Bolivian opposition leaders Dec. 4 accused an international commission of bias toward President Evo Morales in its report on a September jungle "massacre." The new report by the Union of South American Nations names 19 people confirmed killed in the clash in Pando province, including 17 Morales supporters and two opponents. Opposition leaders accused investigators of favoring Morales supporters’ testimony over that of pro-autonomy groups, and of reporting unsubstantiated allegations—including charges that anti-Morales factions raped young girls.

"It seems to me this was a report made to measure for the government," Pando Sen. Paolo Bravo told the Associated Press. "They accepted the testimony from one side as truth, but said testimony from the other side had no validity at all." But UNASUR lead investigator Rodolfo Mattarollo, an Argentine, told Bolivia's La Razon newspaper that testimony from opposition groups was less credible and didn't match evidence. "We consider this an organized attack against a civilian population," Mattarollo said. (China Post, Dec. 6)

See our last post on Bolivia.

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