By EUGEN ROXAS
Massacre. The government's representative Leopoldo Fernández Ferreira was detained in the prefectural house of Cobija, capital of Pando department due to break the martial law established by Bolivia government.
Photo © The Achacachi Post™
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ACHACACHI, Bolivia.- Fernández is accused by the genocide crime in massacre degree (Bolivian Crime Code, Art. 138, Art. 121 paragraph 2º) for allowing the slaughter of more than 25 peasants, injured more than 50 people and to tolerate the disappearance of 100 folks on Thursday September 11 2008 in towns of Filadelfia, Porvenir and Cachuelita. Crime for which can be sanctioned with a privation of freedom of among 10 to 20 years of prison aggravated with a fine of 100 to 500 days if the detained is government official, as he is (Supreme ordinance Nº 29705, Art. 2 clause h).
For this detention Bolivian government is using his constitutional prerogative to keep in custody “…accused of conniving against the public order rules, …” during a martial law (Political Constitution of Bolivia, Art. 112, paragraph 3) since government's representative Fernández continued calling to manifestations; breaking with this act the rules of martial law that “…not allow manifestations…” (Supreme ordinance Nº 29705, Art. 2 clause b).
The capture was made by authority called during martial law, the Bolivian army to assure in that moment “…el maintenance of the public order…” (Supreme ordinance Nº 29705, Art. 3) that allows to take in for questioning without prosecutor order with the only condition that the detainee is given in a term of forty eight hours to competent judge.
Days before the caged Fernández had said, he in person ordered the excavation of gutters in the roads so that the peasants were not permitted to pass. This act allowed ambushing easily the peasants by the personnel of the National Service of Roads.
Likewise Branko Gora Marinkovic Jovicevic, head of Santa Cruz de la sierra city civic committee, affirmed that the genocide crime was made in the department of Pando. And where there was genocide, there are criminals, responsible for that crime. And one of the responsible seems to be the government's representative of the Pando Department, Leopoldo Fernández Ferreira.
Here are the law and rules that serve as base for confinement of Fernández:
POLITICAL CONSTITUTION DE BOLIVIA
Article 111º. DECLARATION OF MARTIAL LAW (applicable part)
In the cases of serious danger by reason of internal shock or international war the Head of the Executive Power will be able to, with affirmative verdict of the council of Ministers, to declare the martial law in the extension of the territory that necessary.
Article 112º. EFFECTS OF THE MARTIAL LAW (applicable part)
The declaration of martial law produces the following effects:
3º The guarantees and the rights that consecrates this Constitution were not suspended in fact and in general with the single declaration of the martial law; but they will be respect accused people of conniving against the public order, according to what establishes the following paragraphs.
4º Legitimate authority will be able to send in for questioning orders or arrest against those accused, but in the maximum term of forty eight hours the authority will put them to the competent judge's disposition, to who the documents that has motivated the arrest will happen. If the conservation of the public order demands the estrangement from those accused, it will be been able to order his or her confinement to a capital department or of county that is not unhealthy. It is forbidden the exile for political reasons; but to the one confined, pursued, or arrested by these reasons that he or she requests passport for the exterior, he or she won't be able to be he denied by cause some owing the authorities to grant the necessary guarantees to the effect.
BOLIVIAN CRIME CODE
Art. 138. - GENOCIDE
The one that with the purpose of destroying total or partially a national, ethnic or religious group, made death or will cause lesions to the members of the group, or submit to conditions of inhuman subsistence or enforced to impede their reproduction, or will carry out with violence the displacement of children or adults toward other groups, will be sanctioned with prison from ten to twenty years.
In the same sanction the authors, or other, direct or indirect culprits of bloody massacres will incur in the country.
If the guilty were authorities or public officials, the sanction will be increased with a fine of a hundred to five hundred days.
Conc. with: Bolivian Code of crime, Art. 121
Art. 121. - ARMED LIFTS AGAINST THE SECURITY AND SOVEREIGNTY OF THE STATE
Those who lift in weapons with the purpose of changing the Political Constitution or government's form settled, to depose some of the national government's public powers or to impede, although temporarily, the free exercise of their constitutional abilities or their renovation in their legal terms, they will be sanctioned with privation of freedom from five to fifteen years.
Those who organize or integrate irregular, urban or rural armed groups, under internal or external influences, to promote armed confrontations with regular forces or public security, or to make attacks against the life and people's security, the territorial integrity or the sovereignty of the State, they will be sanctioned with the pain from fifteen to thirty years of prison.
GOVERNMENT SUPREME ORDINANCE Nº 29705
ARTICLE 1. - Of conformity to the Article 111 of the Political Constitution of the State, with kind verdict of Minister Council, martial law is declared in the whole territorial jurisdiction of the department of Pando.
ARTICLE 2. - Of conformity to the Article 112 of the Political Constitution of the State, the following measures settle down in the whole territorial jurisdiction of the department of Pando:
a)It is absolutely forbidden to carry all type of firearms, cutlery and any explosive material that could attempt against the integrity of people or the public or private goods.
b) It is forbidden the organization of political meetings, manifestations, strikes and blockade of streets, urban, rural and local roads that alter the normal development of the activities in the department of Pando.
c) It is forbidden the traffic of groups of more than three (3) people among 00:00 hours until 06.00 AM. hours.
d) All social meeting or of another nature will necessarily owe manage to get an authorization of the National Police.
e) It is forbidden the circulation of the motorized vehicles, public and private between 00.00 hours and 06.00 A.M. without the authorization corresponding of the Operative Unit of Traffic.
f) All people who want to travel to the interior of the country will owe manage to get safe-conduct of the Departmental Police command.
g) Bars, taverns, restaurants, discos, whore houses and all the amusement places or all other night activities, will suspend their operation starting from hours 00.00 until hours 06.00 A.M.
h) With relation to people of departmental, municipal and provincial authorities involved in acts against the public order, the life, the security, the peace and the state of law in the department of Pando, the parentheses 3 and 4 of the Article 112 of the Political Constitution of the State will be applied.
ARTICLE 3. - The armed forces of the Nation in execution of their constitutional abilities, will assure the maintenance of the public order, the martial law, the social peace and fundamentally the protection of life and the integrity of the citizens and inhabitants of the department of Pando, on the base of that settled down in the Political Constitution of the State and presently supreme ordinance.
ARTICLE 4. – Authority she will be able to send arrest orders against those accused, but in the maximum term of 48 hours he or she have to be presented to a competent judge's disposition.
¿What does genocide mean?. This word comes from two Latin words: “genus” , ‘race', ‘nation' and “caedes” , ‘slaughter'. It was used for the first time by the Polish penologist Rafael LEMKIN to refer to the crime “without name” of killed by Nazis. The genocide is a common crime of international law of maximum graveness. The genocide is a premeditated crime with the purpose of destroying total or partially to a certain human group. It was approved by the III Convention of United Nations of December 12 1948 and is effective since January 12 1951.
¿What does massacre mean?. It derives of French “massacre”, ‘destroy ', ‘butchery'. Slaughter of people, in general defenceless, taken place by armed attack.
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