Assange hails 'victory' from embassy balcony after UN panel ruling

Yahoo – AFP, Jacques Klopp, February 5, 2016

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange addresses the media holding a printed report 

of the judgement of the UN's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on his case

 from the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy in central London on February 5, 

2016 (AFP Photo/Niklas Halle'n)

London (AFP) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Friday urged Britain to let him walk free from Ecuador's London embassy after a UN panel found that the anti-secrecy campaigner who faces a rape allegation in Sweden was "arbitrarily detained."

Speaking to a handful of supporters and a media scrum in a rare appearance from the balcony of the embassy where he took refuge nearly four years ago, Assange hailed a "victory of historical importance".

"How sweet it is! This is a victory that cannot be denied," he proclaimed, waving a hard copy of the legal opinion and often seeming emotional.

Assange has refused to go to Sweden for questioning fearing deportation to the US over WikiLeaks' release of 500,000 secret military files on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

A look back at the key dates in the life of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

(AFP Photo/Kun Tian, Thomas Saint-Cricq)

Earlier, the 44-year-old Australian told journalists via video link that it was "now the task of the states of Sweden and the United Kingdom as a whole to implement the verdict".

The UN panel said Assange's detention should end and that he should be able to claim compensation from Britain and Sweden.

But both countries quickly dismissed the non-binding legal opinion, with Britain's Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond calling it "ridiculous".

Assange walked into the embassy in June 2012 to avoid the threat of arrest and extradition to Sweden, where he still faces a rape allegation.

He has lived there ever since in a small office room with a bed, computer, sun lamp, treadmill and access to a small balcony decorated with Ecuador's flag.

Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo 

Patino speaks during a press conference

 in Quito on February 5, 2016 (AFP Photo/

Rodrigo Buendia)

In a statement, the panel said it had adopted an opinion that considered Assange "arbitrarily detained by the governments of Sweden and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland."

It added: "The working group also considered that the detention should be brought to an end and that Mr Assange should be afforded the right to compensation."

Fears of imprisonment

Britain and Sweden sharply condemned the panel's findings and said they would change nothing.

Hammond called Assange "a fugitive from justice."

"This is frankly a ridiculous finding by the working group and we reject it," the foreign secretary added.

Sweden's foreign ministry said that it "does not agree" with the assessment.

"Mr Assange is free to leave the embassy at any point and Swedish authorities have no control over his decision to stay at the embassy," the ministry added.

Only three of the five members of the UN panel supported the opinion -- one recused herself because she is Australian, like Assange, and another member disagreed.

British designer Vivienne Westwood displays a British passport after arriving to visit

 Wikileaks founder Julian Assange at Ecuador's embassy in central London, on

February 4, 2016 (AFP Photo/Chris Ratcliffe)

Christophe Peschoux, the working group's secretary, said at a briefing in Geneva that Britain and Sweden had two months to submit new information to force a review, and Britain says it will contest the opinion.

Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said it was "time for both governments... to allow Julian Assange his freedom."

Swedish authorities want to speak to Assange about a rape allegation whose statute of limitations does not expire until 2020.

Elizabeth Fritz, the lawyer for the woman who has accused Assange, criticised the panel's comments.

"That a man who is wanted on an arrest warrant for rape should be awarded compensation for intentionally hiding from the judicial system for more than five years is offensive to my client," she said.

Swedish judicial authorities said last month that Ecuador had refused its request to let a Swedish prosecutor question Assange because Quito wanted an Ecuadorean prosecutor to do the questioning.

British Foreign Secretary Philip

Hammond described the UN panels'

decision on Wikileaks founder Julian 

Assange as "ridiculous" as he 

met journalists in London, on 

February 5, 2016 (AFP Photo/

Niklas Halle'n)

'Publicity stunt'

Assange fears that if he went to Sweden for questioning, he could then be sent to the US and face prison. 

WikiLeaks' activities -- including the release of 500,000 secret military files on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq -- have infuriated the US.

The main source of the leaks, US Army soldier Chelsea Manning, was sentenced to 35 years in prison for breaches of the Espionage Act.

A hero to supporters and a dangerous egocentric to detractors, the computer programmer and hacker, whose celebrity fans include fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and singer Lady Gaga, founded WikiLeaks in 2006 and has been portrayed in two movies in recent years.

Britain spent over £10 million (12 million euros, $15 million) maintaining a 24-hour guard outside the embassy to immediately arrest Assange if he set foot on British soil, but withdrew it last year.

