Bolivian Cardinal calls for calm after violent protests

The Bolivian bishops' conference issued a statement expressing "sorrow for the unjust deaths and the suffering of so many brothers and sisters," and made a "vehement call to respect life, end all confrontations and seek peace."

SANTA CRUZ, BOLIVIA (CNS) - A Bolivian cardinal called on the nation's people to solidify peace, a day after protests in the southern city of Sucre left three demonstrators and a police officer dead and about 300 people injured.

Bolivian Cardinal Julio Terrazas Sandoval of Santa Cruz urged Bolivians to "stop the race toward the precipice of hatred and resentment" and "reconstruct the fabric of a torn land ... to solidify peace that is filled with justice and truth."

The cardinal's Nov. 26 message was transmitted from Rome, where the prelate had attended a consistory.

The demonstrations were sparked by the unexpected approval of a new constitution by delegates to the constitutional assembly, which began meeting in August 2006. The assembly had suspended its sessions in August of this year because of a political stalemate between members of President Evo Morales' party and opposition groups.

In a surprise move, the delegates aligned with Morales traveled from Sucre, where they had met until August, to the city of Potosi to approve a draft constitution without opposition delegates, most of whom boycotted the Nov. 25 session.

Morales said Bolivians would vote on the constitution in a national referendum, but did not say when the vote would be held.

On Nov. 26, Morales joined a demonstration by peasant farmers who marched to the western highland city of La Paz to show their support for the constitution.

The Bolivian bishops' conference issued a statement expressing "sorrow for the unjust deaths and the suffering of so many brothers and sisters," and made a "vehement call to respect life, end all confrontations and seek peace."

The bishops wrote that confrontation "is not the way to build a future for Bolivia; wounds and blood sow hatred and will continue to divide us." They called for Bolivians to "put down the weapons of violence and reconcile with one another."

The bishops urged political and civic leaders to put themselves "at the service of peace and the good of the country" and asked "people of peace" not to let the most recent developments discourage them, but to "hold firm in your position as peacemakers."

Disagreement over provisions of the new constitution have underscored deep divides between the largely poor, indigenous western highlands of Bolivia and the wealthier eastern lowlands, where most of the country's large-scale agriculture and petroleum and gas operations are located.

Jose Miguel Insulza, secretary-general of the Organization of American States, called for dialogue among political groups in Bolivia, saying that the drafting of a new constitution "must not imply the defeat of one sector of the country by the other, but the harmonizing of diverse interests."

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