Bolivia split in two by protests; deaths mourned

By Eduardo Garcia; September 12, 2008 - Reuters (via Alternet)
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N12423749.htm

SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Bolivia was split in two by protests and roadblocks on Friday, a day after eight people died in clashes between opponents and supporters of leftist President Evo Morales.

The president and the governor of Tarija, home to most of the country's huge natural gas reserves, agreed to meet on Friday for talks to end four days of confrontation that have injured dozens of people.

But three other rebel governors who oppose Morales' socialist reforms rejected the idea of talks and blamed the president for the violence and the chaos in Bolivia's natural gas industry, the country's biggest source of income.

Bolivia, the poorest country in South America, and the United States expelled each other's ambassadors on Thursday after Morales accused the U.S. of backing protests against him.

The rightist governors in eastern Bolivia have rebelled against the popular president, demanding autonomy and rejecting his plans to overhaul the constitution and break up ranches to give land to poor Indians.

Vice President Alvaro Garcia declared 24 hours of national mourning for the eight deaths in the Amazonian region of Pando. Most of the dead were pro-Morales farmers who the government said were killed by people associated with opposition politicians.

"We demand these coup mongers change their attitude, obey the law and obey democracy," Garcia said late on Thursday.

Garcia said the government would guarantee energy and food for all Bolivians despite roadblocks that have complicated transportation in the eastern part of the country.

Neighbors of impoverished Bolivia expressed concern that opposition groups were trying to topple Morales, who survived a recall election in August with an overwhelming 67 percent support.

Morales is Bolivia's first president of indigenous descent and has pledged a socialist transformation. The strongest opposition comes from the wealthy eastern part of the country, run by elites who are mostly of European descent.

Venezuela President Chavez said he would go to any lengths to defend Morales, implying military action, and threw out the United States ambassador in Caracas in sympathy with Bolivia.

Argentina and Brazil said they would not tolerate any attempts to overthrow Bolivia's government and offered to broker talks between the two sides.

But Bolivian newspapers reported on Friday that Morales asked neighbors not to send delegations yet, while he worked to resolve the situation internally.

Although the government has sent troops to protect natural gas pipelines and pumping stations, police and soldiers have largely stayed off the streets in Santa Cruz because they were a target for protesters.

Sabotage to valves and pipelines forced Bolivia to temporarily shut off natural gas exports to Brazil on Thursday, and exports to Argentina continued cut on Friday.

Opposition groups have taken over government buildings in Santa Cruz, the biggest city in the east and an anti-Morales stronghold. (Writing by Fiona Ortiz; Editing by David Storey)
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Eight killed in Bolivia clashes, U.S. tensions rise

By Eduardo Garcia; Thursday, September 11 - Reuters (via Yahoo)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080911/pl_nm/bolivia_dc

SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia (Reuters) - At least eight people were killed as violent anti-government protests flared in Bolivia on Thursday, creating havoc in the natural gas industry and raising tensions with the United States.

Washington ordered out the Bolivian ambassador in response to Bolivia's move a day earlier to oust the U.S. envoy whom President Evo Morales blamed for the escalating violence.

Opposition activists shot dead seven peasant farmers in the remote Amazon region of Pando, a government official said, describing the incident as a massacre. An employee of the opposition-led regional government was also killed.

"We're talking about a real massacre and the person responsible is the Pando governor," said Deputy Minister of Social Movements Sacha Llorenti.

Morales' leftist government blames the unrest on rightist governors who control four of the impoverished country's nine regions.

The opposition demands greater autonomy and energy revenue and opposes plans by Morales, a former coca farmer and Bolivia's first indigenous president, to rewrite the constitution and distribute land to the poor.

Clashes also erupted in Tarija, a region rich in natural gas, and anti-Morales demonstrators occupied public buildings in the eastern city of Santa Cruz, an opposition stronghold, for a third day.

