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| Bolivian President Carlos Mesa waves as he
arrives at the presidential palace in downtown La Paz, Bolivia on
Monday, June 6, 2005.(AP) |
President Carlos Mesa offered to resign Monday night, seeking to quell
weeks of anti-government protests that have paralyzed parts of the
country.
The offer came as tens of thousands of Indians, miners and labor
members protested in downtown La Paz in their largest anti-government
march in weeks.
"This is as far as I can go," Mesa said in a nationally televised
address. "It is my decision as president to present my resignation." It
was the second time this year he offered to step down because of street
protests.
Monday's protest in La Paz were largely peaceful,
but riot police fired volleys of tear
gas
canisters and fought sporadic battles against
rock-throwing protesters on the fringes of the demonstration.
More than 500 protesters were turned away by acrid tear gas as they
tried to close in on Mesa's seat of power at the Government Palace, and
riot police also scattered a crowd of thousands from another downtown
plaza when they tried to rally.
No injuries were immediately reported, but police made 22 arrests,
among them protesters accused of brandishing dynamite, according to state
television Canal Siete.
The protests began with long lines of
demonstrators, including indigenous
women in black bowler hats and farmers in baseball caps, who
snaked down from poor hilltop slums above the capital. Disgruntled miners
created thunderous booms by tossing dynamite sticks.
"A people united will never be defeated!" protesters shouted, as they
pressed for the nationalization of Bolivia's energy industry and greater
indigenous rights, among other demands.
The raucous but largely peaceful demonstrations raised tensions in this
impoverished Andean nation of 9 million people, marking the fourth week of
a swelling crisis that has seen protesters throw up road blockades that
have strangled the capital and triggered gas and food shortages.
(Agencies) | 
Updated: 2005-06-08 15:57
