Bolivian human rights delegation in the US this week
We would like to call attention to several opportunities this week to hear public presentations from a Bolivian human rights delegation visiting the United States. Rogelio Mayta, an attorney representing the family members of those killed in the Gas War of 2003, will be speaking on human rights issues and urging the U.S. government to notify Bolivia's ex-President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada and two of his former ministers, Carlos Sanchez Berzain and Jorge Berindoague, of their obligation to return to Bolivia immediately for trial in the deaths of 67 people and more than 400 wounded during October of 2003.
Mayta has been meeting with government officials at the U.S. State and Justice Departments, as well as key congressional leaders, to urge that U.S. officials fulfill this request from the Bolivian government, which was received by the U.S. State Department on June 22, 2005. To date, the U.S. government has failed to notify the three men or give an official response. The matter is a critical one for the Bolivian people, as the trial cannot proceed without formal notification of Sanchez de Lozada, Sanchez Berzain and Berindoague, all of whom have resided in the U.S. since fleeing Bolivia in October 2003.
In New York, Mayta will also be joined by Oscar Olivera, spokesperson for Cochabamba's Committee in the Defense of Water and Life.
Wednesday, October 4 in New York City
HUMAN RIGHTS, INDIGENOUS POLITICS, AND INTERNATIONAL LAW
A Lecture and Discussion presented by NYU Law Students for Human Rights
6:00 PM at Vanderbilt Hall Room 206, 40 Washington Square South (W 4) between Sullivan/McDougal
Thursday, October 5 on Democracy Now radio show
8:00 AM on your local Pacifica radio station or at www.democracynow.org
Thursday, October 5 in Washington, D.C.
HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN BOLIVIA
7:00 PM at All Souls Unitarian Church, 1500 Harvard St NW near the Columbia Heights metro station
Saturday, October 7 in Washington, D.C.
HOUSE PARTY WITH OSCAR AND ROGELIO
7:00 PM at 1830 Belmont Road, NW
A showing of the movie "Fuera" (Out!) about the Suez corporation's abuses in El Alto, Bolivia and the people's struggle to regain control of their water resources. There will also be short presentations by Oscar and Rogelio followed by discussion.
This will be in the Belmont house in Adams Morgan between 18th and Colombia NW; between the Dupont Circle (red line) and Colombia Heights (green line) metro stops.
Tuesday, October 10in Falls Church, Virginia
MEET NILA HEREDIA MIRANDA, BOLIVIAN MINISTER OF HEALTH
7:00 PM at Restaurant Tutto Bene, 501 N. Randolph Street
Presentation and discussion with Nila Heredia Miranda, Minister of Health in Bolivia, discussing strategies for improving health care in Bolivia and speaking about current events in the country.
To arrive by Metro: Ballston stop (Blue/Orange), go east on Fairfax Dr. (toward Stafford St., away from Stuart St.), go about 2 blocks to Randolph St. Turn right and go until the corner of N. Randolph and 5th Rd. N.
To arrive by car: Take 66 East from DC, take exit to Route 50. Exit on to Glebe Rd., turn right. Turn right onto Randolph St., a few streets ahead. Restaurant is immediately on right.
For more information about these events, contact David Kane, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns at dkane@maryknoll.org; or visit ww.juiciogoniya.org.bo or www.boliviasolidarity.org.
Mayta has been meeting with government officials at the U.S. State and Justice Departments, as well as key congressional leaders, to urge that U.S. officials fulfill this request from the Bolivian government, which was received by the U.S. State Department on June 22, 2005. To date, the U.S. government has failed to notify the three men or give an official response. The matter is a critical one for the Bolivian people, as the trial cannot proceed without formal notification of Sanchez de Lozada, Sanchez Berzain and Berindoague, all of whom have resided in the U.S. since fleeing Bolivia in October 2003.
In New York, Mayta will also be joined by Oscar Olivera, spokesperson for Cochabamba's Committee in the Defense of Water and Life.
Wednesday, October 4 in New York City
HUMAN RIGHTS, INDIGENOUS POLITICS, AND INTERNATIONAL LAW
A Lecture and Discussion presented by NYU Law Students for Human Rights
6:00 PM at Vanderbilt Hall Room 206, 40 Washington Square South (W 4) between Sullivan/McDougal
Thursday, October 5 on Democracy Now radio show
8:00 AM on your local Pacifica radio station or at www.democracynow.org
Thursday, October 5 in Washington, D.C.
HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN BOLIVIA
7:00 PM at All Souls Unitarian Church, 1500 Harvard St NW near the Columbia Heights metro station
Saturday, October 7 in Washington, D.C.
HOUSE PARTY WITH OSCAR AND ROGELIO
7:00 PM at 1830 Belmont Road, NW
A showing of the movie "Fuera" (Out!) about the Suez corporation's abuses in El Alto, Bolivia and the people's struggle to regain control of their water resources. There will also be short presentations by Oscar and Rogelio followed by discussion.
This will be in the Belmont house in Adams Morgan between 18th and Colombia NW; between the Dupont Circle (red line) and Colombia Heights (green line) metro stops.
Tuesday, October 10in Falls Church, Virginia
MEET NILA HEREDIA MIRANDA, BOLIVIAN MINISTER OF HEALTH
7:00 PM at Restaurant Tutto Bene, 501 N. Randolph Street
Presentation and discussion with Nila Heredia Miranda, Minister of Health in Bolivia, discussing strategies for improving health care in Bolivia and speaking about current events in the country.
To arrive by Metro: Ballston stop (Blue/Orange), go east on Fairfax Dr. (toward Stafford St., away from Stuart St.), go about 2 blocks to Randolph St. Turn right and go until the corner of N. Randolph and 5th Rd. N.
To arrive by car: Take 66 East from DC, take exit to Route 50. Exit on to Glebe Rd., turn right. Turn right onto Randolph St., a few streets ahead. Restaurant is immediately on right.
For more information about these events, contact David Kane, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns at dkane@maryknoll.org; or visit ww.juiciogoniya.org.bo or www.boliviasolidarity.org.
posted by The Democracy Center at 10:33 PM
The Democracy Center, based in Cochabamba Bolivia and San Francisco California, works globally to advance human rights through a combination of investigation and reporting, training citizens in the art of public advocacy, and organizing international citizen campaigns. If you like the Blog, consider becoming a subscriber to The Democracy Center's free e-newsletter by sending us an email at 
30 Comments:
How about the murders caused by the protesting indians? One of my friends, her father was a police officer, a guard on duty at the presidential palace. He was simply doing his job when protesters decided to throw a stick of Dynamite towards the palace, it blew up, he suffered severe injuries and later died. This sort of thing has happend alot. What do you expect to happen when people are throwing sticks of dynamite around? Should we go gallavanting around the globe making money off of poverty and others deaths? It is incredible to me how you will use anything to your advantage, even religion when it comes in handy for you to spread your ubalanced theory of justice. For further reading I suggest the article written by Jim Schultz, "JESUS AND MCDONALDS" from 1999 which you can read by searching his website.
and Ken Griffey Jr. Never needed to Cork his bat either
thanks for the info in the DC date. I'll make sure that the people in assitance understand that there's very little regard for Human Rights within the MAS.
In my understanding (and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) this is far from a case of an authoritarian government sending out troops to intentionally kill non-violent protestors (which is how it is potrayed).
It was a case of violent - nearly insurgent - protestors avowedly in La Paz to take down (overthrow?) a democratically elected government by any means necessary getting killed by troops in La Paz sworn to protect the democratically elected government by force if necessary.
We can fight all day about Bolivian politics at that time, but Goni was a democractically elected president and there were electoral and judicial means of getting him out.
I do not know of any place where it is considered unacceptable for a government to use force to put down an armed insurection - particularly where that government is democratically elected and where legal means exist for removing him from power.
I'm not even sure that the protesters represented a majority viewpoint in the country at that time. Probably not.
I wonder if those who want to try Goni on charges, would be similarly motivated if Tarijenos and Crucenos storm La Paz with the expressed intent of taking down the current government....
Goni failed and possible out of touch leader who used an unecessarily heavy hand leading to unfortunate deaths - I can buy that, though that's not really my analysis.
Goni serious human rights violator? Not buying it.
And does anyone honestly think Goni'd get a fair trial??
