GARCIA LINERA'S RADICAL PAST RESURFACES

UNCLAS LA PAZ 003062 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER PGOV PREL PHUM BL SUBJECT: GARCIA LINERA'S RADICAL PAST RESURFACES -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera's membership in the indigenous-based terrorist group the Tupak Katari Guerilla Army (EGTK),the armed wing of the Tupak Katari Revolutionary Liberation Movement (MRTKL),resurfaced recently as press reports focused on the progress of his petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). In March 2001, Garcia Linera and eleven other co-defendants filed a petition with the IACHR arguing that their rights had been violated, they had been detained arbitrarily, tortured and suffered other abuses at the hands of the democratically elected Bolivian government during the 1990s. The vice president, responding to claims that the petition included a request for two million USD in compensation, announced on November 10 that he never requested financial reparations related to his claims. Other members of the EGTK, notably radical indigenous leader Felipe Quispe, refuted Garcia Linera's announcement, saying they are indeed seeking financial compensation. Should the EGTK ever receive compensation, Garcia Linera can avoid the appearance of enriching himself by donating any money he receives to charity, but he may not be able to avoid the EGTK tarnishing his newly crafted image as a responsible politician. End Summary. -------------- Background of EGTK -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera's membership in the indigenous-based terrorist group the Tupak Katari Guerilla Army (EGTK),the armed wing of the Tupak Katari Revolutionary Liberation Movement (MRTKL),resurfaced recently as press reports focused on the progress of his petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). The EGTK is alleged to have carried out fifty bombing attacks from 1991-1993. The attacks centered on power pylons, oil pipelines, missionary churches (Mormon Churches) and government facilities. Garcia Linera and his ex-wife Maria Raquel Guitierrez Aguilar were arrested in connection with their membership in the EGTK in April 1992 and detained for five years during which they claim torture by beatings, electric shock to the genitals and other abuses. Garcia Linera and other members of the EGTK confessed to their terrorist activities, but later recanted, stating the admissions of guilt were the result of the torture. After five years of pressure from many leftist groups, the GOB released the EGTK prisoners in 1997. -------------- The Petition -------------- ¶3. (SBU) In March 2001, Garcia Linera and eleven other co-defendants filed a petition with the IACHR arguing that their human rights had been violated, that they had been detained arbitrarily, that they were tortured and suffered other abuses at the hands of the democratically elected Bolivian government during the 1990s. The petition claimed that they had "exhausted all domestic remedies" trying to resolve their case. Initially the commission ruled that all domestic remedies had not been exhausted. However, in October 2005 after the Bolivian authorities failed to respond in a timely fashion the IACHR reopened the petition and accepted the case. The October 2005 report does not discuss monetary compensation. However, Evelio Fernandez, the president of the IACHR, recently stated that compensation could be a possibility for the EGTK detainees if the defendants and the GOB could reach a settlement. If not, the issue of compensation would be pushed to the Inter-American Court for Human Rights. -------------- To Compensate or Not to Compensate -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The Vice President, responding to claims that the petition included a request for two million USD in compensation, announced on November 10, that he never requested financial reparations related to his claims. Nonetheless various press outlets have reported the defendants requested two million USD in compensation. Furthermore, former EGTK leader Felipe Quispe has argued that the petition did include a request for two million USD. Quispe recently stated, "We requested that they return what they (the GOB) stole from us, and if Garcia Linera does not deliver compensation, he will be declared a traitor to the sacred class of indigenous peoples." -------------- Comment -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Since the compensation question remains unsettled, Garcia Linera is in the strange situation of "negotiating" with himself. On the one hand, he is a co-defendant in the case; on the other hand he is the number two in the government which may eventually offer a settlement to the defendants. Should the EGTK ever receive compensation, Garcia Linera can avoid the appearance of enriching himself by donating any money he receives to charity, but he may not be able to avoid the EGTK tarnishing his newly crafted image as a responsible politician. End Comment. GOLDBERG