BOLIVIA`S leftist Government has declared martial law in an Amazon region where more than 10 people were killed in a wave of political violence sweeping the impoverished country.
In a decree, the Government banned protests and meetings in the far-northern region and said anyone carrying weapons would be arrested. It said more bodies had been found following a clash on Thursday in which at least 10 people were killed.
"In Pando, it has been a real massacre," Government Minister Alfredo Rada said. He did not give a new death toll from violent clashes between supporters of President Evo Morales and those of right-wing provincial governors, who oppose his socialist reforms.
The Government announcement came as Mr Morales held talks with one of his main political rivals in a bid to ease the crisis gripping the natural gas-rich country.
Anti-government protesters are still blocking roads in much of eastern Bolivia, causing fuel and food shortages in the opposition-controlled city of Santa Cruz.
Mario Cossio, governor of the gas-rich Tarija region and representing three other rebel governors who have so far rejected talks, offered an apparent olive branch before entering talks with Mr Morales at the presidential palace in La Paz.
"We`re here because of our clear will to establish a base for a process of dialogue which will pave the way for a pact, a national agreement, a process of national reconciliation," Mr Cossio said.
"This is the time for reconciliation, not later."
The governors are demanding autonomy for their regions and blame Mr Morales for the recent violence and sabotage to pipelines that caused chaos in the natural gas industry, Bolivia`s biggest source of income.
"We`re open to dialogue not only with the governors, but also with the participation of mayors and different social sectors," Mr Morales, who has angered opponents with plans to overhaul the constitution and break up ranches to give land to poor Indians, said before the meeting.
However, the President, who survived a recall election in August with 67 percent of the vote, said it would be difficult to reach an agreement.
AMERICANS gathered to mark the seventh anniversary of the terror attacks that shook the world.