American Airlines canceled flights to Santa Cruz, and Bolivia's Erbol radio said gunfire wounded five people after a militia-style anti-Morales youth group stormed a market in a pro-Morales neighborhood in that city.

RUNNING OUT OF PATIENCE

Troops were withdrawn from downtown Santa Cruz after several soldiers were beaten up in front of TV cameras earlier this week. The government response has been restrained.

However, Bolivia's ambassador to Brazil, Rene Dorfler, said on Thursday the government was considering imposing martial law.

"We've been asked for patience, prudence, and we're going to hang in there. But patience also has a limit," Morales said in a speech in La Paz, adding that large landholders who oppose his land reforms were financing the opposition.

In Washington, spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement that the State Department had "officially informed the government of Bolivia of our decision to declare Ambassador Gustavo Guzman persona non grata."

Morales on Wednesday ordered U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg to leave the country. Goldberg was still in Bolivia on Thursday, but a spokesman in Washington said he was expected to leave soon.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who leads a bloc of left-wing presidents in Latin America, vowed to come to the Bolivian president's aid if there was a coup.

"If the oligarchy, the Yankee stooges directed (and) financed by the empire (United States), topple any government we would have the green light to initiate whatever operation was needed to restore power to the people," he said.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva phoned Morales to encourage dialogue and a delegation from Argentina, Brazil and Colombia was set to travel to La Paz to facilitate talks, Brazil's Foreign Ministry said.

Bolivian Finance Minister Luis Arce said the army was sending more troops to natural gas fields and border crossings with Brazil after protesters vandalized pipelines and stormed a pumping station, cutting natural gas imports to Argentina and temporarily halving exports to Brazil.

Bolivia is the poorest country in South America and its economy is heavily dependent on natural gas. Brazil is Bolivia's biggest foreign investor and half of its natural gas needs are met by Bolivian imports.

The conflict stems from a power struggle between Morales and the governors of regions in eastern and central provinces with vast natural gas reserves and rich farmland.

Since taking office, Morales has channeled more state revenues and given more power to his Indian power base in western Bolivia, accentuating a rift with the mixed race population of the east.

(Additional reporting by Eduardo Garcia in La Paz and Susan Cornwell in Washington; editing by Fiona Ortiz)

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Violent Groups Take Over Human Rights Organization In Bolivia: Assault And Sacking Of Cejis In Santa Cruz

September 12, 2008

By Center for Juridical Studies and Social Investigation (CEJIS); September 12, 2008 - Znet
http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/18788

(9/11/2008)--Last afternoon, on September 9th a group of approximately 50 vandals entered by force, completely sacked and set on fire the offices of the Center for Juridical Studies and Social Investigation (CEJIS) in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Eastern Bolivia.

At 6 PM, three 4x4 vehicles and other motor vehicles arrived at the doors of the institution, from which descended youth armed with sticks, knives, torches and stones. They used one of the vehicles to knock down the entrance gate. The four police officers that were guarding the building fled for fear of reprisals. Once inside, the attackers robbed and destroyed what was in the interior. They broke displays, windows, doors, furniture, computer equipment, files, and documentation. They made a big fire in the street, before the violated doors of the institution and set other fires inside the office. Extremely important documentation on the progress of titling of indigenous land and other studies has been lost. Also destroyed and burned on the street was at least a third of the library, reknowned nationally for its important specialization in indigenous and agrarian issues. There were no injuries to the personnel due to the fact that they were evacuated slightly before the attack. The CEJIS offices in Trinidad and Riberalta, both in the state of Beni, are both under threat, where similar actions of violence are ongoing.

The offices of CEJIS, along with its personnel, were attacked more than 15 time in the last five years. In the last months the institution suffered two attacks with molotov cocktails (in November 2007 and last August). In its 30 years of work, CEJIS has provided legal assistance to indigenous, landless and peasant organizations in the process of titling their lands and territories. It has been a permanent ally of the social movements in the legal codification of their rights in national legislation, and advised and accompanied the progress of social organizations in the Constituent Assembly. This work has implied a permanent risk on the personnel and offices of CEJIS, threatened by the sectors of power that have historically controlled the region of Eastern Bolivia, who now feel menaced by the advance of the rights of the most marginalized sectors of our society.