Something I see too often in fora such as this is a conflation of violent crime with human rights abuses. In universal, humanistic terms, yes, violent crime - be it directed against governments or individuals, perpetrated by protesters, terrorists, or common muggers - violates the rights of the human victims. But Human Rights as a legalistic term refers to crimes committed by those in authority (usually governments; sometimes quasi-governmental authorities in failed states, situations of warlordism, etc.).
There is an important reason for the distinction. It is not to dismiss or belittle the impact of other crimes on victims or on society at large. It is tragic when a police officer dies in the line of duty, just as it is tragic when civilians are blown up by suicide bombers, or when kids are shot by other kids in gangs, etc. But the perpetrators of those crimes are not official, legally sanctioned, internationally recognized representatives of entire societies the way governments are. One definition of government is that it is that institution which enjoys a monopoly on legitimized violence. We arm the state to protect us, with violence, from anyone else who might harm us with violence - effectively even from ourselves. That is an awesome power, an awesome responsibility. Hence, it is generally understood that the government must be held to the highest possible standards, and checked by the strictest limits on the use of that power. Police musn't adopt the standards of criminals in order to fight criminals; all is not fair in war; torture is a crime even in a Global War On Terror; etc.
And even with all of the checks on government power and use of force, experience tells us that it is still far more difficult to hold government authorities accountable for their abuses than it generally is to hold other kinds of criminals accountable. People tend to accept the idea that armed governments are necessary and generally serve the common good, so we are far more likely to accept the defense arguments of, say, the Goni regime than we are to accept whatever justification one might offer for trying to overthrow a democratic government with force.
And perhaps that is how it should be, but I think it is important to note the distinctions. Attacks on police officers by citizens are not exactly Human Rights violations in the way that police attacks on nonviolent protesters or working nurses are.
As for Goni getting a fair trial, he may not, and he deserves one. But he never had a big problem with unfair trials in Bolivia when they served the power structures atop which he sat.
W/o getting into a huge debate on the issues, the key word is "nonviolent" protestors. The protesters who were throwing dynamire or, worse, the protesters who were using rifles to attack soldiers on their way to rescue a thousand hostages were *NOT* "nonviolent" protesters. Neither were the members of the police mutiny that opened fire on the presidential palace in February 2003. Do states have the right to, in certain times, use force to protect a government? Yes.
I'm all for a public, open, fair hearing on accountability. And Goni should answer questions. So should Jaime Solares, Felipe Quispe, Robeto de la Cruz, Evo Morales, and a long list of others -- on both side of the aisle.
But if we're going to call the events of October "genocide" -- as many on the Bolivian left do -- then we're belittling the meaning of the word. A "genocide" does not mean "multiple homicides". It means something like what happened in Rwanda, Bosnia, or Cambodia. Those were genocides. When we use the word flippantly, it betrays that we're more concerned w/ scoring publicity points than in really wrestling w/ the issues.
Finally, I would note that many in the human rights community argue -- and I agree w/ them -- that human rights violants *CAN* be made by non-official groups or individuals. I'm all for holding governments to a higher standard, but not to an unreasonable standard. A cop commits a human rights violation if he shoots a teenager on the street. But give that teenager a Tec-9, aiming it at a cop, and the situation changes radically. And we need to understand that.
It's easy for foreigners to talk in abstract terms. But I was in La Paz, Bolivia, from September 2003 through July 2004. So I saw these things up close. I saw protesters hurl dynamite into crowds, I saw them attack office secretaries, I saw them kill a shoeshine boy, and I saw them whip an old man w/ their "chicotes". All this on a day when Mesa (not Goni, this was after) refused to send any police to control the streets. That violence -- the smashed windows, the physical attacks on anyone who dared jeer or say anything -- was perpetrated entirely by protesters who had already overthrown Goni. And I saw Jaime Solares & Roberto de la Cruz leading them on, before launching into a series of rambling speeches from the balcony that overlooks the Plaza de Heroes.
Let's not overly romanticize the "peaceful" protesters. This were not the Million Mom March.
(I'm the guy who wrote what you're responding to...)
Excellent post - except for the last sentence which is really beside the point, isn't it?
I agree with virtually everything you said, and I particularly agree with your desire to have a strict definition of human rights abuses.
You said it far better than I did.
