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Junio 09, 2005
Comparative Repression
Every single life is valuable. Considering the amount of hostility and aggression that has surfaced over the past three weeks, it is miraculous that, until today, not a single life was lost. The police or pacos, as they are unaffectionately called, never have been confused with an honorable profession. Often they are seen as part of the problem (corrupt, dishonest), instead of part of the solution. However, in Mesa's speech on Monday night, he praised their self-restraint by preventing tempers from escalating to dangerous levels. Even though it has been documented that many marches have tried to "provoke" police, cooler heads prevailed.
Half a world away in Ethiopia (ironically, with the same three colors on the flag), 26 people were killed. Police fired upon a crowd that was throwing rocks. In La Paz, some miners were throwing dynamite, and yet the police responded with rubber bullets and tear gas. How long will this last? Many sites like BolPress have claimed that the police has been “repressing” the mobilizations. What happened in Ethiopia constitutes as repression. Thankfully nothing close to what happened on the other continent has taken place in Bolivia, and hopefully it will not. It is tragic that one Bolivian is dead, but considering what has taken place, we are fortunate that it has only been one.
Posted by eduardo at Junio 9, 2005 10:22 PM
Comments
Sorry but I've seen videos of goons beating up on the protestors; also, shooting at what appear to be a Quechua contingent of marchers. I suspect a lot of violence is being committed by plainclothes goons.
My understanding of crowd behavior suggests that the miners have already suffered serious harassment. I'm not a fan of showing up with blasting caps and setting of dynamite, but I suspect they have some experiences that lead them to think its prudent.
Posted by: James R MacLean at Junio 10, 2005 02:07 AM
I completely agree. I'm tired of the hyperbole from some of the trustafarians.
Posted by: miguel (ciao!) at Junio 10, 2005 02:21 AM
What's a trustafarian ?
Posted by: Logan Foster at Junio 10, 2005 09:12 AM