Office is made up of “immoral, violent and unethical people,” whose final objective is to comply with the MAS.
The activist indicated that Cox has precautionary measures from the IACHR, issued when he was an Ombudsman, but due to the latest events that protection should be taken away from him, because he is no longer in danger, but is the one that generates danger, and violation of human rights.