The Assange case has polarised opinion in Britain and there were many criticisms of his conduct Friday.

The Guardian newspaper, which has in the past worked with WikiLeaks to publish secret documents, used an editorial to condemn the latest developments as "a publicity stunt."

Julian #Assange should be able to walk free and claim compensation, UN panel says: https://t.co/3K7c4d7XKF pic.twitter.com/9WcaQsz7lw

— AFP London (@afplondon) February 5, 2016

Related Article:

Timeline: Julian Assange's story so far

Pope and Russian patriarch to meet for the first time

The Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church have announced that Pope Francis would meet Moscow Patriarch Kirill for the first time. The two religious leaders are set to discuss the persecution of Christians.

Deutsche Welle, 5 February 2016

The pope and the head of the largest Orthodox Church would meet next week in Cuba, the churches said in a joint statement on Friday.

According to the statement, the high-profile summit on February 12 "will mark an important stage in relations between the two churches. The Holy See and the Moscow Patriarchate hope that it will also be a sign of hope for all people of good will.

"They invite all Christians to pray fervently for God to bless this meeting, that it may bear good fruits," the statement added.

The two leaders are set to meet at the Havana airport during Kirill's visit to Cuba, with Francis making a stop on his way to Mexico.

Pope Francis has been focusing
on relations between religions

Metropolitan Illarion, the Russian cleric in charge of foreign affairs, said the main topic on the agenda would be persecution of Christians worldwide.

"The situation in the Middle East, in northern and central Africa and in other regions where extremists are perpetrating genocide of Christians requires immediate action and an even closer cooperation between Christian churches," Illarion said.

While there are still issues separating the two organizations, "we need to put aside internal disagreements and pool efforts to save Christianity in the regions where it is subject to most severe persecution," he added.

Religion coming back to Russia

The relations between the two Christian denominations have been strained for nearly a millennium, ever since the split between the Western and the Eastern branches of Christianity in 1054.

Kirill was elected patriarch in 2009

Even today, Orthodox Christians differ from Catholics on a range of issues, most notably allowing their priests to marry and rejecting the Vatican's authority.

There is also no counterpart of the pope in the Orthodox world.

However, Patriarch Kirill leads the Orthodox community with the most members. Some 75 percent of Russia's 144 million people declare themselves to be Orthodox.

The church in Russia has boosted its influence dramatically since the fall of communism in the early 90's. The current patriarch has been criticized for his increasingly close ties to the Kremlin.

dj/sms (AP, Reuters, Interfax)

Pope Francis listens to chief Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni (R) in Rome's main

Synagogue on January 17, 2016 (AFP Photo/Vincenzo Pinto)

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Pope Francis and other religious leaders at the Vatican. Photograph: AP

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“.   New Tolerance

Look for a softening of finger pointing and an awakening of new tolerance. There will remain many systems for different cultures, as traditions and history are important to sustaining the integrity of culture. So there are many in the Middle East who would follow the prophet and they will continue, but with an increase of awareness. It will be the increase of awareness of what the prophet really wanted all along - unity and tolerance. The angel in the cave instructed him to "unify the tribes and give them the God of Israel." You're going to start seeing a softening of intolerance and the beginning of a new way of being.

Eventually, this will create an acknowledgement that says, "You may not believe the way we believe, but we honor you and your God. We honor our prophet and we will love you according to his teachings. We don't have to agree in order to love." How would you like that? The earth is not going to turn into one belief system. It never will, for Humans don't do that. There must be variety, and there must be the beauty of cultural differences. But the systems will slowly update themselves with increased awareness of the truth of a new kind of balance. So that's the first thing. Watch for these changes, dear ones. ...."

"The Humanization of God"–  Jul 16, 2011 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“… The Humanization of God

I'm going to title this channelling so that my partner will not. I don't always title them, for labeling items is something done for 3D reasons. In your reality, you want a label for the message you're about to hear. So I'll give it to you, just as a dichotomous exercise. Its title will be, "The Humanization of God."

My partner sits in a chair. It has taken him 22 years to bring my conceptual thoughts to you. Even though these conceptual thoughts from the other side of the veil are also within each Human, within your Higher-Self, they are not easy to access. This is because they exist in a multidimensional state and not one that a Human relates to. Therefore, it has taken 22 years for my partner to learn to linearize the concepts into a string of words, presented in a language that you will understand.

