Enshrining Mob Rule in Bolivia:
Communal Justice and the New Constitution
http://www.humanrightsfoundation.org/media/BolReportJan08.html
LA PAZ, Bolivia (January 15, 2008) -- Lashing, crucifixion and other forms
of corporal punishment would be legal in a new constitution proposed by the
government of Bolivian President Evo Morales. Since 2005, Bolivia has seen a
dramatic increase in such disturbing practices, including lynchings and
torture, meted out under an informal system known as “communal justice.”
Cases include death sentences for women accused of adultery and the beating,
stoning, hanging, and burning of an elected official accused of corruption.
“Communal justice entirely disregards due process. In theory, it enables
indigenous communities to address their needs in a fair and disinterested
manner. In practice, it is judicial terror. It is breathtaking that the
Morales government wishes to enshrine such arbitrary and barbaric practices
and make them legally unappealable,” said Thor Halvorssen, president of the
Human Rights Foundation (HRF). Today, HRF published a report on Bolivia’s
communal justice system.
“Communal justice” is an Inca practice derived from ancient custom law that
currently allows local leaders to impart justice directly for crimes
perpetrated by members of their indigenous communities, bypassing the
Bolivian legal system. The practice sometimes involves communal leaders
engaging in rituals such as consulting coca leaves. It came to the attention
of the international press in June of 2004, when a group of people in La Paz
kidnapped Benjamin Altamirano, former mayor of Ayo Ayo. Altamirano was
brutally killed by a mob after the Bolivian court system found no evidence
of wrongdoing or misconduct in accusations of corruption leveled against
him. The Morales government proposes to make communal justice the only
system of law available to indigenous communities—with no right to appeal
and no due process guarantees for the accused.
“This system would allow the government to subjugate Bolivia’s population
under the threat of an instant trial with deadly consequences,” said
Halvorssen. President Morales and representatives of his government have
stated that they support lashings as a “symbolic” way of promoting communal
justice. Research carried out by HRF reveals that such punishments are
hardly symbolic.
Twenty-eight (28) reported cases include instances of women buried alive for
adultery and additional episodes of angry mobs raiding town halls and police
headquarters to take justice into their own hands. Because the authorities
fear confronting those who carry out such barbaric practices, the
perpetrators of communal justice are neither prosecuted under ordinary law,
nor made accountable for their crimes.
The government’s deputies have introduced communal justice into the proposed
new constitution, which will effectively grant the practice constitutional
status should the new constitution be approved in referendum. Notably, these
provisions for communal justice violate the human rights guarantees
contained in the new constitution itself; they also violate multiple
international treaties to which Bolivia is signatory. HRF’s report makes
several policy recommendations and is available on its website at
<http://www.humanrightsfoundation.org/> www.HumanRightsFoundation.org.
HRF is an international nonpartisan organization devoted to defending human
rights in the American hemisphere. It centers its work on the twin concepts
of freedom of self-determination and freedom from tyranny. These ideals
include the belief that all human beings have the rights to speak freely, to
associate with those of like mind, and to leave and enter their countries.
Individuals in a free society must be accorded equal treatment and due
process under law, and must have the opportunity to participate in the
governments of their countries; HRF’s ideals likewise find expression in the
conviction that all human beings have the right to be free from arbitrary
detainment or exile and from interference and coercion in matters of
conscience. HRF’s International Council includes former prisoners of
conscience Vladimir Bukovsky, Palden Gyatso, Armando Valladares, Ramón J.
Velásquez, Elie Wiesel, and Harry Wu.
Contact: Thor Halvorssen, Human Rights Foundation,
(212) 246.8486 , <mailto:info@thehrf.org> info@thehrf.org
Read HRF’s report on communal justice in Bolivia
<http://www.humanrightsfoundation.org/reports/Bolivia_Communal_Justice_Repor
t_01-15-2008.pdf> here
Communal Justice and the New Constitution
http://www.humanrightsfoundation.org/media/BolReportJan08.html
LA PAZ, Bolivia (January 15, 2008) -- Lashing, crucifixion and other forms
of corporal punishment would be legal in a new constitution proposed by the
government of Bolivian President Evo Morales. Since 2005, Bolivia has seen a
dramatic increase in such disturbing practices, including lynchings and
torture, meted out under an informal system known as “communal justice.”
Cases include death sentences for women accused of adultery and the beating,
stoning, hanging, and burning of an elected official accused of corruption.
“Communal justice entirely disregards due process. In theory, it enables
indigenous communities to address their needs in a fair and disinterested
manner. In practice, it is judicial terror. It is breathtaking that the
Morales government wishes to enshrine such arbitrary and barbaric practices
and make them legally unappealable,” said Thor Halvorssen, president of the
Human Rights Foundation (HRF). Today, HRF published a report on Bolivia’s
communal justice system.
“Communal justice” is an Inca practice derived from ancient custom law that
currently allows local leaders to impart justice directly for crimes
perpetrated by members of their indigenous communities, bypassing the
Bolivian legal system. The practice sometimes involves communal leaders
engaging in rituals such as consulting coca leaves. It came to the attention
of the international press in June of 2004, when a group of people in La Paz
kidnapped Benjamin Altamirano, former mayor of Ayo Ayo. Altamirano was
brutally killed by a mob after the Bolivian court system found no evidence
of wrongdoing or misconduct in accusations of corruption leveled against
him. The Morales government proposes to make communal justice the only
system of law available to indigenous communities—with no right to appeal
and no due process guarantees for the accused.
“This system would allow the government to subjugate Bolivia’s population
under the threat of an instant trial with deadly consequences,” said
Halvorssen. President Morales and representatives of his government have
stated that they support lashings as a “symbolic” way of promoting communal
justice. Research carried out by HRF reveals that such punishments are
hardly symbolic.
Twenty-eight (28) reported cases include instances of women buried alive for
adultery and additional episodes of angry mobs raiding town halls and police
headquarters to take justice into their own hands. Because the authorities
fear confronting those who carry out such barbaric practices, the
perpetrators of communal justice are neither prosecuted under ordinary law,
nor made accountable for their crimes.
The government’s deputies have introduced communal justice into the proposed
new constitution, which will effectively grant the practice constitutional
status should the new constitution be approved in referendum. Notably, these
provisions for communal justice violate the human rights guarantees
contained in the new constitution itself; they also violate multiple
international treaties to which Bolivia is signatory. HRF’s report makes
several policy recommendations and is available on its website at
<http://www.humanrightsfoundation.org/> www.HumanRightsFoundation.org.
HRF is an international nonpartisan organization devoted to defending human
rights in the American hemisphere. It centers its work on the twin concepts
of freedom of self-determination and freedom from tyranny. These ideals
include the belief that all human beings have the rights to speak freely, to
associate with those of like mind, and to leave and enter their countries.
Individuals in a free society must be accorded equal treatment and due
process under law, and must have the opportunity to participate in the
governments of their countries; HRF’s ideals likewise find expression in the
conviction that all human beings have the right to be free from arbitrary
detainment or exile and from interference and coercion in matters of
conscience. HRF’s International Council includes former prisoners of
conscience Vladimir Bukovsky, Palden Gyatso, Armando Valladares, Ramón J.
Velásquez, Elie Wiesel, and Harry Wu.
Contact: Thor Halvorssen, Human Rights Foundation,
(212) 246.8486 , <mailto:info@thehrf.org> info@thehrf.org
Read HRF’s report on communal justice in Bolivia
<http://www.humanrightsfoundation.org/reports/Bolivia_Communal_Justice_Repor
t_01-15-2008.pdf> here
