Reply #19: I just found a map of Bolivia, too see where the area is in which the last massacre occurred. [View All]

[Judi Lynn]

Pando is marked on this small map:





Cobija is the town, site of the slaughter
of citizens by the governor's mercenaries.

Articles have stated the Governor (who has been arrested) has hired mercenaries from Brazil and Peru who have walked around in broad daylight carrying weapons, menacing people well before this massacre. One article I just saw said after the massacre they headed off toward Brazil. Another said that they have dispersed into groups of the Youth Union (fascist thug criminals who have been pounding and killing indigenous people for ages). Apparently hiring brown people serves the interests of the fascist governors and other opposition leaders like Branko Marinkovic, who is Croatian.

You may find this is interesting, detailing movement of the U.S. ambassador Philip Goldberg who has been banned from Bolivia in the short time leading up to this massacre:

~snip~
The plan to remove Evo from government was impacted by the results of the Referendum. Evo's mandate was legitimized with 67% of the vote and the only alternative left for Goldberg was to activate his 'Plan B' which included a series of stoppages, road blockages and violent actions which would lead to one of two outcomes:

I) The conflict would spread through the east and part of the west and as people grew weary, the armed forces would act, resulting in deaths. Then Evo would have to call for new elections or resign, due to the high number of casualties. The continual provoking of the Police and Army to incite them to act and fire on union members was a part of this plan.

II) In the event that this did not play out, once the Police and Army were dispatched from the regions, in the midst of violence and the eastern provinces in rebellion, Goldberg would offer the Governors to bring in international mediators, including UN troops, to concretize the separation of the 4 rebel departments, as he did in Kosovo.

As part of this Plan for a Coup, Goldberg traveled to Sucre to meet with Governor Savina Cuellar, who then demanded the resignation of the President.

On Thursday, August 21st, Goldberg meets clandestinely with Ruben Costas (Governor of Santa Cruz and leader of the Autonomy for Bolivia party) and 4 U.S. Congress people. (There are TV images of this).

Monday August 25, Goldberg holds another clandestine meeting with Ruben Costas. (There were images of this on Gigavision).

At the same time, CONALDE rejects dialogue with the government and calls for a general strike beginning on August 24th.

Following the strategy proposed by Goldberg, the Governors implement a medium term plan to destabilize the government via destruction of public institutions, takeovers, and persistent provocations (including beatings) of the Police and the Army.

Also as part of the coup attempt, in Santa Cruz and Tarija there is talk of federalism and even independence. (El Mundo, August 22nd)

Since the business sector of Santa Cruz was more interested in the Festival of Santa Cruz (which begins on September 19) than in strikes and roadblocks, the State Department calls Branco Marinkovic (a large landholder and influential civic leader) to the United States.

-Sept.1: Marinkovic travels to the United States in a small Beechcraft C-90A airplane, where he is convinced that the plan is in its final stages and that all stops must be pulled out.

-Sept. 9: Hours after Marinkovic returns to Santa Cruz, a wave of violence is unleashed, with the burning of institutions and new acts of aggression against the Army and Police.

This is the plan for a coup that is playing out now with the help of the U.S. Embassy. Why is it not able to consolidate? Because the government of Evo Morales is able to control a conflict that has become regionalized, with patience and according to the rule of law.

Based on information received, the president of the Republic declared Ambassador Goldberg persona non grata and authorized Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca to carry out appropriate procedures.

The violence generated by groups involved in the coup attempt is an expression of the conservatives' sector decision to abandon democracy, as it no longer serves their interests. On August 10, (in the Referendum) the people of Bolivia defended democracy, national integrity and autonomy.

The Armed Forces and the National Police, steadfast and respectful of the constitution, are aware that despite particular interests, the unity of Bolivia must be preserved.

La Paz, September 10, 2008

More:
http://boliviarising.blogspot.com/

Really sad, isn't it? No wonder Bolivia threw _Bush's ambassador out, after it all came together for them last weekend.
I haven't seen a final total of the murder victims but I've seen estimates it's over 30 by now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The New York Times does a pitiful job explaining what this photo is, and exactly how it happened. From everything I've heard, the Bolivian farmers had NO WAY of "fighting" against anyone as they weren't armed, and it was all over in the twinkling of an eye as the assassins, hiding in trees and on a flatbed truck opened fire on them with submachine guns as they came across the bridge, killing children and pregnant women, as well, then throwing them into the river.



Bruno Domingos/Reuters
Bolivian farmers who support President Evo Morales
fought Saturday against those who called for more
autonomy from his government.

A Crisis Highlights Divisions in Bolivia

By SIMON ROMERO
Published: September 14, 2008

LA PAZ, Bolivia — President Evo Morales is facing the most acute crisis of his presidency as deaths from violence in rebellious northern Bolivia increased to almost 30 over the weekend. Supporters of Mr. Morales said Sunday that the death toll could rise with dozens of people caught up in the violence and still unaccounted for.

Relative calm returned to the northern department of Pando on Sunday after Mr. Morales declared martial law there and troops dispatched from La Paz seized the airport and other facilities in Cobija, the departmental capital. But the threat of unrest persisted in other parts of Bolivia, and political leaders in the tropical lowlands bordering on Brazil said they would resume protests if killings in Pando continued.

Mr. Morales said that the violence was a massacre carried out partly by “Peruvian and Brazilian mercenaries” hired by the governor of Pando, Leopoldo Fernández, who went into hiding to avoid arrest. In comments to a local radio station, Mr. Fernández denied that accusation, asserting that the deaths resulted from clashes between antigovernment protesters and the president’s supporters.

On Sunday, Juan Ramón Quintana, a top aide to Mr. Morales, told a local radio station that Mr. Fernández had been arrested, The Associated Press reported.



Dado Galdieri/Associated Press

Supporters of the president stood guard at a road blockade on
Sunday about 30 miles from Santa Cruz in eastern Bolivia.More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/world/americas/15bolivia.html?hp

These are the people the governors fascists plan to grind into the ground, apparently, and with the support of the _Bush administration. Who among the racists has the grace to feel shame, finally?