Mutiny in Ecuador 2010
As 2010 Ecuador crisis refers to the uprising of soldiers and police in Ecuador . The mutiny began on the morning of September 30, 2010 with the occupation of barracks, Quito airport and roadblocks. The National Congress was subsequently occupied. The insurgents also held President Rafael Correa in a hospital. In total, at least eight people were killed and hundreds injured.
prehistory
The protests were triggered by a law passed by parliament that cuts wages for police officers. The police should no longer receive medals and bonuses for every promotion. In addition, the interval between promotions has been increased from five to seven years. Parts of the army joined the police protests.
course
Beginning
The mutiny began at 8:00 am on September 30th when the " Aeropuerto Internacional Mariscal Sucre " in Quito was occupied by around 150 mutinous soldiers of the Air Force . Members of the Ecuadorian armed forces took over several barracks at the same time and set up roadblocks in nine major cities in the country. Policemen captured the National Congress. Police officers occupied police stations in Guayaquil and Cuenca . For example, around a thousand police officers were holed up in Quito's largest police barracks. Looting broke out in Quito and Guayaquil and public life came to a standstill.
At around noon, the government declared a state of emergency for a week . As a result, all television and radio stations should take over the content of the state TV channels Ecuador TV and Gama TV and the also state radio station Radio Pública .
In the afternoon, the soldiers cleared the airport after discussions with government officials.
In the evening, insurgent police stormed the Ecuador TV building and tried to stop broadcasting reports of the uprising. At the same time, protesters tried to destroy Gama TV's antennas.
Kidnapping of President Rafael Correa
Mutinous police officers attacked Correa around noon when he was visiting an occupied barracks to talk to the insurgents. While trying to get on a helicopter, he was hit and pushed. Since he had knee surgery a few days ago, he could not defend himself. He then went to a police hospital after being exposed to a tear gas grenade . The hospital was besieged by hundreds of mutinous police officers and the president was held for hours. According to him, negotiating delegations came to see him in the hospital room several times. There were clashes between the policemen and Correa's supporters in front of the hospital, with the mutinous policemen shooting sharply. According to the presidential supporters, the mutineers used tear gas. At 9:00 p.m. members of a government-loyal special unit liberated the president after a violent half-hour exchange of fire. He had been detained for a total of 12 hours. The Red Cross announced that two police officers were killed and 37 injured during the rescue operation. Then he thanked his supporters from the balcony of the presidential palace.
Work-up
On the morning of October 1, the Ecuadorian Police Chief Freddy Martinez resigned. He hadn't been able to reassure the police.
On October 6, Interior Minister Gustavo Jalkh announced that 46 arrest warrants had been issued against security officers. They were arrested and questioned. The following day, the authorities corrected the number of arrest warrants to 308, 55 of which have already been carried out. If convicted, the sentences are between one and six years. The only civilian arrested was Fidel Araujo , a member of the opposition party of former President Lucio Gutiérrez .
On July 20, 2011, Emilio Palacio , a journalist for the daily newspaper El Universo , and the publisher brothers of the newspaper Carlos , César and Nicolás Pérez were sentenced to three years in prison and paid 28 million euros each for defamation. Both sides appealed. The occasion was an editorial called " No to the Lies " in which Palacio criticized Rafael Correa's behavior during the mutiny in early February. He described him several times as a dictator and above all criticized the decision to forcefully storm the hospital. On February 17, 2012, the Ecuadorian Supreme Court upheld the verdict. However, the four defendants were no longer within the reach of the Ecuadorian judiciary. Palacio and two of the directors were in the United States, where they had sought asylum. The third director fled to the Panama embassy.
Victim
At least eight people were killed and 278 injured in the riot.
Reactions
Army chief Ernesto Gonzalez assured the president of his support.
International
The United States gave its support to President Rafael Correa. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon hoped for a peaceful settlement of the crisis. An emergency meeting of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) started in Buenos Aires . A meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) was also planned . Peru and Colombia closed their border crossings with Ecuador. Hugo Chavez called for the President's support against the "attempted coup". President Rafael Correa spoke several times of an attempted coup .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f ORF: State of emergency imposed
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j TAZ: "We know where they come from"
- ↑ a b c Frankfurter Rundschau: Shots between police and soldiers
- ↑ BBC: Ecuador declares state of emergency amid 'coup attempt'
- ↑ 46 arrest warrants after mutiny by police. In: ORF . October 6, 2010, accessed October 6, 2010 .
- ↑ a b arrest warrants against 308 police officers. In: ORF . October 7, 2010, accessed October 7, 2010 .
- ↑ a b Police arrested in Ecuador for revolt. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . October 7, 2010, accessed October 7, 2010 .
- ^ Gerhard Dilger: "Dictator" polemics forbidden. In: the daily newspaper . July 22, 2011. Retrieved July 25, 2011 .
- ↑ Josef Oehrlein: Correa enforces the condemnation of newspaper. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . February 17, 2012, accessed February 20, 2012 .
- ^ ORF: Office colleagues show solidarity