However the point I was trying to make is NOT the protesters are culpable of human rights violations. Not at all. I just think that given who the protesters were and what they were doing, some type of a violent response from the government was certainly not outside the realm of reason and (again, given the existence of democratic and legal means of achiving change) arguably the appropriate response.
But again, without knowing the facts deeply enough to talk specifics, I just have deep doubts about this rising to the level of "human rights abuses".
I've seen people toss around terms like "genocide" at the drop of a hat. (And speaking of devalued concepts, I used to think a hunger strike was a big deal undertaken with deep conviction until I lived through my 345th 5-day hunger strike about some comparatively trivial issue while living in Bolivia)
My point was that I don't think Goni's actions rise to the level of "human rights abuses". And I think calling them that devalues the meaning of the term and distorts the reality of what was happening at the time.
I would love to see Goni go through a fair trial. If he was exonerated (as I believe he would be) it would be healthy for Bolivian society to quit scapegoating whoever was in office last, and if (contrary to my expectations) he is guilty, it would be far better to have it established clearly in an impartial court of law rather than by rumor an innuendo on the street.
But again, I think that type of trial is utterly unrealistic and an unfair trial would be worse than the pragmatic "everybody bury their head and wait till it blows over" attitude the US government seems to be taking.
hey mcentellas... looks like we were not only writing at the same time (your post wasn't up when I started mine) but that we were writing nearly the same thing.
One more clarification - the "last sentence isn't relevant" comment does not refer to mcentellas post - it refers to the one above it - i.e. the Goni government didn't have fair trials.
A few responses:
1) I, too, think the use of the word - and criminal charge of - genocide by Goni's pursuers is regretable and detracts from the seriousness of the case against him. I have friends whom I respect who are very involved in the movement to bring him to trial, and it is partly in reaction to the charge of genocide that I have stayed basically uninvolved in such efforts.
2) That said, all of the friends, colleagues, and acquaintances I know and trust who were there during Black October (I was not, but followed events as closely as I could from the U.S.), as well as the news I followed at the time (and no, for the record, that did not consist only of this blog, although I do think it was a good source of information and insight) suggested that there is, in fact, a very strong argument to be made concerning human rights abuses during those events.
I do not question whether some (even significant numbers of) protesters committed acts of violence or provoked police or soldiers into what would be legally sanctioned violence. But that does not seem to be true in the case of all of the October 2003 deaths and injuries. During and after the violence, there was much to suggest that Sanchez de Lozada could have prevented much of the bloodshed caused by the troops under his command, even given the very difficult circumstances of those days.
Were the protests purely nonviolent? No. Were they purely violent? No. Would "some type of violent response from the government" likely have been within the law? Yes. None of that settles the question of whether the actual violence committed by the government during those days did or did not violate the human rights of civilians killed, injured, and threatened.
(And, while a cop who shoots an unarmed kid may be a human rights abuser while a cop who shoots a kid with a Tec-9 is less likely one, neither is the kid with the Tec-9 going to be tried for human rights abuses - in the situation I think mcentellas is evoking, the kid would be tried for attempted murder of a police officer, a severe but different kind of crime.)
3. I agree that a fair tribunal would be the appropriate venue to establish the truth about those days. And I realize I came across as flip about the possibility that Goni wouldn't find such a tribunal in Bolivia. It goes without saying, but I'll repeat: he deserves a fair trial. But I think it is appropriate, when laying the alleged absence of such a court at the feet of the current government attempting to try Goni, to also note the irony of Goni's own complicity in creating the legacy of the feeble Bolivian justice system to which he may now fall prey. That's not right, but it is notably ironic (some, less concerned with true justice than I, might call it poetic justice).
And, regarding whether the very notion of Goni as HR violator is conceivable, there is no doubt in my mind, having worked in the areas of human rights and criminal justice in Bolivia during Goni's first presidency, that the man is, in fact, a human rights violator. As it happens, the corrupt and inept courts (i.e. the above-mentioned justice system) were one of the main instruments of his abuses.
[4. And regarding hunger strikes, I think many of the Bolivian protests commonly called hunger strikes are in fact fasts, which are different than Irish/Gandhi-style hunger strikes, but are probably also technically hunger strikes in that a) they do get hungry, and b) other kinds of strikes (labor stoppages, etc.) can also be of limited scope or predetermined duration. But I have also witnessed full-on, intense, honest-to-goodness hunger strikes in Bolivia.]
