Bolivia's president accuses opposition of plotting to oust him
|
| Posted
:
Sun, 23 Dec 2007 10:41:01 GMT |
| By
:
IANS |
| Category
:
World |
| News Alerts by
Email ( click
here ) |
|
|
|
|
|
La Paz, Dec 23 - Bolivian President Evo Morales, faced with a strong demand for autonomy in the eastern states of the country, turned down the demand by the rightist ruled states and accused them of plotting to overthrow him.'If conservatives want me out of office, they will have to take me out dead from Government Palace,' Morales said, accusing the opposition leaders of planning to overthrow him, Spain's EFE news agency quoted Morales as saying Sunday.Morales was addressing hundreds of miners in the town of Llallagua in the Andean province of Potosi Saturday.'We have no fear of the oligarchs,' said the president, who has said on numerous occasions that the opposition is conspiring to oust him.The government of Morales, which assumed office in January 2006, has currently been facing autonomy demand from leaders of four eastern provinces - Santa Cruz, Tarija, Beni and Pando - which account for around two-thirds of the total gross domestic product of Bolivia.Santa Cruz, stronghold of the opposition-ruled eastern provinces, has recently approved an 'autonomy statute', under which it will retain nearly two-thirds of the tax revenues it turns over to central authorities. Following the move, Beni and Pando declared autonomy in a massive rally two days later and another region, Tarija, is expected to follow suit.Morales said the moves towards autonomy were illegal, and warned to take help of the army to maintain Bolivia's territorial integrity.Now, accusing the opposition of trying to topple him, the leftist leader said, 'The right, the conservatives, the servants of North American imperialism are reaching out to the armed forces.'In November, Morales had said the US, former Spanish prime minister Jose Maria Aznar along with the country's opposition were conspiring to oust him.However, Bolivian opposition leaders have rejected the allegations and demanded the president provide proof of his accusations. (c) Indo-Asian News Service
|
|
|
|
|
|
Related News
Czech government regrets forced Roma sterilization
Prague - Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer expressed regret over the forced sterilization of Roma women but failed to apologize to the victims or offer them financial compensation, officials said Monday. During the Communist era, authorities in the ...
Protests precede Ahmadinejad's visit to Brazil
Brasilia - Several hundred people on Sunday protested the upcoming visit of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, taking him to task for his denial of the Holocaust. The protests, which took place in Rio de Janeiro, are expected to be followed by pr...
Polls put incumbent ahead in Romanian vote; fraud reported - Summary
Bucharest- Incumbent Romanian President Traian Basescu was leading in his bid for a second term in a poll marred by allegations of electoral fraud according to election forecasts, but not by enough to avoid a run-off. According to voter surveys by po...
Police confiscate 2 million counterfeit dollars in Colombia
Bogota - Authorities confiscated counterfeit US bank notes totalling more than 2 million dollars in two operations in the city of Medellin, the Colombian Judicial Police said on the weekend. Agents seized more than 1 million counterfeit dollars sent ...
Protests end peacefully in Nicaragua - Summary
Managua - Thousands of protestors in the Central American state of Nicaragua took to the streets of Managua on Saturday against President Daniel Ortega, charging that he is trying t o set up a dictatorship. But the anticipated clashes between Ortega ...
Chavez says destruction of walking bridges to Colombia 'routine'
Caracas - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said the destruction of illegal pedestrian bridges at the border with Colombia was routine, and said the government would continue to eliminate them. Chavez said Saturday that the military had destroyed ...
Myanmar, Laos sign travel and tax treaties
Yangon - Myanmar and Laos strengthened relations with the signing of visa-exemption treaty for their respective citizens and a double-taxation avoidance agreement, state media reported Saturday. The two agreements were signed Friday in the military's...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
