UN lauds conviction of high-level Bolivians for 2003 massacre

[News_Editor]

UN lauds conviction of high-level Bolivians for 2003 massacre

2011-09-04 02:21:12 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- The United Nations human rights chief has welcomed a decision by Bolivia's top court to sentence several high-level officials to prison for their involvement in a deadly government crackdown in 2003.

"I commend the Bolivian Supreme Court for its decision, which is an important step in the fight against impunity," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in a statement. "I also urge the Government to take all necessary steps to ensure victims and their relatives receive suitable reparations and redress."

On Tuesday, five senior military officers received prison sentences ranging from 10 to 15 years for their role in what became known as "Black October." The former Ministers of Sustainable Development and of Employment were also sentenced to three years each.

At least 69 people were killed and over 400 injured during the anti-government protests in 2003. Soldiers repeatedly fired on crowds demonstrating against a government plan to build a gas pipeline through El Alto, near La Paz, over a period of several days.

Pillay noted that a number of Latin American countries have been demonstrating to the rest of the world that it is possible to bring justice for past human rights violations. "Those who carry out torture, extrajudicial killings and other such crimes on other continents would do well to reflect on this very healthy and accelerating trend towards combating long-standing impunity in Latin America," she stated.

Pillay cited recent developments such as the ones in Argentina, Uruguay, Guatemala and Colombia. Last month, for instance, Guatemala sentenced four former military officers to prison for their role in the massacre of 268 peasants during the country's civil war.

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