I know this paints me as a Goni sympathizer and/or apologist. But ... I do think his government took many steps to avoid bloodshed.
The deaths in Warisata were produced *AFTER* an indigenous/campesino ambush attacked a caravan of troops & rescued hostages. Several soldiers were killed/wounded before they opened fire. From there, things escalated. Now that event is recounted as a massacre -- which is like calling Custer's defeat a massacre, I suppose.
During October, there were several attacks on police, military, and other government installations. In the chaos, w/ some of the protesters armed (very few, but enough to cause worries) -- including those publicized photos of indigenous/campesino/miners militias drilling -- increased tensions dramatically. For much of that month, I saw the government regularly attempt dialogue, which was rebuffed. At every turn, attempts were made to cave into the demands, which were then simple changed to something else.
Having known quite a bit about Solares and his tactics, I can tell you that these kinds of confrontations were purposeful. Solares (and his ilk) are true believes in Trotskyite-Guevarra revolutionary tactics. They believe that a revolution can be created, by increasing the state repression. In other words, you purposefully attack the government in such a way that requires a violent response, which then looks bad for the government, which increases popular support for your cause. In other words, the tactics specifically demand high-profile casualties.
Similarly, the February 2003 protests -- which involved police facing off against soldiers, both armed w/ high caliber weapons -- was joined by schoolboys, who were ordered to participate by their syndicalist teachers. Again, this fits the profile: purposefullly place children in the line of fire, when they're injured/killed, blame the government for "deliberately" targetting children.
Another example. When the COB supporters descended on El Alto and closed that city off from La Paz, it was meant to shut down the government. How? The people of La Paz, the middle class people, have refrigerators & food pantries to last a week or more. The people in El Alto do not; they live from daily grocery purchases in the mercados. It took a week of virtually starving the population of El Alto -- and this was done by the COB/COR which refused to allow any food or other traffic in/out of the city -- before the general El Alto population also joined the ranks of the protesters.
I know people from the tembladeras (the neighborhoods on the border between El Alto & La Paz) who were told by COB/COR militants that they'd have their house dynamited if they didn't join the barracades. I find it interesting that the Solares/De la Cruz supporters now call themselves the "Talibanes" -- the name fits them & their intimidation tactics.
I find it interestint to type this today, after more people have died under Evo's watch. Is the president of Bolivia responsible for every death that happens in his country in times of political turmoil? Is there no personal accountability for other social leaders? Or for the individuals themselves?
I'm all for the right to peacefully protest. It's a sacred right, in my opinion, in any democratic system. I'm also in favor of holding government leaders accountable for their actions. And certainly I support the protection of human rights. But the ways things have gone on in Bolivia in the past 4-5 years, w/ some groups claiming victim status even after they've initiated new rounds of violence, I get frustrated. And especially when (well-intentioned) people, assume that "all social movements are good" (as if anti-democratic social movements couldn't exist) or that "all indigeous groups are good" (as if we're returning to the European fascination w/ "the noble savage") we can make incredibly over-broad simplifications of what is a very complex reality.
I also wonder when we're going to see some criticisms of Evo's handling of the coca deaths in the Yungas? Or his attacks on the Supreme Court & other representative institutions? How about a discussion of whether the Santa Cruz social movements should be treated like the Andean social movements?
I also want to add a note on Goni and the justice system. It's become incredibly easy to argue that since Goni was "responsible" for the February/October events, that he's also somehow responsible for Bolivia's political system since long before. Yes and no.
We forget that Goni's first administration passed a long list of reforms -- reforms specifically meant to improve the quality of democracy, the representation of minorities, and increase transparency & accountability. Not all of them worked, of course. But he tried. If we focus only on the privitization scheme (which was actually a "capitalization" scheme and much more complicated than a simple privatization scheme), we forget the following:
-- The municipalizatin of the country: this gave small, local governments for the first time in the history of the republic, direct local elections AND a guaranteed funding source as 20% of the national budget was distributed on a per capita basis towards these new local governments. This measure, btw, was also done purposefully to avoid decentralizing the country to the departmental level.