Yesterday in the city of Santa Cruz, in addition to CEJIS, were also assaulted and sacked the regional offices of National Taxation, the national telecommunications company (ENTEL), the National Institute of Agrarian Reform (INRA), the Migration offices, the offices of state channel 7, the radio of the New Country Network. This chain of aggressions forms part of a plan that is in action and continues today with the attack on the national and regional indigenous organizations of Santa Cruz and the peasants rooted in the city, the popular radios - like Alternative Radio, which works out of the Women's House - and other human rights organizations, by the same groups that threw themselves against CEJIS.

The worsening of the violence in all of the Bolivian Orient, which started today under the slogan of a "better redistribution of oil income for the regions" has changed by a de facto coup in the states of this part of the country and a wave of intolerant and racist persecution to all that are considered its enemies, now with the demand that the Government of Evo Morales recognize a regional autonomy with separatist stripes, unacceptable for the majority of the population.

Because of all that stated:

1. We denounce the assualt and sacking of our offices in the city of Santa Cruz by a crowd organized by the people that are devastating the city.

2. We denounce that the lives and the security of our personnel is at risk, before the retreat of our office police guard and the total lack of security in the city for certain officials, now that the National Police and the Armed Forces are not acting.

3. We denounce before the closing of the main alternative media sources and the deterioration of the telephone lines of the Entel business, that freedom of expression and opinion in the state are restrcited and that the offices of CEJIS will remain temporarily closed.

4. We demand that the Local Police of the District of Santa Cruz and the National Police conduct an investigation and punish those responsibly, materially and intellectually of these deplorable acts, who are openly identified by the media,

5. We demand that the Bolivian state grant a guarantee of life and personal safety to the officials of CEJIS in Santa Cruz, Trinidad, and Riberalta and appeal to the international conventions on Human Rights to which it is subscribed.

We ask all human rights and civil society organization to declare themselves in solidarity with the situation in which Bolivia is living in.

Santa Cruz de la Sierra - BOLIVIA September 10th 2008

Translated by Andrew Lyubarsky

CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS JURÍDICOS E INVESTIGACIÓN SOCIAL - CEJIS

The original Spanish

GRUPOS VIOLENTOS TOMAN ORGANIZACIÓN DE DERECHOS HUMANOS EN BOLIVIA : ASALTO Y SAQUEO DEL CEJIS DE SANTA CRUZ

La tarde de ayer, martes 9 de septiembre, un grupo de aproximadamente 50 vándalos ingresó por la fuerza, saqueó completamente e incendió las oficinas del Centro de Estudios Jurídicos e Investigación Social (CEJIS) en Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Oriente de Bolivia.

A las 18 horas llegaron a las puertas de la institución tres vehículos 4x4 más otros motorizados, de donde descendieron jóvenes armados de palos, cuchillos, petardos y piedras. Utilizaron uno de los vehículos para echar abajo el portón de entrada. Los cuatro policías que resguardaban el edificio huyeron por temor a represalias. Una vez adentro, los atacantes robaron y destruyeron lo que había en su interior. Rompieron vitrinas, ventanas, puertas, muebles, enseres, equipos de computación, archivos, documentación. Realizaron una gran pira en la calle, ante las puertas violentadas de la institución y la hicieron arder, igual que otras fogatas iniciadas dentro de las oficinas del CEJIS. Se ha perdido importantísima documentación de seguimiento de los procesos de titulación de tierras de los pueblos indígenas, investigaciones. También fue destruida y quemada en la calle, por lo menos un tercio de la biblioteca, reconocida a nivel nacional por su importante especialización en la temática indígena y agraria. No hubo daños a las personas debido a que el personal fue evacuado poco antes del ataque. Están bajo amenaza las oficinas del CEJIS de Trinidad y Riberalta, ambas del departamento de Beni, donde se están llevando adelante también acciones de violencia similares.

