Rueters: Bolivian troops kill miner (Troops say they did not)

[Robbien]

LA PAZ, Bolivia (Reuters) - Bolivian troops shot and killed a miner in protests on Thursday as lawmakers struggled to agree on how to replace President Carlos Mesa and military commanders pressed for a constitutional solution to the crisis.

The death was the first in nearly four weeks of protests by an impoverished Indian majority demanding nationalization of Bolivia's huge natural gas resources that have triggered the worst turmoil in Mesa's 19 months in government.

Soldiers fired on a bus with miners heading to demonstrations in Sucre, Interior Minister Saul Lara told reporters. Two more miners were wounded, Lara added.

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2005-06-09T213829Z_01_SPI977892_RTRUKOC_0_BOLIVIA.xml

and now for the true story from reporters in Bolivia:

After consulting with various sources, we can report, kind readers: The President of the National Congress Hormando Vaca Diez is behind the death of the mineworker Juan Coro and the three wounded who are at this moment at Santa Barbara Hospital in Sucre.

It seems that during his flight to Sucre from Santa Cruz this morning, accompanied by Mauricio Balcazar (the son-in-law of ex-president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada), Vaca Diez ordered the Commander in Chief of the National Police, David Aramayo, to block the passage of all demonstrators who were marching toward the capital to surround the session of Congress.

It was members of the special forces group known as “The Dalmatians,” known for their brutal participation in the Water War of 2000 in Cochabamba, who repressed the mineworker’s march. Now, with this information confirmed, we can correct, for the peace of mind of all the world, BOLIVIA’S ARMED FORCES DID NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE REPRESSION.

Vaca Diez has gone to meet with Comandante Aramayo, suspending the work session he was holding with congressional party leaders. In that meeting where he tried to come to an agreement to bring the National Congress into session, Vaca Diez had told Congress members from the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party that nobody will be able to stop him from becoming president, that he has the support to obtain it…

But the death of the miner changed the direction of the wind: the New Republican Force party (NFR), one of the rightwing parties that initially supported Vaca Dias, has decided to withdraw all support from the Senator from Santa Cruz in his attempt to arrive at the presidency.

more. . .
http://narcosphere.narconews.com/story/2005/6/9/172426/1456

[Judi Lynn]

1. So they've already killed one citizen/worker.How many more to follow?

It doesn't appear much stands between the citizenry now, and the _Bush league of people who can back up their greed with the military. Sad, sad day all over again.

I would hope this picture which was adjusted slightly for the merest illusion of justice earlier in American history will someday be transformed everywhere in the interests of REAL democracy and REAL freedom. It's starting to look pretty stark.

[Robbien]

2. Warring headlines

US Headlines: Bolivian Military Threatens Intervention

Foreign headlines:
Canada: Bolivian Army Calls for Calm
China: Armed Forces Propose Truce in Bolivia

[Judi Lynn]

3. Good grief!

This would be a good time to have a decent president on board here who wouldn't try to take advantage of their problems to attempt to get more control over their government.

Here's another fragment:

AFX News Limited
Bolivia's military command disowns officers demanding president's resignation
05.25.2005, 01:46 PM

LA PAZ (AFX) - Bolivia's military command has disowned a group of military officers who demanded today President Carlos Mesa's resignation and called for the nationalization of the country's gas industry.

Lieutenant Colonel Julio Cesar Galindo, part of a group calling itself the 'Generational Military Movement,' appeared on private television, demanding that Mesa 'leave, simply quit the government, quit the presidency and make room for the government of the people.'

Another officer, Lieutenant Colonel Julio Herrera, added: 'This is not a military coup d'etat, but a declaration of the people.'

Miners, peasants and students on Monday and Tuesday protested against legislation they say favor foreign companies exploiting Bolivian gas.
(snip/...)

http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/afx/2005/05/25/afx2055443.html