Pubdate: Fri, 22 Sep 2000
Source: Agence France-Presses
Copyright: AFP 2000
Related: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n1395/a09.html

TROOPS, COCA LEAF GROWERS CLASH IN BOLIVIA

VILLA TUNARI, Bolivia, Sept 21 (AFP) -

Soldiers and riot police sought to regain control of Bolivia's main 
highway Thursday, using force to dismantle road blocks erected by coca 
leaf growers protesting government policies, including plans to build 
military bases in the heart of the coca-growing region.  

Three people were injured in the latest confrontations which began 
around 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT) between some 600 troops, brought in to 
clear the highway at Villa Tunari, some 600 kilometers (370 miles) east 
of La Paz, and the thousands of unionized coca leaf growers who have 
gathered here since Monday.  

Union leader Feliciano Mamani suffered severe injury to his leg and 
foot as doctors at the local hospital recommended his transfer to 
Cochabamba for specialized surgery. A witness said troops had "fired 
on" Mamani as he fled.  

Mamani said troops had fired on him with army-issue bullets.  

The violent clashes between troops and civilians occurred near a bridge 
over the Espiritu Santo river, at a point where coca growers have a 
strong presence, and close to where troops had set up camp the previous 
night.  

The bridge links Tunari with Chimori -- the Bolivian anti-drug forces' 
main army base in the Chapare region, the key area for cultivation of 
the coca leaf, the main ingredient in the production of cocaine.  

The coca growers are determined to reverse their government's anti-drug 
policies, which include a partnership with the United States to 
eliminate all coca plantations from Bolivia by the end of President 
Hugo Banzer's mandate in August 2002.  

The policy to force Bolivian farmers to abandon their traditional crop 
also involves a plan for US financing of three military bases here.  

As many as 1,000 army personnel and police brought in late Wednesday in 
some 50 vehicles, regained control of Villa Tunari itself at about 8:00 
p.m., following a 20-minute teargas attack against as many as 15,000 
protesters here.  

Wednesday's assault had left three others injured, including a soldier 
and a journalist, as many of the coca growers, who are led by leftist 
lawmaker Evo Morales, fought back using sticks and stones.  

Troops had managed to clear only a short distance along the road, 
however, which protesters had covered in rocks. It is a key highway 
connecting three of Bolivia's principal cities.  

A representative of the Ombudsman, Godofredo Reinicek, told AFP the 
troops' intervention to remove roadblocks constituted "an attack 
against human rights."  

At least 300 kilometers (190 miles) of road linking La Paz, Cochabamba 
and Santa Cruz have been affected by the blockade, some 160 kilometers 
(100 miles) of which the army had managed to penetrate Wednesday.  

Rural leaders said, however, that rocks and rubble were thrown back on 
to the road after the troops passed through.  

Observers warned President Hugo Banzer that a situation similar to the 
April riots over water prices that led to a 12-day siege, and saw six 
people killed and at least 70 injured, was in the making.  

The coca leaf growers' main representative Morales said he anticipated 
fierce confrontations around the towns of Centrales Unidas and Villa 
Tunari.  

"That's where the worst of the clashes will be," he predicted earlier 
after Interior Minister Guillermo Fortun said the military would 
intervene.  

"This will only result in confrontation. It's like an invitation to 
violence, it's fatal. It could cause a bloodbath."  
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MAP posted-by: John Chase