SIX WEEKS ago few ple outside the American Bolivia had ever heard of General Luis Garcia Meza.
Today Meza is one of the most tyrannical tators in the heads a ruthless military government, one of whose main backers said recently: 'We must have repression until we have complete control of the situation. must create discipline. There is no alternative.' An example of such 'discioline' was reported last week by Amnesty Amnesty now me max locao remell oi the Bolivian Army entered the mining district of August, 18 days after the military coup.
Beheaded rirst lney usca artmery, plane. and tanks to bombard the Miners resisted with stones. People who tried to flee were then pursued and killed by soldiers.
Corpses beheaded and miner had gunpowder rammed into peo- his mouth by soldiers and was then South dow uo i me lown centre. w omel were raped.
of Amnesty has the names of eight Incl who are definitely known to nave been ce oners wo re and others who have been die- arrested He Rich The prisoners seized in Caracoles are among the estimated 2,000 jailed since Meza came to power. The 3.500 sho, ace ording to led on toe have been Same enou The Meza coup is the 189th in Bolivia since it was granted formal locals almost a caricature of the described hall joke South 'banana republics presidents are changea every olne. day.
The Icasull WIly susceptible to coups can be stated quite simply: it is a potentially rich Coll. outs the poorest in the world. The majority of the eople resent this, s they eno lo voic or bonlical Da area. ties or join trade unions which promise to even up the balance of BoliKit those who own a0e oo! from those riches reject such extrucks.
pressions of popular will — by torture, murder and coups. happened, Bolivia on 17 July.
after Hernan Siles Luazo had top music pea the polls in tne erection. Luazo American has been described by the Financial which 'a left-wing but even Zuazo's politics were too extreme for the officers who staged Bolivia the coup.
I Ne interests thei became apparent when Meza banned all trade unions, declared his intention to 'eliminate...all traces of Marxist cancer' 'all those who nonal economy as traitors to the receive drastic penalties'.
particularly . And Ina sunke again, followed, Meza's coup came two weeks Such moderate' internationally represented racketeers.
and warned that sabotage the power. wil oe proclaillice All of fatherland and be in This last statement was aimed could mineworkers who responded to the coup with Harsh Teoressiol but information which has leaked out despite the drastic censorshi suggests unal strikes are continuing in mining areas.
resistance likely to clique has little support either inside the country or Even the United States has suspended foreign aid to new government's links with drug There are also reports that there have been widespread desertions from the army since Meza came to which suggests that po as tor lived as most o as short lived as most of
South Korea A FURTHER exercise in democracy — Western style — is now underway in South Korea. This involves the military trial of Kim Dae Jung, a former presidential candidate and the best known liberal opponent to military rule in South