Posted on 10/14/2004 4:17:07 PM PDT by ChicagoHebrew
I'm writing this from an internet cafe in La Paz, Bolivia. About fifteen minutes ago, I started to hear what I think was gunfire and cannon fire from right outside the cafe. It was shortly followed by bullhorns booming and people chanting. The gunfire is intermittent now.
I have no idea what's happening.
Are his hands really that far out of proportion or have you been hitting the Photoshop?
I think La Paz is the highest commercial airport with regular service. I can only imagine how that must have felt...passengers jets pressurize at that altitude.
I felt stupid... and happy!
Bolivia Congress authorizes trial for ex-president
14 Oct 2004 18:17:31 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Rene Villegas
LA PAZ, Bolivia, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Bolivia's Congress gave the Supreme Court the green light on Thursday to investigate and possibly sentence ex-President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada over deaths during clashes between the army and protesters last year.
Sanchez de Lozada, a center-right leader now living in the United States, was forced out of office a year ago by the massive protests against his policies of opening up the economy of Bolivia, one of Latin America's poorest countries.
An estimated 67 people died and 200 were injured in protests by farmers, unemployed miners, and coca growers. The demonstrators also opposed a government natural gas export plan they said would benefit Bolivia's estranged neighbor Chile.
Demonstrators gathered on Thursday to celebrate outside Congress after both houses of Congress voted jointly to approve the trial. Of 130 deputies and 27 senators, 126 lawmakers voted in favor. Fifteen members of Sanchez de Lozada's cabinet will also go before the high court.
Thousands of other marchers were heading to La Paz to join demonstrations planned for Friday.
Sanchez de Lozada, a wealthy businessman, was president from 1993 to 1997, and was elected to a second term beginning in 2002.
He resigned a year ago after four weeks of violent protests that included miners throwing dynamite and soldiers shooting at demonstrators.
The charges against the ex-president, brought last year by Bolivia's former attorney general, are based on six complaints in Congress, one filed by a leftist lawmaker and indigenous leader who accused Sanchez de Lozada of genocide and economic damage to the state.
The matter now goes to an investigative phase in the criminal branch of the Supreme Court, where the judges will examine the evidence and decide whether to proceed with an indictment. If they do, the trial enters a penalty phase, and eight of 12 supreme court justices would have to agree with a sentence.
The only time Bolivia's Supreme Court has tried a former president was when former dictator Luis Garcia Mesa was sentenced to 30 years in jail for crimes including genocide. He is still in prison.
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Good luck.........stay safe.......prayers have been sent.
Sorry, but I have to ask. Have you already sent in an absentee ballet? I know, bad joke....again, stay safe and good luck.
I didn't do it.
Do not tell the Bolivian Govt you are the great grandson of Butch Cassidy!
Have they shut down the radio/telephone/tv networks? If so, you are probably experiencing a coup. If not it is probably a govt crackdown.
Chanting ?!?!?
Either deslyxic cows........Oooom vs Moooo or Guerilla Gregorian sect of monks that have their nickers in a bunch about the price of wool's my guess !
Stay safe !
While all eyes are on mecca South America is our fire next time.
May the Lord bless you and keep you.........SAFE!
And lose the chicago accent too!!!
Cool. Free Republic does Bolivia!
stay safe
First, the Earth cooled
Then there were dinosaurs
They died out.
Then there was Bolivia
For more details consult your local history book.
Not likely, the organized pissed off group is the cocaleros who are marching on LaPaz to protest the government's plan to forcibly wipe out coca farming in three years.
Add the cocaine armies from Colombia who rely on Bolivia's coca and things are going to get very ugly.
Here's hoping the La Paz dispensers run out of ammo soon!
Keep your drapes closed and have a quiet night. They might just be getting primed on cerveza and sangria for tonight.
FR is always an experience. You never know what's going to happen when you log on. Sometimes it's bunnies with pancakes, sometimes it's Bolivian revolutions.
They don't do Bolivian revolutions at DU.
Vive FR!
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