No a la Impunidad por Muertes en Bloqueos | No Impunity for Blockade Deaths

By ANF, Eju.tv:

Heavy Transport Sector Rejects COB’s Bid for Immunity and Demands Accountability for Deaths of Three Drivers During Road Blockades

The executive secretary of the Heavy Transport Sector of Potosí, Nelson Valle, rejected the idea that the Bolivian Workers’ Central (COB) should make dialogue conditional on receiving guarantees against criminal prosecution for offenses stemming from the protests and road blockades it has promoted since May. He stated that those responsible must answer for the deaths of three drivers on the country’s highways.

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Representative image of drivers eating along blocked highways. Photo: El Deber

Yesterday, the COB sent the Government a letter outlining the “minimum conditions” for initiating dialogue and resolving the nationwide road blockades. Among those conditions was a request for guarantees against criminal prosecution.

Valle asserted that the COB’s list of demands has shifted away from sector-specific concerns and has taken on a political character. He warned that the transport sector will not allow any initiative aimed at granting impunity to move forward.

“We have seen that their list of demands is now political. They want to get off the hook. These gentlemen are already tired. They want to escape justice,” Valle warned.

The heavy transport leader argued that those who promoted the blockades must be held accountable before the courts for the deaths of three transport workers who were stranded on the highways for weeks. He stressed that the matter cannot remain without investigation or punishment.

“We will not tolerate that. They must take responsibility for these three deaths,” he stated.

The Departmental Federation of Peasant Workers “Tupac Katari” also proposed a presidential amnesty decree and questioned the use of criminal charges such as terrorism, criminal association, and public incitement to commit crimes against protesters and blockade participants.

Despite being an independent and technical institution, the Attorney General of the State, Roger Mariaca, confirmed his participation as a guarantor in the meeting between the COB and the Government scheduled for today. His involvement comes at the request of the labor organization, which sought guarantees of “no criminal persecution and no judicialization of protest.”

//FPF//

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