Senior official: Bolivian police foil attempts to overthrow president

Senior official: Bolivian police foil attempts to overthrow president
www.chinaview.cn 2008-10-10 10:06:10

LIMA, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- Bolivian police have foiled an attempt by an opposition group to overthrow President Evo Morales, a senior government official said Thursday.

Bolivian Interior Vice Minister Ruben Gamarra said the police dismantled an arsenal of weapons in eastern Santa Cruz province on Wednesday night, news reports said.

In an operation named "Arsenio," officers detained four people, seized five vehicles, machine guns, grenades, anti-tank rockets, gas launchers and other weapons, Gamarra was quoted as saying.

Referring to the weapons, Gamarra said "that is an arsenal of a criminal organization prepared to cause fear to people."

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http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-10/10/content_10174262.htm

Pando Survivors Speak
October 9, 2008

Rodrigo Medina, Second Secretary of Land and Territory, Madre de Dios Peasant Federation

“I want to announce to the press that the persecution and death threats continue today in Pando., This is happening in the municipalities of Santos Mercado, Villanueva, Puerto Gonzalo Moreno, Filadelfia, Puerto Rico, and other communities, such as Ingavi de Pando.

“They are intimidating our people. Yesterday an event occurred – they shot the driver of Mayor Edwin Cuellar of the municipality of Santos Mercado, and he is wounded. A girl was raped by these same groups. Last night in the community of Piedras, they tied up and offended the honor of this girl, until the members of the community came to her rescue. She is currently in the house of a schoolteacher. Because of these incidents, women can not go to where they wash and bring water. People come down from the mountain, in what seem to be planned attacks. In the municipality of Gonzalo Moreno, the brother of the head of the city’s human resources department was run down with a motorcycle. Currently he is at the Hospital in Riberalta, this has also been done by the same group of men who were hoods over their heads. These are only the cases that we know about; but surely there are many which we haven’t heard about yet.

“For these reasons, we ask that the Martial Law authorities also maintain a presence in our communities where our peasant brothers find themselves unprotected.”

Abigail Adagua, Vice-President, Villanueva Vigilance Committee

“We came to the city of La Paz because we want to express that some of the mass media have converted themselves into the accomplices of the murderers of Pando. The police chief comes across as a victim via the media, but she was complicit in the abuse against us.

“On that day, September 11th, if they had told us that we were going to Cobija to a battle, we would not have brought our children, our wives and our elders. We never thought we were going to confront a massacre, and now humble people are left traumatized.

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http://www.ubnoticias.org/en/article/pando-survivors-speak