Bolivia’s ex-president meets with U.N. envoy

Eight killed as police fire on demonstrators

SACABA, Bolivia — Bolivia’s interim president met with a U.N. envoy to discuss the country’s crisis Saturday, a day after security forces fired on supporters of former President Evo Morales in a clash that killed eight people and raised fears that violence could escalate.

On leaving the meeting with interim leader Jeanine Áñez, U.N. envoy Jean Arnault said the United Nations is concerned about the violence in Bolivia and hopes it can contribute to an accelerated pacification process leading to elections.

U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet issued a statement earlier in the day calling the deaths “an extremely dangerous development.”

“I am really concerned that the situation in Bolivia could spin out of control if the authorities do not handle it sensitively and in accordance with international norms,” she said.

Protesters said police fired Friday when demonstrators tried to cross a military checkpoint in Sacaba, a town near Cochabamba. Many of the protesters were coca leaf growers loyal to Morales, who had been

Bolivia’s first indigenous president before being pressured to step down by the nation’s military chief after weeks of widespread protests over a disputed election.

Police and soldiers broke up fresh blockades of flaming logs and tractors Saturday on the road linking Sacaba to Cochabamba, but there were no immediate reports of deaths.

Fears of escalating violence were stoked when angry demonstrators and relatives of the victims gathered at the site of the shootings late Friday chanting, “Civil war, now!”

Morales, who was granted asylum in Mexico after his Nov. 10 resignation, said on Twitter that a “massacre” had occurred and he described the interim government led by Áñez as a dictatorship.

On Friday, Áñez said Morales would face possible legal charges for election fraud if he returned home from Mexico City. She also has said Morales would not be allowed to participate in a new presidential election, which is supposed to be held within three months.

The ousted leader, meanwhile, contended this past week that he is still president, since the country’s legislature has not yet approved his resignation.

Morales stepped down following nationwide protests over suspected vote-rigging in an Oct. 20 election, which he claimed to have won to gain a fourth term in office. Morales has denied there was fraud, though an Organization of American States audit reported widespread irregularities.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights condemned what it called “the disproportionate use of police and military force” in the clashes.

“Firearms must be excluded from the operations used to control the social protests,” the commission said on Twitter.

Backers of the interim government deny there was any coup against Morales, saying police and the military withdrew backing from him only to avoid shedding civilian blood during the mass protests against him.

Áñez, who had been the highest-ranking opposition official in the Senate, proclaimed herself president after Morales resigned.

Juan Karita The Associated Press People mourn Saturday in Sacaba, Bolivia, next to the coffin of a supporter of former President Evo Morales killed during clashes with security forces.