US-led regional bloc bans reporter from Bolivia meeting

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) - The Organization of American States (OAS) denied access to American-Indian journalist Anya Parampil to Bolivia meeting held in the body's Washington headquarters.

The special meeting of the 35-member regional bloc was held on Tuesday after the resignation of the indigenous leader of Bolivia, Evo Morales, over the army's call to step down.

Working for The Grayzone, a news website publishing investigative journalism and analysis on politics, Parampil is known for her anti-coup and anti-OAS remarks.

"Today I tried to attend the OAS meeting on Bolivia. Security would not let me in even though I presented multiple IDs (other reporters entered w/o check)," Parampil tweeted.

"Friendly guard ultimately told me the head of the OAS press office made the call not to let me in," she added.

She claimed that Special Representative of Venezuela at OAS Gustavo Tarre Briceno, representing opposition leader Juan Guaido, harassed her while she was waiting at the door, calling her "fake news".

"Honestly, if an organization which views Tarre and his criminal gang as legit 'diplomats' views me as an illegitimate journalist, it’s an honor," Parampil said.

"The coup in Bolivia, the violent military take over of the country which we saw over the weekend would have been impossible without the OAS' involvement," she emphasized in a video published by The Grayzone, saying the body's report "not only invalidated Morales' re-election but also invalidated all democratic structure of the country".

Bolivia has been thrown into turmoil with demonstrators protesting the results of presidential elections in October in which Morales declared victory for the fourth time.

People took to the streets, believing the election results were rigged. He stepped down on Sunday under pressure from the military and police.

After he resigned, Morales requested political asylum from Mexico. Before leaving, he tweeted that he would eventually return to Bolivia with more "strength and energy".

He arrived in Mexico on Tuesday afternoon."