Road Blocks and Hunger Strikes – Demonstrations Continue in Sucre

Posted on Wednesday, 10 April, 2013 by BobR

University of San Francisco Xavier students on their second day of hunger strike in Sucre.

University of San Francisco Xavier student protesters on their second day of hunger strike in Sucre.

Sucre, Bolivia – A few images from the University of San Francisco Xavier student and faculty protests that continued today in front of the Chuquisaca state government building here in Sucre. Above are a two students beginning their second day of a hunger strike; below, a road block set up by students in front of the government building.

I spent about an hour there in early afternoon, with the mood being far from confrontational. Those maintaining the road block were loose, but firm; only police vehicles were let through. “Gracias,” one police officer told the protesters as he drove by.

More photos on my flickr stream here, and a bit more background on the demonstrations here (or linked to below). The local daily Correo del Sur is also providing local coverage (in Spanish).

University of San Francisco Xavier student protesters form a road block in Sucre.

Student, Faculty Protests Continue in Sucre

Posted on Tuesday, 9 April, 2013 by BobR

University of San Francisco Xavier student and faculty demonstration, Sucre, Bolivia, 08-Apr-2013

Student demonstrator. Sure, Bolivia, 08-Apri-2013

Sucre, Bolivia – University of San Francisco Xavier students, faculty and administrators continued their protests over budgetary shortfalls yesterday and this morning, blocking traffic and access to a government building in the city’s historical center.

As I mentioned last week, the main demand, directed towards the governor of Chuquisaca State, Esteban Urquizu, is that the state provide 10 percent of its total oil and gas royalties, as required by law, to the university. Urquizi, a member of The Movement for Socialism (MAS) led by Bolivian President Evo Morales, is at 31 the youngest governor in the country.

A few quick snaps: at top, fireworks yesterday in front of a federal building; and below, demonstrators begin a march through Sucre’s historic center at the Plaza 25 de Mayo on Monday (8 Apr); demonstrators preparing for another protest this morning shortly after 8 a.m.

Students, Faculty Protest Education Budget Shortfall in Sucre

Posted on Friday, 5 April, 2013 by BobR

Sucre, Bolivia – Here are a few shots from the aftermath of a demonstration here in Sucre yesterday organized by students, faculty and administrators of the University of San Francisco Xavier. Dumping garbage onto the streets and squares is apparently a regular fixture of demonstrations here.

The protesters’ main demand, directed towards the governor of Chuquisaca State, Esteban Urquizu, is that the state provides 10 percent of its total oil and gas royalties, as required by law, to the university. These demonstrations are part of annual upper education budget battles here; generally, a few people told me, only about two or three percent of those royalties eventually make it to university coffers.

According to the daily Correo de Sur, this was the largest demonstration in Sucre in five years. I arrived in the central Plaza 25 de Mayo, where the marchers congregated, after the protest was already concluded, with clean up crews busy at work, many with smiles on their faces. By the end of the afternoon the plaza was back to its immaculate cleanliness.

Organizers have threatened additional actions for Monday and Tuesday if demands are not met.

By the way, the University of San Francisco Xavier (USFX), founded in 1624, is the second oldest university in the Americas.

National Uprising demonstration, Republic Square, Ljubljana, 21-Dec-2012

Demonstrations Continue – 46 Pics from Slovenia’s ‘National Uprising’

Posted on Saturday, 22 December, 2012 by BobR

National Uprising demonstration, Republic Square, Ljubljana, 21-Dec-2012

Slovenia’s Autumn of Discontent officially changed seasons yesterday with more demonstrations last night, the so-called National Uprising.

The largest was in the capital Ljubljana where a crowd estimated at more than 10,000 gathered in the central Trg Republike, or Republic Square, near Parliament to again demand the resignation of Slovenia’s entire political elite, including the current government. The initial response? Through its official twitter feed, Prime Minister Janez Janša‘s SDS (Slovenian Democratic Party) party called the demonstration a ‘Zombie Uprising’. I suppose that’s one way to deal with dissent and a growing restless and upset population. Probably not the best option however.

Unlike a few previous gatherings late in the fall, this one remained peaceful. A few more snaps below plus a 46-photo slideshow is below – it even includes a smoking Santa. There were more protests tonight in the same general area as former Prime Minister Borut Pahor was sworn in as Slovenia’s fourth president since independence.

For good English-language background on the current and growing political crisis in Slovenia, I strongly recommend Sleeping with Pengovsky, a blog by a local journalist. Don’t be turned off –or on– by his Friday and Monday skin posts (which are probably NSFW in the U.S.). There’s plenty of really good analysis, too, beginning with the first couple stories inked to below.

