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Unrest Continues in Bolivia
Despite moves by the military to tighten its control of the capital, President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozadaâs hold on power grew more tenuous on Tuesday, as demonstrations demanding his resignation spread to provincial cities, and important political allies scrambled to distance themselves from him.Sanchez de Lozada seems to have the support of the military. He should declare Martial Law in the whole country and ride this out. "If the solution to preserving Bolivian democracy passes through the resignation of the president, we cannot put that aside," said Manfred Reyes Villa, leader of the conservative New Republican Force, a crucial part of the presidentâs fragile governing coalition. "Iâve been clear: We have to listen to the people." Manfred Reyes Villa is seriously miscalculating. You donât listen to the people when they support Communist Revolution. More than 50 people have been killed here since Saturday in clashes between mostly Indian demonstrators carrying sticks and slingshots and the heavily armed troops the president ordered into the streets. Considering this is a story from the New York Times, Iâm willing to bet a sizesable portion of the Indians had rifles and were using them. The antigovernment demonstrations began nearly a month ago, initially to protest a proposal to build a $5 billion pipeline to export natural gas to the United States and Mexico via a port in Chile. Also, the protestors began to ask for the ârightâ to cultivate Coca for âtraditionalâ purposes. This is a useful lie, massive cultivation of Coca in Bolivia began barely twenty years ago. But as a result of the recent bloodshed, the focus of the protests has now shifted to demanding the resignation of Mr. Sánchez de Lozada, a 73-year-old millionaire businessman. Elected last year with only 22 percent of the vote, the president has accused his opponents of being part of "a seditious plot" supported by drug lords and leftist guerrillas. This is an example of the New York Timesâ Stealth Editioralizing. A â73-year-old millionare businessmanâ, elected with âonly 22 percent of the voteâ is just asking to be overthrown, isnât he? Of those known to have been killed, only one has been confirmed to be a soldier. Citing witness accounts, local news organizations reported that he was executed by his commanding officer after refusing to fire on demonstrators. An exemplary officer. As support for Mr. Sánchez de Lozada, a staunch ally in the American war on drugs, was ebbing here, his allies abroad were trying to shore up his position. In Washington, the State Department issued a statement warning that "the United States will not tolerate any interruption of constitutional order and will not support any regime that results from undemocratic means." Look at that, the State Department is not supporting Totalitarianism for once. Posted by: Sorge 2003-10-16 |
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