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Bolivia:
Security
Forces
Beat
Human
Rights
Worker
and
Fire
at
Permanent
Human
Rights
Assembly
Building
in
Coca-Growing
Region
11/16/01
(bulletin from the Andean Information
Network)
At approximately 8:45pm on Tuesday, 11/13,
union leaders denounced security forces fired at the Permanent Human Rights
Assembly office in Eterazama. It is not clear at this time whether
the forces fired live ammunition or tear gas canisters. Leaders of
the Six Federations of Coca Growers, Evo Morales and Leonilda Zurita, were
inside. They were not injured.
Members of the Catholic Church and the
Human Rights Ombudsman's office will travel to Eterazama early tomorrow
to investigate. Members of the Cochabamba Permanent Human Rights
Assembly should arrive later in the day.
Eterazama remains completely surrounded
by the security forces, which still do not permit vehicles to enter or
leave the town. This order from high-ranking officials clearly violates
Article 7 of the Bolivian constitution that guarantees freedom of movement
for all citizens. Forces continue to fire tear gas each day.
On Saturday, 18 small children suffered from respiratory insufficiency
as a result of indiscriminate tear gas use.
The security forces have injured president
of the Eterazama Permanent Human Rights Assembly, Rolando Gutierrez Aguilar,
three times in the past six days:
-
On November 8, members of the combined forces
beat Gutierrez with nightsticks.
-
On November 10 at approximately 1:00pm, a
tear gas canister cut Gutierrez's scalp. The 4 centimeter-long wound
required four stitches.
-
On November 12 at 2:15pm, three members of
the Expeditionary Task Force kicked Gutierrez, beat him with nightsticks
and hit him with rifle butts. They threatened him, temporarily detained
him and confiscated his camera and human rights credential. The camera
was returned upon his release.
A medical certificate issued by the Villa
Tunari Hospital documents the injuries.
It is important to note that treatment
received by Bolivian human rights monitors has deteriorated notably during
2001. For example, on January 25 of this year, UMOPAR agents fired
at Godofredo Reinicke, Human Rights Ombudsman and his legal assistant,
Silvano Arancibia. Although the Attorney General's office opened
an investigation into the incident, no apparent progress has been made
since February.
On February 22 and 28, family members of
Waldo Albarracin, Permanent Human Rights Assembly President received calls
that said he had been "sentenced to death." There have been no investigations
of these incidents, either.
There have been numerous reports of widespread
abuses by the combined forces in the regions of Valle Sajta and Bulo Bulo
in the Mamore Federation. Repeated reports of broken wrists and multiple
contusions on backs and buttocks exist. AIN is working to obtain
more detailed information.
The Chapare Human Rights Ombudsman's office
has documented over 70 people injured or detained since November 6.
The office also denounced the irregular status of the salaried, non-military
Expeditionary Task Force, responsible for the majority of human rights
violations since the beginning of November.
AIN asks that the international community
contact Bolivian officials to:
-
Insist that Bolivian security forces strictly
adhere to the Basic Principles on the Use of Force by Law Enforcement Officials
and the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials.
-
Pressure the Bolivian Government to guarantee
the freedom of the press and the safety of human rights monitors and allow
them to work without impediments or harassment.
-
Insist that Bolivian security officers and
legal representatives carry out all investigations of abuses within the
established legal framework, respecting due process and international human
rights treaties.
-
Insist that security officers who violate
these norms face appropriate legal consequences in the civilian court system,
instead of internal disciplinary action or trial in military tribunals.
-
Insist that the US government withhold funding
for any US-funded unit of the security forces (such as the Joint Task Force)
that commit gross human rights violations when there is no evidence that
sufficient steps are being taken to bring the individuals responsible to
justice (as stipulated by the Leahy Amendment).
-
Urge all parties in the conflict to seek a
peaceful resolution through dialogue.
Please fax letters to the following Bolivian
government officials:
Excmo. Sr.
Sr. Jorge Quiroga Ramírez
Palacio de Gobierno
La Paz, Bolivia
fax: +59 1 22 391 216, +59 1 22 204 231
Sr. Ministro de Gobierno
Sr. Leopoldo Fernández
Av. Arce No. 2409, esq. Belisario Salinas
La Paz, Bolivia
fax: +59 122 442 589
Sr. Ministro de Justicia y Derechos Humanos
Dr. Mario Serrate Ruíz,
Ministerio de Justicia
Avenida 16 de Julio, No. 1769
La Paz, Bolivia
fax: +59 122 392 982
(If a voice answers, say: "Fax, por favor"
and wait for the tone.)
For further information, contact the Andean
Information Network at [email protected], visit http://www.scbbs-bo.com/ain/
or write to Casilla 4817, Cochabamba, Bolivia.
For further information, contact the Andean
Information Network at [email protected],
visit http://www.scbbs-bo.com/ain/
or write to Casilla 4817, Cochabamba, Bolivia.
Other recent bulletins on the Bolivia situation:
Bolivia Forced Eradication Provoking
Civil Instability, Indiscriminate Violence by Government Security Forces
(9/21)
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/204.html#chapare
Violence in the Chapare, Bolivia -- Two
Sustain Bullet Wounds (9/28)
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/205.html#chapareviolence
Bolivia Negotiations Stall as Coca Growers
Reject Government Proposal (10/5)
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/206.html#cocaleros
Bolivia: Violence Continues, Mediation
Commission Formed (10/12)
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/207.html#mediationcommission
Chapare, Bolivia: Increased Militarization
Heightens Tensions in Coca-Growing Region (10/26)
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/209.html#chapare
Massive Military Presence and Abuses Continue
in Bolivia's Chapare Region (11/2)
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/210.html#chapare
-- END --
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Issue #211, 11/16/01
Editorial: Federal Fanatics | Medical Marijuana Proponents Prepare to Fight Back After Ashcroft Raids | Talkin' About the New Generation: SSDP Goes to Washington | Britain's Drug War Continues to Crumble | Oregon Update: Federal Judge Blocks Ashcroft/DEA Effort to Overturn Assisted Suicide Law, At Least for Now | Treatment Complex Aims to Use "Social Marketing" to Create Demand | Bolivia: Security Forces Beat Human Rights Worker and Fire at Permanent Human Rights Assembly Building in Coca-Growing Region | Abstracts Available from International Medical Marijuana Conference | NYC Election Correction | Alerts: HEA Drug Provision, Drug Czar Nomination, DEA Hemp Ban, Ecstasy Bill, Mandatory Minimums, Medical Marijuana | The Reformer's Calendar
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