‘It’s time for a new country. Some say you can find happiness there.’ National Uprising demonstration, Republic Square, Ljubljana, 21-Dec-2012

National Uprising demonstration, Republic Square, Ljubljana, 21-Dec-2012

‘F-O Janša, we’re not afraid of you.’ National Uprising demonstration, Republic Square, Ljubljana, 21-Dec-2012

‘Today won’t be the end of the world but it will be the end of your dictatorship.’
National Uprising demonstration, Republic Square, Ljubljana, 21-Dec-2012

National Uprising demonstration, Republic Square, Ljubljana, 21-Dec-2012

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Near Parliament, Ljubljana, 30 November 2012

Carnations, Neo-Nazis and a Water Cannon – More Demonstrations in Ljubljana

Posted on Saturday, 1 December, 2012 by BobR

Near Parliament, Ljubljana, 30 November 2012

This was taken at about 6 pm last night, shortly after protesters were giving carnations to police officers stationed in front of Parliament. About four hours later police used a water cannon in Slovenia for the first time.

I’m sick as a dog and didn’t stay in the chill and drizzle for very long, so this is a rundown based mostly on local press accounts of what was, somewhat astonishingly, the second demonstration in a week here in Slovenia to turn violent.

Upwards of 10,000 people gathered in Ljubljana yesterday, one of seven Slovenian cities where hastily organized demonstrations took place to protest what’s perceived as widespread fraud and corruption, austerity measures, and the economic reform policies of the center-right government of Prime Minister Janez Jansa. Here in the capital, the demonstration began at 4 pm in Kongresni Trg, or Congress Square, before moving a couple hours later towards Trg Republike, or Republic Square, near Parliament. Protesters were loud and at times blunt, but peaceful. Police stationed near Parliament were relaxed –certainly much more than they were on Tuesday– some of them exchanging banter and conversation with demonstrators. Many were wearing carnations given to them by protesters whose chants included, ‘higher salaries for police’.

I left at about 6:30; an hour later the mood shifted dramatically. Provocateurs, described by many on the scene as well organized and numbering perhaps four to five dozen, began throwing bottles, rocks, bricks and fireworks. Under the spotlight of a helicopter, police soon responded with tear gas. When the rock-throwing idiots were eventually forced from Republic Square and back towards Congress Square, the water cannon was brought in. At night’s end, 33 were arrested and 18 treated for injuries at local hospitals.

So who were these provocateurs? Neo-Nazi and right wing groups who have mushroomed over the past four years, according to local press reports, eyewitness accounts and conjecture on twitter. Most were young, some under-age, and among those arrested, some had previous records.

Elsewhere in Slovenia things were calm. In the north central city of Velenje and the main port city of Koper, about 300 people gathered in squares that still bear Tito’s name. About 700 gathered in the western town of Nova Gorica, and a few hundred in Novo Mesto near the border with Croatia. In Trbovlje, about 300 gathered in an amphitheater that was once a cemetery to symbolically bury the country during a candle-lit funeral. (Crowd estimates from TV Slovenia.)

More demonstrations are being organized for Monday, again in Ljubljana and Maribor, Slovenia’s second largest city, where violence also marred a demonstration last Monday. Fifteen photos are below, all taken well before the morons stole the headlines.

‘It’s Over!’ Protests, Ljubljana, 30 November 2012

Protests, Ljubljana, 30 November 2012

Prime Minister Janez Janse. Ljubljana, 30 November 2012

Ljubljana, 30 November 2012

Near Parliament, Ljubljana, 30 November 2012

Impromptu Demonstrations in Ljubljana

Posted on Tuesday, 27 November, 2012 by BobR

I just realized I haven’t posted here since the last time local police put on their Robocop riot gear. It’s been a busy week, my apologies.

This was in front of Slovenian Parliament here in Ljubljana a few hour ago. An impromptu demonstration began to take shape around 5 pm in nearby Congress Square, mainly to support the 10,000 demonstrators in Maribor, Slovenia’s second largest city, who took to the streets yesterday demanding the resignation of their mayor, who is drowning in corruption charges and criminal investigations. Some police reacted with force, protesters said the demonstrations would spread to other parts of the country. They were right.

Crowd estimates ranged from 1,500 to 2,000 here tonight. With the exception of a few eggs and beer cans that were thrown –what a waste!– all was peaceful. Protesters lowered the flag in Republic Square, across the street from Parliament, to half mast. Another demonstration is being planned for Friday to protest the center-right government of Prime Minister Janez Jansa.

A few more pics below.