Not all of you here and reading this will understand what I'm teaching today. I am aware of that, for Spirit does not speak to Human Beings with words in this fashion. Instead, the language of Spirit speaks in that what you call intuitive flashes, outside of linear time, and all at once. That is how you get your best information. Yet many of you feel you have God all figured out.

Examples of the Linear

As I sit here, perhaps an individual who may be here for the very first time asks the question, "Who are you, Kryon, and where are you from?" Now those two questions may absolutely be logical and normal to every single Human Being who hears and reads this message, but I will tell you that the questions themselves betray biased linear thinking. For Kryon is not a who and is from nowhere. How can that be? The only way I can explain this is to give you metaphors. I know that metaphors don't hold up under full examination, since no analogy is perfect. So consider it only a close example to get you to begin the understanding process.

Let's say you feel incredible love in your life for another Human, or for an animal, for instance, or for your child. Let us say that it is overwhelming and perhaps even has you weep with joy, so strong it is! Now, when you feel this way, do you look around and say, "Who are you, really? Who is there?" Would you address that love emotion as though it had a body and ask, "Where are you from?" You would not! Instead, you'd simply accept it and say, "I know it's coming from me, but it really doesn't feel part of me."

There's something about love. It comes from everywhere. It permeates the soul of the Human Being. You feel it so strongly. You are not aware of it being sent to you, or pulled to you; it just is. But it's unusual and profound, almost like it's part of something else, something bigger. Perhaps it's the God part of you, expanding? You'd be right about that. Love is not singular. You don't segment it into parts, or put a body on it and give it a name either. It's a concept that affects every cell of your body and all your body functions. It sometimes even takes over! This is the beauty of love.

I'm not a who. You hear me within this voice, coming from a singular body of a Human Being. So you understandably want to know who's talking. But the only thing singular here is the Human who I come through. I am best identified as that which is the collection of the confluence of the creative energy source in the Universe. I am uncountable and am not isolated and singular. You can't notate me (define me with attributes in 3D). Twenty-two years ago, I identified myself and said, "I am, that I am." And then I said, "And so are you!" I told you that at the center of the atom is where I am. I told you that the space between the electron haze and the nucleus is filled with love. I told you that the benevolent, creative source energy that is part of you is part of me. It is all things together. You'll find it in a tree, in the dirt and in the grass. You'll find it in the air and you can't ask who because we are not singular. You can't count the flavor in the soup, or identify "where is the salt?" It just "is" the soup.

God does not have the mind of a Human Being with the consciousness of a Human Being. God is not a collection of many separate consciousness parts either, and this is difficult for you to understand. God can talk to every single Human - all 6, 7 billion of them - at the same time. God can carry on a loving, healing conversation, being personal all at once with every single one of you. Think of that! That's not a who. That's the creator of the Universe. That's a divine, intelligent, loving energy. Don't humanize this source! It's not like you.

The Linear Thinker

Humans want to make everything separate and individual. You want to separate, identify, and quantify. This is Human nature, for every living thing you come into contact with is separate and singular - a Human, an animal, a bug, a tree. They all have this in common. Each one is a closed life system and is ONE thing. So placing God in this box makes you feel better. Because only then can you grasp how you're supposed to act and react to Spirit. Linearizing God helps you to feel what you're supposed to do and when you're supposed to do it. All of the survival attributes that you've learned all your life go into this, and we call it the Human linear bias. God is better understood if it's a man with a beard and a low voice - the authority figure. But Spirit is not like that.

God is not an authority figure, either! Yet many of you will not accept that. "You mean the creator of the Universe is not in charge?" I didn't say that. I said that God is not an authority figure. God is family. If there is any authority energy, then you share it with God, for God is in you. Therefore, YOU are the authority figure.

There is no protocol, either! Did you hear me? There is no generic protocol! Thousands of years of religion have created thousands of "rules" of how to "get God's favor." What if none of that is so? Let me ask you something: If you wanted to talk to your own body's cellular structure, what's the protocol? If it's you with you, how do you start? Should you dress up a bit, kneel, prepare yourself? Do you invent something, some framework of motions, so it will work better? Or do you simply go inside with your mind, talk to that which you own, and work the puzzle out? Do you see what I mean? Humans never consider God in them. Instead, they wish to separate God. They wish to elevate God and put Spirit on the altar where they can face it and perhaps even create a statue so they can visualize who to talk to. That is humanizing God.  …”

Cuba's Raul Castro in France for historic visit

Yahoo – AFP, Maria Carmona, February 1, 2016

Cuba's President Raul Castro (right) attends a ceremony at the Tomb of the
Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on February 1, 2016
(AFP Photo/Jacky Naegelen)

Paris (AFP) - Cuba's President Raul Castro began an official state visit to France on Monday, his first ever to Europe, which is being seen as a key step in rebuilding his island nation's ties with the West.

