CALL TO SOLIDARITY WITH BOLIVIA

Prague 24 September 2000

To the government of the United States
To the government of Bolivia
To the Bolivian Congress

CALL TO ACTION

As representatives of the world’s peoples meeting in the city of Prague, we
condemn the brutal repression which the people of Bolivia are suffering.

The people of Bolivia, in the Andean region of South America, are in the
midst of an extremely harsh battle, struggling against the privatisation of
water, the imposition of military bases,  and the elimination of the coca
leaf..These are part of the the strategy of the so-called „Plan Dignity“,
imposed by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the North
American Government.

The government of Hugo Banzer, which is at the service of  economic
interests and groups in power, uses the state apparatus to repress and
forcefully impose laws which condemn millions of the country’s peasants and
poor to death.

In the day of struggle, called by the main social organisations of Bolivia,
the climate of repression is growing as military forces procede to fire
their AK rifles against the civilian population, trying to impose a state of
panic in the population to block their protest. Provoking two deaths, 50
people  with bullet wounds, hundreds of people detained and death threats
for one of their main leaders.

We therefore demand:

The demilitarisation of Chapare,
Open a dialogue immediately,
Ceasefire
Respect for human rights,
Respect for Indigenous peoples and peasants,
Stopping of political hostilities

As representatives of Latin American organisations, we align ourselves with
the demands of the stuggling Bolivian people.

CONFEUNASSC , ECUADOR
Movimiento de la Juventud KUNA, PANAMA
Movimiento Sem Terra , BRASIL
Confederation Sindical de Trabajadores JBE - CST/FNT , NICARAGUA
Proceso de Comunidades Negras, COLOMBIA
Federacion Nacional de Mujeres Campesinas de Bolivia, BOLIVIA