Ecuador under siege, Correa rescued
Source: Agencies |
October 2, 2010, Saturday
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ECUADOR was under a state of siege yesterday, with the military in charge of public order after rescuing President Rafael Correa from a hospital where he had been surrounded, roughed up and tear gassed by rebellious police.
Correa and his ministers called Thursday's revolt - in which insurgents also paralyzed the nation with airport shutdowns and highway blockades - an attempt to overthrow him and not just a simple insurrection over a new law that cuts benefits for public servants.
At least three people - two police officers and a soldier - were killed and dozens injured in the clashes, said Irina Cabezas, the vice president of congress. Five soldiers were wounded - two critically - in the firefight at the hospital in Quito before Correa was removed at top speed in an SUV, according to the military and Red Cross.
Correa was trapped for more than 12 hours in the hospital, where he was being treated for the tear-gassing that nearly asphyxiated him when he tried to reason with angry police officers at a capital barracks. The officers also roughed him up and pelted him with water.
The region's leaders and the United States have expressed firm support for Correa. Bolivia's president, Evo Morales, summoned South American presidents to an emergency meeting yesterday in Buenos Aires of the continent's fledgling UNASUR defense union.
Correa, 47, speaking from the balcony of the Carondelet palace after his dramatic rescue, told hundreds of cheering supporters that Thursday "was the saddest day of my life." He thanked those who had converged on the hospital on Thursday "ready to die to defend democracy."
The president said 27 of his special forces bodyguards had been injured in the melee and the unrest was not just a pay dispute.
"There were lots of infiltrators, dressed as civilians, and we know where they were from," the US-trained economist shouted.
He had blamed his political foes all day, but without naming anyone specifically. His foreign minister, Ricardo Patino, however, pointed the finger at former president Lucio Gutierrez, who co-led the 2000 coup that ousted Jamil Mahuad. In a TV interview, Gutierrez called that accusation "totally false."
The chief of the national police, General Freddy Martinez, gave Correa his resignation because of Thursday's events, police spokesman Richard Ramirez said.
Thursday's nationwide action prompted businesses and schools to close early as police abandoned streets and took over barracks in Quito, Guayaquil and other cities. Some police set up roadblocks of burning tires, cutting off highway access to the capital.
Correa and his ministers called Thursday's revolt - in which insurgents also paralyzed the nation with airport shutdowns and highway blockades - an attempt to overthrow him and not just a simple insurrection over a new law that cuts benefits for public servants.
At least three people - two police officers and a soldier - were killed and dozens injured in the clashes, said Irina Cabezas, the vice president of congress. Five soldiers were wounded - two critically - in the firefight at the hospital in Quito before Correa was removed at top speed in an SUV, according to the military and Red Cross.
Correa was trapped for more than 12 hours in the hospital, where he was being treated for the tear-gassing that nearly asphyxiated him when he tried to reason with angry police officers at a capital barracks. The officers also roughed him up and pelted him with water.
The region's leaders and the United States have expressed firm support for Correa. Bolivia's president, Evo Morales, summoned South American presidents to an emergency meeting yesterday in Buenos Aires of the continent's fledgling UNASUR defense union.
Correa, 47, speaking from the balcony of the Carondelet palace after his dramatic rescue, told hundreds of cheering supporters that Thursday "was the saddest day of my life." He thanked those who had converged on the hospital on Thursday "ready to die to defend democracy."
The president said 27 of his special forces bodyguards had been injured in the melee and the unrest was not just a pay dispute.
"There were lots of infiltrators, dressed as civilians, and we know where they were from," the US-trained economist shouted.
He had blamed his political foes all day, but without naming anyone specifically. His foreign minister, Ricardo Patino, however, pointed the finger at former president Lucio Gutierrez, who co-led the 2000 coup that ousted Jamil Mahuad. In a TV interview, Gutierrez called that accusation "totally false."
The chief of the national police, General Freddy Martinez, gave Correa his resignation because of Thursday's events, police spokesman Richard Ramirez said.
Thursday's nationwide action prompted businesses and schools to close early as police abandoned streets and took over barracks in Quito, Guayaquil and other cities. Some police set up roadblocks of burning tires, cutting off highway access to the capital.
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