31 US Organizations Denounce The Brutal Repression In Bolivia

Above photo: Protest in front of the OAS in Washington DC, against the Coup in Bolivia (Photo-Credit: Cele León)

NOTE: As we post this statement, Bolivians marching from Senkata to La Paz, carrying the bodies of those who were massacred, are being attacked by police and military using tear gas.

The march enters with the funeral procession of the fallen in #Senkata and is repressed by the coup forces of the dictatorship installed in #Bolivia.
pic.twitter.com/T4HSrathBt

— nonouzi (@Gerrrty) November 21, 2019

We, the undersigned US organizations condemn the civic-military coup in Bolivia and the brutal repression unleashed by the police and military authorized by the self-proclaimed anti-Indigenous “President” of Bolivia, Senator Jeanine Áñez.

The regime has burned the Wiphala, flag of the Indigenous nations of Bolivia; decreed an exemption to prosecution for the police and military for the use of lethal force against demonstrators; and has criminalized democratically elected officials and rank and file members of organizations associated with the deposed government. These decrees led to the massacre in Cochabamba on November 15 in which police and the armed forces opened fire on demonstrators killing five people and wounding more than 100, as well as the massacre of Senkata on November 19 in which at least 8 people were killed and at least 30 wounded. They have also led to the deployment of military, police and private intelligence agencies to hunt down and arrest political opponents of the coup regime.

We urge an immediate investigation by the UN of the killing of at least 32 people and the wounding of more than 700 by the police and security forces since the coup against President Evo Morales on November 10, 2019, based on official data from the Office of the People’s Defender  (“Defensoría del Pueblo”). We also call for the release of all political detainees.

We support calls by the constitutional President, Evo Morales as well as the United Nations, for dialogue to avoid further bloodshed. We call for the return of security forces to the barracks and an investigation into the crimes committed by the police and military, as well as those who authorized the use of lethal force, to hold perpetrators accountable.

We also reject the illegal self-proclamation as “President” of Senator Jeanine Áñez, elected without a quorum and without the presence of MAS members of congress, whose safety is under permanent threat. This self-proclamation also violates article 161 of the Bolivian Constitution, according to which Congress must accept the President’s resignation in order for it to be valid, which so far hasn’t taken place.

We urge the US Congress and the Organization of American States (OAS) to condemn the coup against the constitutional government and support the path of dialogue over escalating confrontation.

WE DEMAND AN IMMEDIATE END TO THE KILLING OF INDIGENOUS BOLIVIANS!

PEACE FOR BOLIVIA!

SIGNATURES

1. Forum of Sao Paulo, Executive Committee in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia
2. CODEPINK, USA
3. ANSWER Coalition, USA
4. Democratic Socialists of America, Richmond, Virginia chapter
5. Socialist Unity Party, USA
6. International Committee for Peace, Justice and Dignity, USA
7. Friends of the Congo, Washington DC
8. National Network on Cuba, USA
9. Popular Resistance, Washington DC
10. Party for Socialism and Liberation, Washington DC
11. Black Alliance for Peace, Washington DC
12. Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press, Washington, DC
13. Communist Party, USA
14. Central Committee of the Peace and Freedom Party of California,  San Diego, California
15. Council on Hemispheric Affairs, COHA, Washington DC
16.  Peace Council, Greater New Haven, Connecticut
17.  Red Nacional de Salvadoreños en el Exterior, RENASE, USA
18. Carolina Peace Resource Center, South Carolina
19.  Leonard Peltier Defense Committee,  San Diego, California
20.  Congreso de los Pueblos, Colombia, international committee in DC
21.  FigTree Foundation, USA,
22.  Comité de Salvadoreños en Washington DC
23.  Friends of Latin America, Columbia, Maryland
24. Rutilio House, Takoma Park, Maryland
25. Committee Against Police Brutality, San Diego, California
26. Women in Struggle, Washington DC
27. Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador, CISPES, Washington DC
28. International Womxns Alliance-DC (DIWA)
29. Comité del FMLN de Washington DC
30. All-African People’s Revolutionary Party (GC), Washington, DC
31. World Development Alliance, South Carolina