Hola! Viernes 8/2, hicimos durante dos horas una manifestacion frente la Mision de Bolivia al OMC. La manifestacion estaba téoricamente prohibido de la policia, lo que ha impedido la presencia de bastante bolivian@s de Ginebra (que son por la mayoria clandestin@s). Sin embargo, estabamos 70 personas, incluyendo represantantes de la communidad boliviana de Ginebra, organisaciones de apoyo à la lucha indigena, sindicalistas solidarios y - porsupuesto - activist@s antiglobalisacion. El mensaje lindo de Evo (abajo traducido por un gringo en inglès!) estaba muy apreciado. Para contestar al decreto sobre la coca, offrimos hojas de coca y maté de coca a tod@s l@s participantes y ciudadan@s presentes (ver el foto attached) con el eslogan: Coca si, Coca-cola No! Y mas al serio: Apoyo al Pueblo de Bolivia Basta de Represion! Globalisamos las luchas! Esperemos que los organisaciones de Ginebra unidos por esta accion van a continuar una colaboracion por apoyar la lucha boliviana. Abrazos, Olivier PS Aprendemos hoy que el gobierno estuve obligado de borrar los dos decretos!! Estamos felices. La lucha paga!
Hello! Friday, we organised a demonstration for two hours in front of the Bolivian Mission to the WTO. The demonstration was officially outlawed by the the police, which reduced the number of Bolivians who could attend, as most Bolivians of Geneva are clandestine workers. All the same, there were about 70 persons, representing the Bolivian community, organisations of defense of the indigenous, local unions and - of course - antiglobalisation activists. Among the various interventions, the beautiful message from Evo (see below in English) was much appreciated. To reply to the presidential decrees, we distributed coca leaves and coca tea to demonstrators and passing people (see photo attached), to the slogan: Coca si! Coca-Cola No! And more seriously: Solidarity with the Bolivian People Basta de Represion! Globalise the struggles! We hope to continue to solidarity work with the organisations that came together for this action. Hugs, Olivier LAST MINUTE: We learned today that the GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN FORCED TO REPEAL the two decrees!! Great! Struggle pays! I Accuse ! The corrupt and decadent parties received orders from the embassy of the United States to expulse me from the parliament. By obeying, they wrote a dark page of Bolivian history and turned the parliament into the foremost mafia of the country. Everyone knows that there are two Bolivias. The Bolivia of the "charlatans" who constantly promise, signing agreements that they never respect. And the other Bolivia, always betrayed, submitted, humiliated, exploited. I denounce to the Bolivian people that this is a confrontation of cultures: the culture of death against our own indigenous culture. They want to exterminate us. If not with bullets, by hunger. If not by hunger, with bullets. They say that blocking the roads is predujicial to the development of the country, and some deputies moan and are terrified by the possibility of three or four weeks of blockade. But no one seems to realise that us Quechuas, Aymaras, Tupi Guaranis, the poor and the workers of this country, they have blocked us for more than 500 years. During all that time, it is not just that our development has been prejudiced : we have been submitted in hunger and misery. They say that each blockade signifies millions lost for the State, but I ask myself : when has the Bolivian peasant seen a centavo of these millions ? They hate us in the streets. They hate us in the offices. They call us "indios". They say we stink. Some treat us like animals. Now, they are treating us like criminals. No matter. Whatever they say, whatever they do, the poor of Bolivia are not going to give in because of all these adjectives that we constantly receive. The people of Bolivia are Quechuas, Aymaras, Tupi Guaranis, Mocetenes... We are ancestral cultures, we are the identity of this country, and so we will not surrender. Evo Morales Ayma Cochabamba, February 7th, 2002
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