UN hails Bolivia sentence for 2003 massacre

[Judi Lynn]

UN hails Bolivia sentence for 2003 massacre
September 03, 2011

GENEVA: The UN’s rights chief on Friday welcomed a decision by Bolivia’s top court to sentence two former ministers and five senior military officers to prison for their role in a deadly 2003 crackdown.

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On Tuesday two former ministers and five ex-military officers were each given prison terms of between three and 15 years for their role in a brutal crackdown that left some 65 people dead and injured 500 during a 2003 protest.

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Sanchez de Lozada, whose indictment was authorised by Congress before Evo Morales’ December 2005 election, has long argued that using force was justified because a blockade by unruly protesters in El Alto had cut off La Paz from food and fuel.

But prosecutors said nothing justified letting soldiers open fire on civilians who were armed only with sticks and rocks.

http://gulftoday.ae/portal/c9720a01-c182-49a5-a882-7f9f429f259b.aspx

[Judi Lynn]

1. Victims of a Bolivian massacre seek justice in Miami.

Victims of a Bolivian massacre seek justice in Miami.
By Tim Elfrink Thursday, Dec 18 2008

It's just after 4 p.m. on a cold September Saturday in the highlands of Bolivia. Inside a two-story mud-brick home that smells of damp hay, a young mother lies in bed, wrapped in heavy alpaca blankets, still weak from giving birth a few days earlier. Her eight-year-old daughter Marlene is not far away, standing on her toes to peek out a simple three-pane window at the remarkable plateau outside: muddy brown shacks, windblown plains stretching to the horizon, and in the far distance, snow-capped peaks towering over Lake Titicaca.

This is Warisata, a small village of Aymara Indians nestled 10,000 feet above sea level. It sits next to a pitted, bumpy road that leads 45 miles to the capital of La Paz. The villagers rarely make the journey. For thousands of years, they have led an austere, fiercely independent life. But times are changing.

Natural gas deposits have been discovered in Bolivia, and tensions between the mostly white ruling class and indigenous leaders over this national treasure have simmered for weeks. Confrontations between protesters and the nation's military are erupting in violence, and word has just reached the village that the army is now marching toward Warisata to kill its men.

Marlene's mother tells the girl to stay calm. Her father, who has fled to the dun-colored hills to hide, will be back soon, she promises. But Marlene's curiosity cannot be contained. It keeps her up late at night studying by candlelight, dreaming of a life this impoverished village cannot offer. And it keeps her standing at the window, looking toward the mountains where her father has gone, into the dusky darkness.

More:
http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2008-12-18/news/black-october-victims-of-a-bolivian-massacre-seek-justice-in-miami/

The former President, US-educated "Goni" is still being protected from extradition, along with another or two of his cabinet, in the U.S. after they beat a quick retreat to Miami.