The Cuban leader was welcomed under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris before being driven down a virtually deserted Champs-Elysees avenue, decked out in Cuban flags.

Cuban President Raul Castro (left)

 pictured with French President Francois

 Hollande in Havana on May 12, 2015

(AFP Photo/Yamil Lage)

Police severely restricted access to spectators, and just a few groups of supporters of the Cuban regime were present.

Castro, 84, is on his first official trip to the European Union since taking over from his elder brother Fidel in 2006, and spent the weekend in the French capital on a private visit.

France has led the way in welcoming Cuba back into the diplomatic fold since it restored relations last year with the United States after they were broken off for more than half a century.

French President Francois Hollande, who was to hold talks with Castro later Monday, has described the visit as "a new stage in the strengthening of relations between the two countries".

It builds on Hollande's own state visit to Cuba last May, the first by a head of state from the West in more than half a century.

Castro is the second former pariah to be welcomed to Paris in a matter of days, after Hollande hosted Iranian President Hassan Rouhani last week.

"This visit is important for Cuba's image," said Eduardo Perera, an international relations expert at Havana University.

Cuba's President Raul Castro is on his first official trip to the European Union

since taking over from his elder brother Fidel in 2006 (AFP Photo/Jacky Naegelen)

"It will undeniably make Cuba shine on the international stage."

Havana hopes the visit will allow Cuba to "widen and diversify its relations with France in all possible areas -- politics, economics, trade, finance, investment, culture and cooperation," said Rogelio Sierra, Cuban deputy foreign minister.

Although Washington has yet to lift its trade embargo on Cuba, US and European businesses are jockeying for a place in the market as the island's economy gradually opens up.

Hollande urged an end to the blockade, which was imposed in 1962, on his Havana visit.

Trade delegations have been flocking to Cuba, hoping to cash in on its highly trained workforce and natural assets such as its sun-drenched Caribbean beaches, a draw for tourists.

Cuba, meanwhile, needs to tap new sources of income as its main ally and financial backer, Venezuela, is mired in economic and political crisis.

Trade between the two countries currently adds up to a modest $195 million (180 million euros), which is "not in line with our ambitions," France's minister of state for foreign trade Matthias Fekl told L'Humanite newspaper.

US and European businesses are jockeying for a place in the market as 

Cuba's economy gradually opens up (AFP Photo/Yamil Lage)

Debt write-off

The French trip is the first by a Cuban head of state since Fidel Castro visited then president Francois Mitterrand in 1995.

Castro will also attend a state dinner before meeting various French officials on Tuesday.

France recently engineered an agreement among the Paris Club of international creditors to write off $8.5 billion of Cuba's debt.

It could now agree to further debt relief, potentially widening Cuba's access to international financial markets.

France is also taking a leading role in strengthening Cuba's political ties with Europe as a whole.

Human rights remains a sensitive issue, with international authorities accusing the Castros of repressing and harassing their political opponents.

A diplomatic source in Paris said human rights "will be discussed" during the talks. Hollande faced criticism from rights groups after meeting with Fidel Castro last year.

There were also demonstrations against Rouhani's visit last week, although Hollande hailed a "new relationship" after sealing a slew of lucrative trade deals drawn up after nuclear sanctions on Iran were lifted.

French President Francois Hollande (L) shakes hands with Cuban President 

Raul Castro upon his arrival on February 1, 2016 at the Elysee Presidential 

Palace in Paris (AFP Photo/Stephane de Sakutin)

Related Article:

France calls for end to US sanctions on Cuba during Castro visit

Brazil in steep slide on corruption index: Transparency International

Yahoo – AFP, Hui Min Neo, January 27, 2016

Transparency International said Brazil has slumped seven notches to 76th position out
of 168 countries over kickback allegations engulfing Petrobras (AFP Photo/Evaristo Sa)

Berlin (AFP) - Brazil, plagued by a scandal surrounding state oil giant Petrobas, registered the biggest plunge on the corruption index of watchdog Transparency International, which warned that emerging economies are struggling to shake off graft.

