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World






Posted on Sat, Feb. 15, 2003
Bolivia seeks OAS investigation into presence of snipers

Knight Ridder Newspapers

(KRT) - The Bolivian government Saturday said it would ask the Organization of American States to investigate the presence of snipers in two-days of violence that left at least two dozen dead and caused millions of dollars in damage in the poor Andean nation.

Government spokesman Mauricio Antesana said Saturday that the OAS would be asked to form a special investigations commission through the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. That OAS body, he said, would be seen as neutral and independent and serve as an honest broker between the government and its opponents.

The OAS has 35 member nations in North and South America, including the United States. This is the latest case of the OAS being drawn into a domestic dispute where local institutions lacked credibility. It has tried to mediate a solution to Venezuela's political and economic stalemate, and was involved in Peru's 2001 transition to democracy.

In Bolivia, the OAS would be asked to address concerns of human rights groups that military sharpshooters fired off rooftops at demonstrators and police officers on Feb. 12. Striking police officers refused to stop demonstrators who attacked the presidential residence and set three government ministries ablaze, as well as city hall in the poor suburb of El Alto. The government continues to investigate who fired first in what became a bloody shootout between police and soldiers.

Bolivia's tumult began when the government announced Monday a 12 percent income tax hike affecting mainly the middle class. The tax was part of an International Monetary Fund recipe for lowering Bolivia's swelling budget deficit before the IMF approved new lending.

The government also wants the OAS to investigate what Antesana said may have been a frustrated coup attempt. Late Friday and Saturday, he detailed how shots were fired from a high-caliber weapon into the president's bedroom and office in the presidential palace.

President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, 72, has not been seen much since the violence. He was holed up with military and police leaders on Saturday reviewing security in the landlocked nation of 8 million. Later Saturday, Sanchez de Lozada met with cabinet members in advance of an expected address to the nation outlining steps his government will take to address mounting social frustration and a dismal economy.

"We are making decisions on how to turn things around in the economy and to normalize the country," Antesana said in an interview.

---

© 2003, Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

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