Campesino leader Fidel Tarqui called the actions of a joint task force that destroyed coca crops on the nature reserve a ”provocation”.

Witnesses to Monday morning's clash told IPS that dozens of campesinos have since remained at a cautious distance from the military encampment, keeping a watch on the movements of the soldiers stationed there.

The coca farmers had also blocked all of the roads leading into the area, making it impossible for fresh supplies of food and ammunition to reach the soldiers.

The agreement reached between Morales and President Carlos Mesa at a meeting on Wednesday included the withdrawal of the coca growers from the area, but sources say they have yet to leave, and instead this tense standoff has ensued.

In the meantime, local radio stations reported on Thursday that coca farmers' representatives have denounced the continued destruction of crops in areas outside the ”conflict zone.”

Campesino groups have demanded the withdrawal of the soldiers sent to destroy the crops, and according to Morales, the government ”will study the possibility” of meeting their request.

Isiboro Sécure National Park is located 250 kilometres from the city of Cochabamba, the departmental capital.

Coca farmers moved into the park when their crops in other parts of the region (known as the Chapare) were destroyed by the government over the past few years.

At one time there were 48,000 hectares of coca fields in Chapare, but the joint eradication efforts of police and military forces have reduced the growing area to around 8,000 hectares, of which 5,000 hectares fall within the limits of the Isiboro Sécure reserve.

According to the government, there are a total of 18,000 hectares of illegal coca crops in Bolivia. The other 10,000 hectares are in the Yungas region of the western department of La Paz.

Bolivian law permits the cultivation of 12,000 hectares of coca for traditional purposes. The plant's leaves are chewed or brewed as tea by the local population, as well as being used in the ceremonies of the Aymara Indians.

Before entering politics, Morales, the leader of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party, first rose to prominence as a spokesman for the coca farmers movement. He was elected to the Bolivian Congress in 1997, but was expelled in 2002 by the ruling coalition majority over alleged human rights violations committed during protest demonstrations.

In the general elections held later that same year, however, Morales came close to being elected president, losing in a run-off vote to Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada. His party also managed to win enough seats to become a major force in Congress.

Morales then went on to play a key role in mobilising opposition to the government's plans to export natural gas. The massive demonstrations that resulted forced Sánchez de Lozada to resign on October 17, 2003.

He is now the leader of the 34 MAS members of Congress, who have backed various initiatives undertaken by the current president, Mesa.

This has given Morales greater bargaining power to defend the coca growers and keep up opposition to the plans to destroy their crops -- a strategy that has strong support from the United States.

Shortly after the violent confrontation on Monday, Minister Lara announced that an investigation would be conducted into the death of campesino Choque Cruz. He also said that the government wants to resolve the conflict with coca growers through dialogue.

Through the mediation of Augusto Siles, the representative of the ombudsman's office in the Chapare region, two military helicopters transported the wounded to medical facilities in Cochabamba.

The secretary general of the Permanent Assembly on Human Rights, Guillermo Vilela, sent a letter to Mesa expressing concern over the recent violence and asking for every effort to be made to restore calm.

He also called for an end to the forced eradication of coca fields, and recommended that a solution be jointly sought by the government and farmers organisations.

If any further acts of violence were to take place, however, Vilela said he would denounce them to international organisations.

For his part, the secretary general of the Bolivian Episcopal Conference, Monseigneur Jesús Juárez, declared, ”In a democratic process like the one underway in Bolivia, violence must be banished.”