In its "Corruption Perceptions Index 2015" report, Transparency International said the Latin American country slumped seven notches to 76th position out of 168 countries over kickback allegations engulfing Petrobras.

On the other side of the globe, explosive graft claims surrounding Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak also laid bare corruption dogging the Asian state, it noted.

Overall, two-thirds of the countries measured by Transparency scored below the 50-point mark out of a top score of 100.

Nordic countries -- Denmark, Finland and Sweden -- topped the chart with their clean public sectors as in previous years, while strife-torn or repressive states -- Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia -- brought up the rear.

Emerging giants in particular showed a worrisome picture in the index used widely used as a gauge of the level of corruption by governments, legal systems, political parties and bureaucracies.

"All the BRICS are challenged, the countries that are the really up and coming in the world economy, they all score below 50 in our index," Robin Hodess, TI group director for research, told AFP, referring to Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

South Africa was in 61st place with 44 points. Brazil and India were tied in 76th place with scores of just 38, while China fared slightly worse, in 83th place with 37 points. Russia only came in at 119th, managing just 29 points.

Hodess noted that the Petrobras case has had a "tremendous impact... in the real uncovering of the way that the political networks and businesses have been covering up decades of corruption in the country".

"Things are starting to change, but this has been the scandal that brought Brazil into a difficult situation in terms of public sector perception of corruption."

The Latin American giant has been reeling over revelations that executives at Petrobras colluded with politicians and other businessmen to siphon off millions from the company through bribes and rigged contracts.

A massive probe dubbed "Operation Car Wash" has netted dozens of prominent figures, including high-ranking Congress members and executives at Petrobras and major construction firms.

President Dilma Rousseff herself has been investigated but so far emerged unscathed, although she was Petrobras chairwoman through much of the period when the corporation was at the centre of the embezzlement scheme.

Anti-corruption protesters in Malaysia demanded Prime Minister Najib Razak's

 resignation and electoral reforms in Kuala Lumpur on August 29, 2015 (AFP Photo/

Mohd Rasfan)

'Not enough political will'

Just hours ahead of the release of the Transparency index, Malaysia's top prosecutor cleared prime minister Najib of corruption, putting a spotlight on graft strangling the country's public sector.

In the long-running case that has gripped the nation, the attorney-general said on Tuesday that a $681 million (628 million euros) deposit in Najib's bank account was a personal donation from the Saudi royal family.

Najib has for months denied accusations that the payment came from a now struggling state-owned company he launched.

Samantha Grant, TI's Southeast Asia coordinator, said the verdict left key questions answered, including the reason for the donation.

"I think this case really highlights that kind of problem and the fact that while some measures have been taken, really getting to the bottom of the problem, and really working at the roots of corruption in Malaysia hasn't really been given enough political will and honest attention," she told AFP.

Malaysia scored 50 in the index and came in at 54th place, down four from last year.

TI, which uses data from institutions including the World Bank, the African Development Bank and business school IMD to compile the perceptions of the scale of public sector corruption, urged the public to prod their governments to carry out much needed reforms.

"Overall we think it's very important that not only the government comes in with the reforms we are looking for -- the policy changes, and enforcing them, but that these countries pay attention to people, to the efforts of people on the ground," said Hodess.

Emerging giant economies plagued by corruption: Transparency International https://t.co/Tn0Z0evJSh pic.twitter.com/xdNVoSVQxa

— AFP news agency (@AFP) January 27, 2016

Related Article:

Malaysia clears PM in scandal, says Saudis provided 'donation'

UN Security Council approves mission to monitor Colombia ceasefire

The United Nations has agreed to dispatch diplomats to monitor talks between the Colombian government and FARC rebels. The two sides have been at war with each other for more than five decades.

Deutsche Welle, 26 January 2016

The unanimous decision by the UN Security Council was made on Monday, not long after both Bogota and FARC requested that the UN participate in the ceasefire negotiations.

The British-drafted resolution will see the creation of a 12-month diplomatic mission to the South American country, which has been mired in a decades-long civil war between the government and leftist FARC rebels.

"This concrete mandate of the Security Council will benefit all Colombians and will contribute to build confidence in a country determined to overcome the aftermath of a decades-long conflict that caused too much suffering for generations," Colombian Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin told reporters following the vote, according to the Reuters news agency.

Peace in sight

Bogota officials and FARC leaders issued a joint statement last week requesting the UN's help in monitoring the rebels' disarmament, in what many observers said was a clear sign peace talks could finally be reaching an end.

