Once Again, Bolivia is Struck by Protest and Government Violence Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2000 09:06:41 -0400 Dear Friends: I am writing this to those of you who followed with interest, last April, the important protest against the privatization of Cochabamba's water supplies. During a week that brought this city of 600,000 at a standstill, left one youth dead and hundreds of people injured, an important victory was won with the return of the region's water to public hands. This week major protests are again spreading throughout Bolivia and especially through the region of Cochabamba. Public school teachers throughout the country have been on strike for a week. Residents of the Chapare jingle region of Cochabamba, about 90 miles from the city, have blockaded the major highway between Santa Cruz and Cochabamba, two of the country's largest cities. There the protest is against forced eradication of the remaining coca leaf crop, without due compensation from the government, and against the US's construction of three major Bolivian military bases in the region. Closer to the city, as well as in La Paz, major highways are also blockaded by protesters, related to a variety of water and land rights issues. Protest leaders and government representatives are negotiating in several different forums, but at the same time the military is pounding protesters with tear gas grenades, and often life ammunition, which has left many, many injured and yesterday afternoon, left two area residents dead. In the interest of keeping people informed, I am enclosing below an article on one set of events, in nearby Parotani, written by my colleague here, Thomas Kruse who is close to those involved. As events continue we will keep you informed. Jim Shultz The Democracy Center JShultz@democracyctr.org ********************************************************** BOLIVIAN GOVERNMENT USES CIVILIANS TO COVER IT'S MILITARY OPERATIONS - SEPTEMBER 24, 2000 by Tom Kruse, Cochabamba, Bolivia tkruse@albatros.cnb.net Cochabamba. At least two people were killed and over 10 wounded today in confrontation between Bolivian military and protesters near the community of Parotani, about 350 km from La Paz, Bolivia's capital, when government troops, under civilian cover, fired tear gas and live ammunition on protesters. For more than a week Bolivia has been convulsed by waves of protests by peasants, coca growers, public school teachers and others. One key form of protest has been the blocking of major highways, effectively cutting off regions one from the other, and Bolivia from neighboring countries. In April of this year Cochabamba, Bolivia was the site of fierce protests that succeeded in reverting privatization of the local water system by a Bechtel Corporation affiliate, and forced substantive changes to water legislation that local communities felt would cause them to lose control of their indigenous water systems. In the current protests, local groups are demanding approval of those legislative changes and final termination of the contract with the Bechtel affiliate. Those protests were joined by rural and urban public school demanding wage increases, and coca growers demanding an end to US financed coca leaf eradication and military base construction in Cochabamba's Chapare region. At 1:30am this morning, the Bolivian Permanent Human Rights Assembly mediated negotiations between Prefect José Orías of Cochabamba and protest leaders, to allow a small number of trucks carrying chickens and buses carrying travelers, stranded for various day in Cochabamba. Protest leaders indicated they would make efforts to ensure safe passage of the caravan, but indicated that blockade leaders would be hard to reach until morning. At about 2:00am the caravan left, and, unbeknownst to the protest leaders, accompanied by about 100 heavily armed regular army troops. Protest leaders indicate that at no time during the negotiations did the Governor indicate the caravan would be militarized, and hand they known, they never would have approved it's departure. At 4:00am the first reports of confrontations between the military accompanying the convoy and protesters were reported. At just after 4:00pm the first confirmed reports of dead and wounded came in. Sacha Llorentti, representative of the Bolivian Permanent Human Rights Assembly, and member of the National council of Human Rights in Bolivia, and who mediated the negotiations that led to the caravan's departure, feels the Prefect Orías lied to him. In a radio interview he commented, "We feel betrayed. At no time did the Prefect suggest that he would send dozens of well armed soldiers with the civilian convoy. Had we known, the [Human Rights] Assembly would never have played a role in negotiating the convoy's departure. We feel the Prefect deliberately used the Assembly and innocent travelers and truckers as cover for military operations." Protest leaders have called for a mass public assembly to consult with local organizations regarding the next steps to be taken. What is certain is that with the recent government violence, protests are destined to continue.