STUDENT DEAD IN POSSIBLE NEW HUMAN RIGHTS CASE

C O N F I D E N T I A L LA PAZ 002658

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FOR DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/02/2023
TAGS: BL PGOV PHUM PINR PREL
SUBJECT: STUDENT DEAD IN POSSIBLE NEW HUMAN RIGHTS CASE

REF: A. LA PAZ 96

B. 2006 LA PAZ 2860

Classified By: EcoPol chief Mike Hammer for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

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Summary
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1. (SBU) A September 28 clash between student protesters
and security forces left one student dead (Osmar Flores

Torres) and four others wounded in the Arani province of
Cochabamba. The students (or normalistas) were threatening
to disrupt a gas pipeline if their demand for a new school
was not met. According to civilian, police and military
officials, security forces (200 police and 500 military) were
not carrying lethal weapons. Military and civilian
authorities will be conducting separate investigations.
Embassy contacts, who have long-held doubts about the
military, have expressed concerns about the military's
investigation. A speedy resolution to this case is not
likely, as politics are already involved. President Evo
Morales and his long-time political opponent Cochabamba
Prefect Manfred Reyes Villa have each accused the other of
orchestrating the events that led to Flores' death. This
case also follows the pattern of Bolivian governments
allowing events to escalate too far before serious
negotiations are held. Following Flores' death, the
government acquiesced to some of the Arani students' demands.
End Summary.

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Background
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2. (U) Twenty-one year old Osmar Flores Torres was shot and
killed on September 28 in a clash with security forces in the
Arani province of Cochabamba, four others were wounded.
Flores was part of a group of "normalistas" (students in
training to be teachers) -- some estimate as many as 800 --
who were protesting for their school to be moved closer to
Arani. The normalistas were attempting to shut-off valves on
a natural gas pipeline. The government sent in a combined
force of police and military to secure the pipeline.
According to news reports, a combined force of 200 police and
500 military officers were in Arani.


3. (U) The Commander of the 7th Division Hernando Nunez del
Prado, the military unit present at Arani on September 28,
states that his forces were not carrying lethal arms. In a
news report with the TV channel Bolivision, on October 1, he
stated " . . . the soldiers did not have lethal munitions.
We used tear gas and non-lethal munitions . . . I am certain
that not one single (soldier) fired (a lethal round),not one
single instructor." Police Commandant Miguel Vasquez also
claims his units used non-lethal force. Nonetheless, rumors
are that the bullet that killed Flores was 7.62 caliber (a
caliber used by the military but available to the police and
civilians). However, Cochabamba newspaper Los Tiempos
reported that the forensics examiner Miriam Rocabado told one
of its reporters that the bullet that killed Flores was not
in his body, so the caliber would be difficult to determine.
According to the report, Rocabado estimates the shooter was
approximately 50 meters away from Flores. A formal autopsy
and forensics report is not yet available.

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The President Said, the Prefect Said
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4. (U) President Evo Morales has accused Cochabamba Prefect
Manfred Reyes Villa of planting "groups of infiltrators" into
the "normalistas" group to provoke the conflict. Reyes Villa
via an advisor pointed out that Arani's mayor is from
Morales, Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party, and stated
that it must have been the president's order that instigated
the violence and Flores death. Morales and Reyes Villa are
long time political opponents. Reyes Villa recently called
for Morales to resign. In January 2007, protesters calling
for the prefects resignation -- who drew support from the
president -- sparked a week of violent conflict when they
burned the prefecture building on January 8. The January
conflicts resulted in three deaths (reftel A).

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The Investigations Begin
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5. (U) Commander of the Armed Forces General Wilfredo
Vargas has stated the military will convene a special
investigatory commission. Cochabamba's chief public
prosecutor Cesar Cartegena states his office will have its
own team of investigators, led by prosecutor Orlando
Zambrana. Perhaps trying to prevent the perception of
influencing the investigation, General Vargas stated, "We
will not interfere in the other investigations which are
being conducted because we work independently from the Public
Ministry (Attorney General's office)."

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A Little Inside Information
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6. (C) Emboff spoke to Colonel Humberto Vargas (no relation
to General Vargas),in the military high command's human
rights office on October 2. He confirmed that the military
will convene a special commission of three investigators, one
investigator per branch of service (army, navy, and
airforce). He pointed out the military does indeed use 7.62
caliber firearms, but that police or one of the normalistas
could have been carrying a 7.62 caliber weapon. Vargas
stated that the special commission's mandate will be to
question the soldiers involved in the event and determine who
(if any of them) had lethal weapons, and if the weapons were
fired.


7. (C) Emboff also spoke to Kathryn Ledebur of the
Cochabamba-based Andean Information Network (AIN) on October

2. (Note: AIN has in the past been critical of U.S. policy
in Bolivia and U.S. efforts to support human rights. End
Note). Ledebur stated she had not begun investigating the
case yet as it is still very early. However, she did voice
concern over the military's special investigatory commission,
which she argued is a common military tactic and usually does
not aid the civilian investigation. Ledebur mentioned that
the Morales administration's accusation of an "infiltrator"
within the normalistas is irrelevant, arguing that even if
there was and infiltrator this would not give the government
the right to use lethal force. Ledebur stated she would
share her findings with Emboff when she had them.

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Reactions To Other Human Rights Cases
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8. (C) Ledebur also commented on other cases. With regards
to the October 2003 cases, Ledebur stated she was encouraged
that the military had given an order to cooperate with the
special prosecutor Milton Mendoza, and said that while she
would not characterize this as complete cooperation but that
it did indicate "greater openness" and at a least a "minimum
of cooperation." Finally, Ledebur commented that she was
frustrated by the Morales, government record on human rights
(involving the military),stating that it was no different
than previous administrations; she went so far as to compare
the current administration to the Banzer administration. She
specifically noted Minister of Defense Walker San Miguel's
lack of cooperation in human rights cases. (Note: Ledebur's
comment about San Miguel followed a discussion about the June
2006 death of Santiago Orocondo. End Note).

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Comment
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9. (C) Following the violence on September 28, the
government acquiesced to many of the normalistas demands,
agreeing to open a "polytechnic" school in Arani.
Unfortunately, it took Osmar Flores, death for this
agreement to be reached. This scenario )- a tragic and
preventable death -- is far too commonly the impetus for
Bolivian negotiations. The October 2006 conflicts in
Huanuni, which resulted in 12 dead, are another example
(reftel B).


10. (C) This case has the potential to become a political
hot potato. The president and the prefect have already
exchanged barbs and each will likely continue to point an
accusatory finger at the other as investigations progress.
The military and police once again find themselves as the
center of attention. In the current political environment
where the roles of the police and the military are under
scrutiny by the Constituent Assembly and the Morales
administration, neither institution is likely inclined to
cooperate much in the other's investigation to determine who
is responsible for Flores' death. Since October 2003, the
military has stated it does not use lethal fire unless
ordered by the civilian authorities, but all authorities
involved deny ever ordering lethal fire. In fact, some
critics are already drawing comparisons between Arani and the
events that led up to President Gonzalo (Goni) Sanchez de
Lozada's ouster in October 2003. Catholic priest Eduardo
Perez on the church-run FIDES radio network stated, "This
(Arani) is Sanchez de Lozada II." Opposition deputy Fernando
Messmer made a similar comparison. While the comparison may
be a bit extreme, if the October 2003 cases are at all
indicative, it could be a long time (if ever) before we know
the "why and the how" of Osmar Flores' death. End Comment.
GOLDBERG