Negotiators have set a March 23 deadline to end the conflict. Both sides have also agreed on a deal handling reparations for war victims.

Conflict first broke out between the government and the rebels in 1964, and has led to the deaths of some 220,000 people and the displacement of millions.

blc/cmk (Reuters, AP)

Related Article:

Colombian govt, FARC rebels ask UN to monitor peace

Bolivia's Morales marks decade in office, eying more

Yahoo – AFP, Raul Burgoa, January 21, 2016

Bolivian President Evo Morales (centre) welcomes the first rays of sunlight during
 a traditional ceremony celebrating his 10 years in office, at the pre-Inca archeological
site of Tiwanaku, on January 21, 2016 (AFP Photo/Aizar Raldes)

Tiahuanaco (Bolivia) (AFP) - Bolivian President Evo Morales, the country's first indigenous head of state, held an ancient ceremony Thursday to mark a record-setting 10 years in office -- a term he is now seeking to extend to 2025.

In a dawn ritual, the leftist leader raised his hands to receive the first rays of the morning sun, then breathed in the incense from a large pyre lit to bring good fortune.

The rite, set to the sounds of Andean music, was held at the archaeological site of Tiahuanaco (or Tiwanaku) in western Bolivia, a city of pre-Incan stone ruins thought to have been a spiritual and political center from AD 400 to 900.

"With this small but very important act, I would like to take the opportunity to express our gratitude for these 10 years of service to the Bolivian people," said the president, who faces accusations of seeking to cling to power.

Morales took office on January 22, 2006, after defying centuries of discrimination against Bolivia's indigenous communities to win a landslide election victory.

He has since presided over a period of robust economic growth and transformative changes for the long-suffering indigenous majority.

A former coca grower who got his start in politics as a union leader, he has deftly managed the resource-rich economy, which has more than tripled in size during his decade in office.

Bolivian President Evo Morales (C) greets the people at a traditional ceremony 

celebrating his 10 years in office, at the pre-Inca archeological site of Tiwanaku, 

on January 21, 2016 (AFP Photo/Aizar Raldes)

Thanks to that growth, Morales, an Aymara Indian who grew up with no running water or electricity, has managed to largely win over even his former critics in the business community.

"When I swore in as president in 2006, some of our opponents said, 'Poor little Indian, let him have fun for a few months. He won't be able to govern and after that we'll get rid of him,'" he has said.

But with the opposition riven by infighting, Morales, 56, has won resoundingly in the past three presidential elections: 54 percent of the vote in 2005, 64 percent in 2009 and 61 percent in 2014.

His politics blend the indigenous power movement with environmentalism and the "21st-century socialism" preached by late Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.

He has nationalized the oil, gas, mining and telecommunications sectors, rolled out welfare grants for the elderly, children and expecting mothers, and moved to empower marginalized groups -- especially the 65 percent of the population that is indigenous.

Defying opponents' dire warnings of economic catastrophe, Bolivia has instead boomed.

Despite plunging prices for its oil, its economy grew 4.8 percent last year, one of the strongest rates in Latin America.

Changing the constitution, again

The economic and political stability are welcome in the landlocked South American nation, which has had 160 coups since independence in 1825 and remains one of the region's poorest countries.

Bolivian President Evo Morales (C) makes an offering at a traditional ceremony 

celebrating his 10 years in office, at the pre-Inca archeological site of Tiwanaku

on January 21, 2016 (AFP Photo/Aizar Raldes)

But opponents accuse Morales of presiding over expanding corruption and investing in flashy big-ticket infrastructure projects at the expense of basic needs like health and education.

And "Evo," who is already the longest-serving president in Bolivian history, is increasingly accused of trying to cling to the presidency for as long as he can.

A new constitution adopted in 2009 imposes a limit of one reelection for sitting presidents, but Bolivia's Supreme Court ruled that Morales's first term was exempt -- clearing the way for him to run again in 2014.

His current term ends in 2020, but he is pushing for a referendum to amend the constitution and enable him to serve until 2025.

Morales has had an antagonistic relationship with the United States, defending coca growers from the US "war on drugs."

Besides being the base ingredient for cocaine, coca leaves are widely chewed in Bolivia and brewed as tea -- uses Morales argues are part of the country's cultural heritage.

In 2008 he kicked the US Drug Enforcement Agency out of the country, along with the American ambassador, accusing them of conspiring against his government.

Morales will officially mark the anniversary Friday with a ceremony in Congress, where he will deliver a nationally televised address.