Anti-Austerity demonstration, Ljubljana, Slovenia, Nov 17, 2012

Anti-Austerity Demonstrations in Ljubljana

Posted on Saturday, 17 November, 2012 by BobR

About 30,000 people gathered today in Ljubljana‘s central Kongresni Trg, or Congress Square, to protest against the ongoing austerity policies of Prime Minister Janez Jansa’s conservative government. The demonstrators in Slovenia’s capital joined hundreds of thousands of others who took to the streets in similar actions elsewhere in Europe earlier this week, including Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece.

The demonstration was organized by Slovenia’s largest trade unions who characterized the austerity measures as a “neo-liberal virus that is spreading across Europe”. The rally was also supported by student and pensioner organizations who face further cuts in school, university and pension budgets.

Speakers at the two-hour event shared variations on a common theme – that wages, pensions and scholarships are not to blame for the current crisis, but rather, as Alliance of Slovenian Independent Unions (ZSSS) head Dusan Semolic said, “It was greedy capitalism that caused it.”

A few hundred later marched two blocks towards the Parliament building which was cordoned off and protected by police. The four hundred police dispatched for the demonstration had a relatively easy and stress-free day with no incidents reported.

Below are 22 photos.

You know times are tough when inflatable dolls protest

Near parliament

‘Almighty God, rescue us from hellish governments and capitalist, Amen’

The most secure parking payment machine in Ljubljana

‘Clean energy for jobs’

‘The casino of Capitalism is a bottomless pit’

In front of Slovenia’s parliament

Near parliament

Fleeting Moment, with Mortero

Posted on Saturday, 30 June, 2012 by BobR

The WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge theme this week is Fleeting Moment, like the one during which I made eye contact with this student demonstrator in Managua, back in April 1999. He’s holding a mortero, kind of a homemade M-80 launcher. They’re mainly used to make a very loud noise. They succeed with great effect.

These particular demonstrations were organized each April since the beginning of the 1990s to protest proposed cuts to university funding budgets. As far as I know they were still going on as recently as 2009. The Nicaraguan constitution mandates that six percent of the federal budget go towards higher education. Each year through the 1990s there was a threat to reduce it, thus the protests.

A student was killed by the police the day before so there was some tension – and plenty of tear gas. This was taken later in the day; earlier I ran when tear gas began flying in my direction, a reaction that provoked laughter from a student who was helping me as an interpreter. “Why are you running, silly, crazy gringo?” I always thought that crossing paths with tear gas usually signalled a good reason to run.

Along the margins, on both sides of the street, kids stood by ready to sell bottled water to anyone who was gassed. I didn’t need any because I ran.

Invasion of the Snatched Bodies

Posted on Thursday, 21 June, 2012 by BobR

Slovenian MPs on their way to work this morning were greeted by 1,320 of these sullen clay doll-like things in front of parliament, each representing one person who protesters say will die due to environmental contaminants over the next 40 years if construction of a new generator at the coal-fired Šoštanj Thermal Power Plant is carried out.

The protest, organized by a coalition of organizations which includes Greenpeace Slovenia and the sustainable development NGO Focus, coincided with today’s meeting when a decision was expected to be handed down by Parliament’s Finance and Monetary Policy Committee on whether a €440 million loan guarantee should be approved by the government for the project, known as TEŠ 6. However, a decision wasn’t reached. The meeting was adjourned after five hours and will resume next Thursday, breathing a few puffs of life into the opposition’s slogan, Še je čas – There’s still time.

Opponents have long criticized the upgrading plan for its lack of transparency, while proponents are emphasizing long-term savings in the cost of power as well as job creation in the Šaleška valley near Velenje, Slovenia’s fifth largest city. In reality, few citizens seem to know much about a project that will have a significant bearing, both financially and ecologically, on the country’s energy production for most of the next four decades. Cost estimates of the project have already doubled from €600 million to €1.2 billion. That’s not pocket change for a country of just over 2 million.

How does public oversight tend to work in Slovenia? Searching for some background info, I found this report, TES 6: Slovenian Future?: New development vision of Slovenia, EU climate policy and the project of Unit 6 of Šoštanj Thermal Power Plant, which is telling. Umanotera, a sustainable development NGO, brought together all the key players for an open forum on the plan back in January 2010. What was one of the primary conclusions? That public debate should have begun at least five years earlier.

A few more pics:

Hey! Join me on Twitter.

Workers’ Demonstration in Ljubljana

Posted on Tuesday, 1 December, 2009 by BobR

About 30,000 people turned out for a demonstration on Saturday organized by Slovenia’s major national trade unions. Their key demands included raising the minimum net monthly salary to 600 EUR. They also voiced their opposition to a proposal which would increase the retirement age to 65. In the near term, both are very likely to fall on deaf ears.

It was raining most of the day, the hardest during the half hour or so I was there. But many managed to stay dry.