In a major setback for Pentagon plans to install a US military radar base in the Czech Republic, the Prague government March 17 temporarily withdrew its proposal to ratify an agreement on the installation. Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek halted the ratification process when it appeared that the Chamber of Deputies would likely reject the agreement. According to Jana Glivicka, a leader of the grassroots No Bases Initiative, this is a significant retreat, since the radar has been promoted as one of the key accomplishments of the current government.

The Bolivian government has applied for approval from the US State Department to purchase six L-159 light warplanes from the Czech Republic. Defense Minister Walker San Miguel told the daily La Prensa the planes, to be bought for $58 million, contain electronic parts made in the US, and their sale to a third party therefore requires US authorization. San Miguel said the planes would be used for drug enforcement. (AFP, March 11)

Bolivia's Vice-Ministry of Lands issued a decree March 11 against US rancher Ronald Larsen for illegally allowing the French oil major Total to explore for hydrocarbons on his sprawling property in Santa Cruz department. The decree nullifies Larsen's 2004 contract with Total allowing an exploration well on his Caraparicito hacienda, finding it had not received approval from the national government. Last year, Total announced that the well, Incahuasi X1, was producing 1 million cubic meter a day. (UPI, March 11)

Bolivian President Evo Morales, empowered by his country's new constitution, began redistributing land to indigenous peasants March 15. In a ceremony on part of the land seized by the government from large owners, Morales turned over about 94,000 acres to Guaraní indigenous communities in the Chaco region of southern Santa Cruz department. Morales harshly criticized the treatment of workers on large farms and called upon rich landowners to embrace equality by voluntarily giving up some of their holdings.

Rejecting President Marc Ravalomanana's proposal for a referendum to end Madagascar's violent political crisis, opposition leader Andry Rajoelina instead called for his arrest March 16. As explosions were heard in the capital Antananarivo, the military intervened, seizing key government buildings. The military passed power to Rajoelina, a former mayor of Antananarivo who led weeks of angry protests demanding Ravalomanana's ouster.

A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld March 17 a district court decision finding former Salvadoran military commander Nicolas Carranza liable for murder and torture committed during El Salvador's civil war in the 1980s. In 2005, a Tennessee federal jury found Carranza liable for acts of murder and torture in El Salvador under the Alien Tort Statute and the Torture Victims Protection Act. Carranza had appealed the verdict, claiming that the district court abused its discretion by not granting comity to a Salvadoran amnesty law.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) March 17 hailed a decision by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit not to revisit an earlier decision requiring the Department of Defense (DoD) to disclose photographs of apparent detainee abuse. The Bush administration filed a request for rehearing in November in response to a Second Circuit ruling that the DoD must release the photographs of Iraqi and Afghan detainees after redacting personally identifying information.

The US Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals March 17 upheld a military judge's dismissal of the charges against Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, the top-ranking US Marine to face court-martial in the killing of 24 Iraqis at Haditha. The court affirmed the appearance of "unlawful command influence" when a lawyer who had investigated the case sat in on meetings at which the case was discussed with the general who ultimately decided to charge Chessani.