BOLIVIA: At least two people die and 70 are injured in clashes which Bolivian Vice-President blames on governor

At least two people were killed and about 70 were injured in Bolivia on Thursday (January 11, 2007) in clashes between protesters demanding the resignation of the Cochabamba governor and his supporters-- clashes Bolivian Vice-President Alvaron Linera are the fault of the governor. For three days, thousands of supporters of President Evo Morales gathered in the main square of Cochabamba, 275 miles (440 km) east of La Paz, armed with batons and rocks, demanding the resignation of Governor Manfredo Reyes Villa. They had blocked off roads to Cochabamba for three days and set fire to the governor's office. Reyes Villa, who is one of Bolivia's first elected governors, said he would not resign. On Thursday, fighting broke out when supporters of the governor entered the center of Cochabamba city to dislodge the coca growers from the plaza which they had occupied by force, wielding sticks and stones and demanding he step down. Pro-governor protesters threw sticks and bottles at the coca growers and chased them out of the plaza. Local media are reporting that at least four people were killed during the clashes. Police in riot gear arrived, guarded the coca growers out of the area and cleared the plaza by throwing tear gas. Reyes Villa is at odds with Bolivia's leftist government over his plans to call a referendum on regional autonomy. The protests against him are organized by supporters of President Evo Morales. The governors of Bolivia's nine regions were elected in December 2005, in the same elections in which Morales became the country's first indigenous head of state. Six of the nine governors, including Reyes Villa, belong to opposition parties, and most of them have joined together to demand more independence from the central government. As those six governors met in La Paz, workers reinforced the exterior of hotel where they met, hours before the violence spread to the capital and protesters gathered outside the building. Late Thursday, Vice-President Alvaro Linera blamed the governor for the clashes. "There are clashes because there's intransigence," he said during an evening news conference. "There are clashes because there's a prefect who hasn't fulfilled with his constitutional obligation of assuming control and resolving problems peacefully." In Cochabamba province, where Morales rose to prominence as the leader of the country's largest coca-leaf growers union, sympathy for the Indian leader runs high. Reyes Villa has said the conflict could end quickly if Morales ordered his supporters to stop protesting.

ITN Source | January 12, 2007

Tags:. .arrived. .workers. .stones. .met. .entered