by Miriam Amancay COLQUE
ON Wednesday November 13, prominent leaders of the indigenous movement who were in the front line of the biggest ‘National March to Save the Country’ and the recent blockades, were detained by plain clothed police in unmarked vehicles.
The first to be detained was comrade Humberto Claros, General Secretary of the Confederation of Peasant Workers of Bolivia (CSUTB) in Quillacollo, Cochabamba.
Hours later, comrade Ramiro Jorge Cucho, Chief Executive of CONAMAQ suffered the same fate in the city of Potosi.
Both leaders are courageous and raised their voices denouncing government corruption and protesting against the grave economic crisis, lack of fuel, rising price of the family budget and lack of dollars.
They were taken under strong police escort to the Special Fighting Crime Force – FELCC (Federacion Especial de Lucha Contra el Crimen) in La Paz, accused of ‘terrorism, criminal activity and threats against the state’.
The wave of persecution continues against indigenous trade union leaders. Comrade Ponciano Santos Colque, top Executive of the CSUTCB is being persecuted and an immigration alert activated.
In the case of comrade Ramiro Jorge Cucho the police allege ‘the finding of weapons’.
This accusation resembles a slander, because the negative reputation of the police is widely known for fabricating evidence in these cases, sewing rumours to incriminate civilians.
Similar events took place during the massacre at Huayllani, Sacaba, in November 2019, when the police made those detained carry bags with fabricated evidence in them.
The police have also activated an immigration alert to Evo Morales’s former Ministry of the Presidency Juan Ramon Quintana who declared himself clandestine.
His home has been raided twice by the police and computers and documents removed.
The Luis Arce and David Choquehuanca regime have fiercely repressed the people’s recent blockades, mobilising thousands of military, police, paramilitaries and snipers.
Apart from the killing of four comrades, the case of a woman tortured, raped and murdered by the repressive forces has come to light but ignored by the press and media.
What an irony on seeing the total absence of such forces when far right paramilitaries made a display of their power brandishing machetes and knives in the Ichilo Bridge (Puente Ichilo), Santa Cruz department.
The same thing happened in the Cochabamba city when paramilitary motorcades from the Resistencia Juvenil Kochala – RJK, threatening, boasted about using bazookas.
Also, we recall how in October 2022 in Santa Cruz, during the 36 days, roads were blocked, there were also deaths, injured people, but the fascists and racists ransacked, destroyed and set fire to trade union offices with complete impunity.
Then, the response of Luis Arce’s regime was nil.
We never saw thousands of repressive forces to contain the fascist blockade, as they did recently against the indigenous and popular movement.
And so it is obvious, those who organised the fascist roadblocks were part of a supremacist elite, who consider the indigenous people as ‘savages, beasts’, etc and to this day enjoy freedom and impunity.
Luis Arce and David Choquehuanca, not content with splitting the social organisations, have proceeded to decapitate the indigenous movement with the same methods of dictatorial regimes, persecuting and taking to prison trade union leaders and grassroots members who have merely sought bread for the people and a solution to the social, economic and political crisis facing the country.
Such is the abuse of power of the current regime that Eduardo Del Castillo – Interior Minister, have labelled the social organisations as ‘extremist groups’.
The Interior Ministry also have opened judicial process against David Mamani Quispe, top Executive of the Federation of Peasant Workers of La Paz ‘Tupac Katari’ (Federacion de Trabajadores Campesinos de La Paz – Tupac Katari), Wilfredo Quispe Chambi, Jhonny Apaza Cruz.
We recall that all our rights have been won through innumerable struggles, and it was always the indigenous movement, who bravely faced the bullets first.
Despite the political persecution and systematic violence, they were able to relaunch the struggle with courage and determination, and this time they will not leave the corrupt and repressive regime to despoil their rights.
President Arce and Vice-president Choquehuanca will be held responsible if the wellbeing of all political prisoners is put at risk.
This anti-indigenous, anti-popular right wing regime will not extinguish our spirit of struggle and united we will arise stronger.
We call on international solidarity and in particular the world’s trade union movement and other organisations to demand the liberation of all our comrades.
Strength to comrades Humberto Claros and Ramiro Jorge Cucho. You are not alone!
All our solidarity! Free all political prisoners!
London, November 15, 2024
• China will align Belt and Road cooperation with Bolivia’s 2025 development plan, and expand cooperation in multiple areas, Chinese President Xi Jinping said when meeting Bolivian President Luis Arce on the sidelines of the G20 summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Tuesday.