Bolivian Army to Repress Protesters Rejecting the Coup

Bolivia’s armed forces commander Williams Kaliman announced Monday that the military will take joint action with the police in repressing people’s mobilization against the coup that forced out President Evo Morales’ democratically elected government.

"In the face of acts of vandalism, force will be used proportionally. We call for common sense and peace and we remind the population that the armed forces will never open fire on them," Kaliman said.

In doing so, the commander in chief is obeying the request of the Senate’s Second Deputy Senate Majority Leader and member of the opposition Democratic Union party Jeanine Anez, who asked the military to join with the police units to “control the masses; hordes,” referring to militants and supporters of the Movement for Socialism (MAS) who demand the respect of the popular vote.

After the coup was done Sunday, hundreds of people mobilized Monday to reject it urging that President Morales start his duties.

However, the demonstrators were repressed by police forces who attacked them with rubber bullets​​​, leaving several wounded with two people seriously injured.

Despite threats from opposition parties and security forces to attack social demonstrations; the leader of the Confederation of Intercultural Communities Henry Mamani announced that his organization will join the mobilization in defense of the democracy.

Bolivian President Evo Morales was forced to resign Sunday after the army and police called on him to do so following weeks of right-wing unrest and violence against his Oct. 20 elections victory.

The coerced resignation came after Morales proposed a dialogue process with the opposition parties but was rejected, and even accepted the Organization of American States’ (OAS) call for new elections.

In an interview with teleSUR's correspondent in Bolivia Freddy Morales, the former president said the decision to call new elections was to preserve the peace in Bolivia "so that we do not confront the Bolivian family," while calling on the opposition protesters to end the strikes and remove roadblocks in order to not harm the economy of the country.