Document #1046593
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
A review of the annual U.S. Department of
State Country Reports since 1978 did not yield precise
information on exactly how many Bolivians have disappeared or been
the victims of political or extrajudicial killings since 1970. [
Information in the following 2 paragraphs is from U.S. Department
of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
(Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office). For 1978, see pp.
216-24; for 1979, pp. 256-61; for 1980, pp. 349-50; for 1981, pp.
252-3; for 1982, pp. 412-3; for 1983, p. 475; for 1984, p. 430; for
1985, p. 432; for 1986, pp. 408-9; for 1987, p. 392; for 1988, pp.
462-3; for 1989, pp. 477-8.]
They report that in 1980, there were
"credible reports" of political killings. In 1981, 2 union
activists were killed while in military custody, and in 1982, 9
people died during two separate workers' demonstrations. For 1987
and 1988, the Country Reports state that "several people
died during civic and labour related disturbances."
In the area of disappearances, the
Country Reports indicate that in 1981, "According to human
rights sources, at any given time the list of missing people
numbers about 20-25." Two people reportedly disappeared in 1982,
but it remained unclear whether the military were responsible. In
1983, the remains of 14 people were discovered. According to the
Country Reports, they were "persons who apparently had
disappeared during the regime of General Hugo Banzer (1971-1978).
Most had been in official custody in 1972." In December 1984, the
National Missing Persons Commission presented a list of 207 people,
who had disappeared since 1966, to the United Nations Commission on
Human Rights. Fifty-two cases had been solved while the others
remained under investigation.
Amnesty International's annual reports
provide some details of political killings and disappearances in
Bolivia as well. Referring to the above mentioned list provided by
the National Missing Persons Commission, the 1985 annual report
states that of the 52 solved cases, the "majority were found to
have been killed and secretly buried by military personnel or
civilians working with the security forces." [ Amnesty
International, Amnesty International Report 1985 (London:
Amnesty International Publications Ltd., 1985), pp. 125-7.] In
November 1982, the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights reported
published figures indicating that, "as many as 164 individuals had
disappeared," since 1979. [ Amnesty International, Amnesty
International Report 1983 (London: Amnesty International
Publications Ltd., 1983), pp. 113-5.] According to Amnesty
International, the military had killed miners and peasants in
August 1980 and a large number of people had been subsequently
reported missing. Also mentioned in the organization's 1981 annual
report is a January 1981 incident in which a group of leftist
politicians were killed. Among them was a leading official of the
Bolivian Mineworkers' Union (FSTMB), Artemio Camargo. [ Amnesty
International, Amnesty International Report 1981 (London:
Amnesty International Publications Ltd., 1981), pp. 115.] Amnesty
International's 1980 annual report states that "as many as 200
unarmed civilians were killed by the army," during a coup in
November 1979. [ Amnesty International, Amnesty International
Report 1980 (London: Amnesty International Publications Ltd.,
1980), pp. 112.]