-- Revisions to the land reform law, which again recognized communal land ownership.
-- Changing the constitution to recognize that Bolivia is a "plurinational" country. Along w/ this came educational reform that encouraged bilingual & indigenous-language public education. Goni's running mate and vice president was an indigenous leader, Victor Hugo Cardenas (his wife publicly wore the pollera at state functions).
-- Creation of the nation's first ever social security pension plan for the elderly, the BONOSOL.
-- Reforms to the electoral system that allowed for half the parliament to be elected by direct popular vote in local congressional districts.
-- Legal reforms that introduced a sort of "jury trial" system where cases were heard before judges, as well as public representatives (essentially, a small jury panel).
On the balance, it doesn't sound like he was an evil man, does it? Moreover, if it matters to Americans. He describes himself as "progressive" and detests president Bush & opposes the war in Iraq. So he doesn't much sound like a Washington puppet either, does he?
Again. Life is much more complex than a simple "enemy" v. "friend" dichotomy. Despite the efforts of some of us to think in terms of "us" v. "evil-doers".
For Cantellas:
As an academic I am sure you understand the distinction between citable facts versus a rainfall of unsubstantiated claims, such as those here. Perhaps you'd like to enlighten us with sources for such things as:
"...was joined by schoolboys, who were ordered to participate by their syndicalist teachers."
So you have hard proof that the students involved had no opinion or passion of their own?
Where's your footnote?
Miguel,
I've seen a portion of what you've spoken of and have spoken to plenty to corroborate it. Tactics used during that time included extreme coercion to get people to protest. I watched as the government sought a peaceful solution time and again only to have the requirement changed. International press, unable to understand the motivation, headlines read "Bolivia Protests to Stay Poor". You cannot have revolution if you allow the government to meet the needs of the people. You must keep the people miserable. That is precisely what happened and it was with purpose.
Anon, if you choose not to believe it, that's your prerogative. BTW your engaging in non-sequitur logic. That students had their own opinion, one way or the other, does not negate that they were compelled to protest.
just here to lend a helping hand. I will rephrase anon's question to get around Norman's legalistic block:
So you have hard proof that students involved participated only because they were forced to by teachers, and not because of an opinion or passion of their own, or perhaps even in spite of their teachers/elders dissaproval?
I have anecdotical evidence (what the hell, its the going currency for us commenters here) that many friends and acquaintances participated gladly of their own free will. Some of them did stupid things like throwing rocks, others were just caught up in the moment. I agree that genocide is the wrong term, but to me it is criminal to not have made that clear and easy distinction. (for the hard-headed... helping the wounded != violent protest)
Two points:
About the schoolchildren being ordered to do something....I believe this and it can be easily verified with interviews. It is a common practice among sindicatos to force their members to do things against their will and that puts them in peril. Benefits, like in the case of the UMSA where a substantial part of your grade o the "right" to take a final exam, depend on the number of protests one assists.
Finally, to the argument that only the government can violate human rights, I would point to the fact that in most Bolivia there is a power/authority/legal/gov't vaccum. Even in certain cities, like Achacachi or Villa Tunari, the goverment needs permision to simply enter. During Goni's time, Evo et al were the de facto leaders of de facto autonomous areas with their own system of government, laws, and means of enforcement. Under this power structure the official Bolivia police officers should be considered armed civilians and the bloqueadores as the enforcement arm of these de facto states.
The events of February/October as reported by Amnesty International:
http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engamr180062004
The events of February as reported by the Organization of American States:
http://www.oas.org/OASpage/esp/Documentos/InfBO-051203.htm
The events as reported by CEDIB (a left-leaning news organization in Cochabamba):
http://www.cedib.org/impunidad/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=807&Itemid=41
You won't (easily) find any sources to "prove" that the teachers of the Colegio Ayacucho told their students to protest. But if you know La Paz politics, you'll know that the Colegio Ayacucho has a reputation as having strong syndicalist teachers (maestros). It's also evident that the students left the school at 10am shartp, organized, as a group. Did they intend to attack the palace? It's unclear. But there was video evidence of them taking stones out of the backpacks to throw at the presidential palace. In short, they put themselves between the soldiers guarding the presidential palace and the mutinied police. In short order, the military attempted to break up the student demonstrators, and then the police opened fire against the military. The students were caught in a cross-fire (as were many other civilians).
