Bolivia Coca Growers Conflict Tense
The government is waiting for a reply from five groups of coca growers in central Bolivia, after offering to dialog over an incident which included the death of two campesinos.

Leaders from the coca plantations in Icuna, Machu Yungas, Arepucho, Pataicuna and Guanay were called to meet with the minister of the Presidency Juan Ramón Quintana on Tuesday.

Talks will center on illegal coca crops in this sector, where last Friday 200 campesinos allegedly ambushed two military columns and police who had come to eradicate their crops.

Two of the growers were killed, and their leader Nicanor Churata says they were unarmed and that the crops are indeed legal.

Quintana admitted some of Los Yungas crops are legal, but stipulated the eradication only applies to those planted after 2004.

He said the government had offered on Tuesday the possibility of individual plots up to a total of 104 hectares, based on an agreement signed between the Carlos Mesa administration and the coca growers union of Chapare, whose leader is President Evo Morales.

The government is remaining firm on not allowing growing in the Carrasco National park, a natural reserve, and starting there tomorrow authorities will wipe out 450 hectares and 1,750 illegal settlements. They also will destroy drug processing plants and arrest any traffickers they find.

Quintana said they were the ones to manipulate the campesinos into the uprising last week, which included the growers capturing 11 members of the authorities. These were set free in exchange for the bodies of the two slain campesinos.

The Assembly of Human Rights is demanding the government open a profound investigation into the deaths to sanction the responsible parties.