Las oficinas del CEJIS, así como su personal, fueron atacadas más de 15 veces en los últimos cinco años. En los últimos meses la institución sufrió dos ataques con bombas molotov (en noviembre 2007 y en agosto pasado). En sus 30 años de trabajo, el CEJIS ha acompañado jurídicamente a las organizaciones indígenas, campesinas y sin tierra en los procesos de titulación de sus tierras y territorios. Ha sido un aliado permanente de los movimientos sociales en la consecución jurídica de sus derechos en la legislación nacional, asesorado y acompañando el seguimiento de las organizaciones sociales a la Asamblea Constituyente. Esta labor ha implicado permanente riesgo en las personas y en las oficinas del CEJIS, amenazadas por los sectores de poder que históricamente controlaron la región del Oriente boliviano, quienes se sienten ahora amenazados por el avance en los derechos de los sectores más desfavorecidos de la sociedad.

Ayer fueron también asaltados y saqueados en la ciudad de Santa Cruz, además del CEJIS, las oficinas regionales de Impuestos Nacionales, Grandes Contribuyentes (GRACO), Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (Entel), el Instituto Nacional de Reforma Agraria (INRA), Migraciones, el Canal 7 del Estado, la radio de la Red Patria Nueva, y otras oficinas en todo el Oriente boliviano. Esta cadena de agresiones forma parte de un plan que está en acción y sigue adelante hoy con el ataque a las organizaciones indígenas nacional y regional de Santa Cruz y campesinas con sede en esta ciudad, las radios populares -como Radio Alternativa, que funciona en la Casa de la Mujer- y otras organizaciones de Derechos Humanos, por cuenta de los mismos grupos que arremetieron contra el CEJIS.

El recrudecimiento de la violencia en todo el Oriente de Bolivia, que comenzó bajo la consigna de "una mejor redistribución de la renta petrolera para las regiones", ha cambiado por una toma de hecho de los departamentos de esta parte del país y una ola de persecución intolerante y racista a todos quienes ellos consideren sus "enemigos", ahora con la exigencia al Gobierno de Evo Morales de que reconozca una autonomía regional de ribetes separatistas, inaceptable para el grueso de la población.

Por todo lo expuesto:

1. Denunciamos el asalto y saqueo de nuestras oficinas en la ciudad de Santa Cruz, de parte de una turba organizada por las personas que están asolando esta ciudad.[P1]

2. Denunciamos que la vida y la seguridad de nuestro personal está en riesgo, ante el retiro del resguardo policial de la oficina y la falta total de seguridad en la ciudad para ciertos funcionarios, puesto que la Policía Nacional y las Fuerzas Armadas no están actuando.

3. Denunciamos ante el cierre de los principales medios alternativos de comunicación y el deterioro de las líneas de telefonía de la empresa Entel, que las libertades de expresión y opinión en el departamento están restringidas y las oficinas del CEJIS están temporalmente cerradas.

4. Exigimos a la Fiscalía del Distrito de Santa Cruz y la Policía Nacional, realice una pormenorizada investigación y sancione a los responsables, materiales e intelectuales de estos deplorables hechos, quienes están plenamente identificados por los medios de comunicación.

5. Exigimos al Estado boliviano otorgue las garantías para la vida e integridad personal de los funcionarios del CEJIS en Santa Cruz, Trinidad y Riberalta, y se ajuste a los convenios internacionales de Derechos Humanos a los que está suscrito.

Pedimos a todas las organizaciones de Derechos Humanos y de la sociedad civil solidarizarse por la situación que está viviendo Bolivia.

Santa Cruz de la Sierra - BOLIVIA 10 de septiembre 2008