Of course, Anon probably wouldn't find any evidence convincing, and certainly won't trust those of us who saw such events first-hand or are intricately familiar w/ Bolivian (and especially La Paz) political life. I also notice that he/she didn't respond to any of the positive progressive policies of Goni's first administration. None of that fits into the simplistic narrative: Goni government bad; protesters good. Sorry, life's more complicated than that.
But since you wanted a specific "footnote" or reference:
http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?pid=S0718-10432003002500005&script=sci_arttext
Of course, you may complain that it's in Spanish (does Anon read Spanish?) or that it's from a "Chilean" source. But SciELO is the Chilean version of JSTOR (an academic database) and the article was written by a member of the Michoacán School of Rural Studies and from the Vrije Amsterdam University. If that helps you be more trusting.
Enjoy.
Very interesting share of anecdotes from October 2003 and description of the ways the so called “social movements” and syndicates forced “many” of the people against their will to the streets. But all of you failed to write about why those leaders, Evo, De La Cruz, etc, etc. are not legally accused for genocide like Gony.
Today, we are all aware that the ousting of Gony and later, Mesa; was a very well calculated, premeditated conspiracy by MAS and several smaller groups united in their search for blood baths and martyrs, witch Jim was proud and fast to present on this Blog on those times.
You all must understand, and learn, that one of the most important groups allied to MAS and Evo on those times, and with close ties still today, is the General Assembly for Human Rights in Bolivia; the official entity in charge of human rights in our country as accepted by the U.N. In October 2003, this entity in Bolivia was leaded by Sacha Llorenty; whom Evo intended to pay back for his “services” naming him his first ambassador to the U.S. This meant that in those times MAS and the “social movements” could murder people, which they did, and take from the rest of Bolivians several of our human rights, which they did, and be sure that the official human rights entity to the U.N. will say little more than they regret the deaths of innocent cops or army recruits, which they did.
Why should Gony go to trial? because he broke the law and called the army without decreeing a “estado de sitio”, don’t know the exact words in English. And that is why the Army Generals should also go to trial, because they very well knew that they could go to the streets only after an “estado de sitio” is issued by the executive. I believe, then, as I believe know, that we must live respecting the law to avoid having our Country as a “nobody’s land”. Something that happened in October 2003 and that is again, by the same MAS actors, happening today; some people just do not want to learn.
I thing Gony and everybody accused should stand trial, but not until the Evo era finishes, which I hope will be soon; and several people should be added to those trials, starting with Evo and continuing with all of leaders that believed were the “winners” in October 2003; fools, there were no winners, only losers, us Bolivians.
Talking about Goni and his use of force to protect Bolivians against protesters (and criminals, the ones with the dynamites); now we have Huanuni.
Evo decided not to use the military to protect Bolivians in Huanuni.
La razon: Los muertos ya son 21 y el Gobierno envía 700 policías para controlar Huanuni
http://www.la-razon.com/versiones/20061006_005686/nota_244_341455.htm
MAS government washes its hands accusing "the rise on the price of minerals" as the responsable of the problems in Huanuni. MAS government say they are not responsible for this killings.
Huanuni is a problems that has been present since months ago. The main actor of the issue had been calling for blood (union leaders).
It goes with out saying that the MAS government should had sent Military force long time ago; now they send 700 police, not military, after many deaths are already piling up.
Now I want to see how the leftist will spin this one to conclude Evo is not responsable for the many killings in Huanuni.
Why do you say that he should send military? The role of the police typically is enforcing the law within the national boundaries. The role of the military typically is defense of the national interest against foreign forces. The military may act in a domestic role under a state of martial law (estado de sitio). I'm picking nits here, but I truly believe that Bolivia does not understand this. You don't need to declare martial law to call out the police; you do for the military. Is Bolivian law different in this?
BTW B-L, that's the first reasonable argument I've heard for bringing Goni to trial; not declaring martial law first.
The Posse Comitatus jurisprudence does not exist in Bolivia
Police only have sticks, while miners have dinamite sticks.
If you know anything about miners, you'll know that they are like palestinias, willing to die. Only the military has the equipment to deal with suicide miners
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