Be careful in apartments Mariscal
This year I am for the second time in apartments Mariscal (Paez y Robles) and for the second time they robbed me: when I was n´t at home an other guest had stolen my key and took my camera and money. Although I was sure which person had robbed me (confrimed by the owner of the apartments) the police refused to take action.
If you have plans to take apartment here: be very careful and look for other options.
Aussie Greg does Ecuador and Peru, onto Colombia
Just flown from Medellin to Quit "LAN" drove to Coca (on Rio Napo 6 hours from Quito) and travelled down the river on a fast boat (Paisa girlfriend and I)from Coca to Nuevo Rocafuerte, Parque Yasuni, swam with the fresh water dolphins, then two more nights camping on the river until Mazan (15 minutes crossing by motorbike from the Rio Napo to the Rio Amazona, then 40 minutes in a fast boat to Iquitos, Peru.
Heading onto Leticia tomorow, then back to Bogota.
If any body would like more info, just ask.
I heading again to do this trip later in the year, anybody intertested, let me know.
Aussie Greg.
Political crisis in Ecuador as rebel officers storm airport
Calling your own policemen a bunch of ungrateful bandits?! lol.
Ecuador’s government declared a state of emergency on Thursday after protests by hundreds of police officers and members of the military produced a tense standoff between President Rafael Correa and rebellious elements of the security forces.
[url]http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/01/world/americas/01ecuador.html?_r=1[/url]
The Irish Times - Friday, October 1, 2010
by RORY CARROLL
POLICE AND military units stormed the airport in Ecuador’s capital and burned tyres in front of their bases yesterday in a chaotic rebellion over austerity measures that cut their benefits.
Scores of uniformed men overran the landing strip at Quito’s main airport, forcing flights to be cancelled, and others confronted the president, Rafael Correa, in a dramatic showdown at a police regimental barracks.
Mr Correa challenged the protesters to kill him, according to local media.
“I’m not taking one step back. Gentleman, if you want to kill the president, here he is, kill him if you have the guts.”
The rebel officers responded with shouts, stones and teargas canisters, prompting Mr Correa’s bodyguards to spirit him from the scene.
The protests rapidly spread to bases and barracks in three provinces, with witnesses reporting looting, compounding a political crisis that could prompt the president to dissolve parliament and rule by decree until elections.
There was no indication that Mr Correa faced assassination, nor that the government would fall. The head of the armed forces, Ernesto Gonzalez, said troops remained loyal to Mr Correa.
“We are in a state of law. We are loyal to the maximum authority, which is the president.” The foreign minister, Ricardo Patino, played down the severity of the protests. “This is not a popular mobilisation, it is not a popular uprising, it is an uprising by the police, who are ill-informed,” he told TV network Telesur. The central bank chief, Diego Borja, called for calm.
Ecuador has a tradition of protests but to see about 150 mutinous members of the air force swarm through Quito’s Mariscal Sucre international airport was a first. The action was followed by hundreds of soldiers and police in Quito and the commercial capital, Guayaquil, who blocked roads, lit tyres and fired teargas. “Respect our rights!” some shouted.
There were no immediate reports of casualties and the president showed no sign of backing down. “They are a bunch of ungrateful bandits. No one has supported the police as much as this government,” he said.
The protests were triggered by a law passed by congress on Wednesday that would end the practice of giving medals and bonuses with each promotion. It would also extend from five to seven years the usual period required for promotions. The law needs to be published before it takes effect.
Mr Correa is a US-trained economist who has tried to slim Ecuador’s bureaucracy. His own party, the Country Alliance, opposed the austerity measures, prompting his threat to dissolve congress.
The constitution allows the president to declare a political impasse and dissolve the assembly until a presidential and parliamentary election. The measure needs constitutional court approval.
[url]http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2010/1001/1224280081450.html[/url]
Incensed officers shoved Correa around earlier in the day, pelted him with water and doused him in tear gas when he tried to speak to rebellious officers. The 47-year-old leader was taken to the hospital after being nearly asphyxiated by the gas.
Hours after Correa was roughed up, and surrounded by dozens of insurgent cops outside the hospital, the president declared himself "practically captive."
Some 800 police officers in Quito joined the protest, which appeared to have arisen spontaneously. The number of participants outside the capital was unclear. Ecuador has 40,000 police officers.
[url]http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jKctbMk78vLE0q6KDZ3lYyL63y2wD9IIKD600?docId=D9IIKD600[/url]
Mr Correa has antagonised many powerful groups during his presidency, but the police have fared fairly well. In a bid to reduce corruption, he increased their salaries from $700 a month to $1,200.
[url]http://www.economist.com/blogs/americasview/2010/09/ecuadors_striking_police[/url]
