La Paz - The Bolivian government declared a state of siege
Friday in the Amazonian province of Pando after days of violent
clashes that have left 14 people dead.
Bolivian Defence Minister Walker San Miguel said the move - which
forbid civilians from carrying arms, restricts the freedom of
assembly and increases the powers of the military and the police -
was adopted in an effort to contain a wave of violence in the area
that broke out Thursday.
Meanwhile, both sides said Friday they wanted to restore dialogue
to discuss differences over regional autonomy and government
redistribution of wealth that are behind the clashes. Left-wing
President Evo Morales and the opposition governor of the province of
Tarija, Mario Cossio, met at the presidential palace in La Paz.
'The first task is to pacify the country, and we hope to agree
with President Morales on that. Our presence has to do with that
clear will to lay the foundations and hopefully launch a process of
dialogue that ends in a great agreement for national reconciliation,'
Cossio said just before the meeting.
On Friday, at least five people - three civilians including a
reporter, and two members of the Bolivian security forces - were
injured as the military reclaimed control of the airport at Pando's
provincial capital, Cobija, medical staff said at the city's public
hospital.
An initial report said one person was killed in the clashes at the
airport, but neither medical sources nor police or military officials
confirmed the report.
According to media reports from Friday, the number of dead in
Thursday clashes between supporters of left-wing Bolivian President
Evo Morales and followers of Pando Governor Leopoldo Fernandez was as
high as 14. Forensic reports showed that all had suffered bullet
wounds.
The clashes happened near the town of Porvenir, some 1,200
kilometres north of La Paz. The dead were reportedly 13 peasants who
supported Morales and one official of the governorship of Pando.
The opposition alliance - which controls the provinces of Santa
Cruz, Beni, Pando and Tarija - is demanding the return of funds
raised through a tax on natural gas, which the central government
currently devotes to financing a pension for all citizens over 60.
They also demand recognition for regional autonomy statutes that
voters in the provinces approved earlier this year, but which the
left-wing populist Morales has so far considered unconstitutional.
The demands also include changes in the draft for a new national
constitution and talks on economic questions, among others.
Morales has made it clear he is willing to discuss autonomy and
the tax on the extraction of natural gas.
A major factor behind the conflict between the wealthy descendants
of European immigrants and the country's impoverished indigenous
majority, led by Morales, are the government's attempts to
redistribute wealth.
The Bolivian opposition has turned the pro-autonomy movement in
several of the country's regions into a tool to attack the
government.
Since the beginning of the year, citizens in four provinces have
approved referenda by large margins for greater autonomy from the
national government, which would grant them control over key natural
resources, including natural gas.
The government's opponents accused Morales, who was elected in
2005 as the country's first indigenous president, of carrying out
discrimination in favour of indigenous people.
In August, Morales survived a recall referendum with some 67 per
cent of the votes in favour of him staying.
However, the crisis has escalated in recent days.
On Wednesday, Morales ordered US Ambassador Philip Goldberg out of
the country. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez also expelled the US
ambassador there in solidarity, while the United States reacted by
expelling the ambassadors from both South American countries.
There was violence - including looting and attacks on police - in
Pando, Santa Cruz, Tarija and Beni.
Opposition supporters also temporarily interrupted gas pipelines
to Brazil, Argentina and the western regions of Bolivia, overpowering
security and turning off supply.
Coca farmers, who traditionally back Morales, set up roadblocks to
interrupt supply to the opposition-controlled regions, which have
been protesting for the past two weeks against the national
government's use of taxes.
Bolivia has a population of 10 million. Around 60 per cent live in
poverty, most of them Indios.
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