Church warns Bolivian conflict may end in violence

[Judi Lynn]

Church warns Bolivian conflict may end in violence
Tue 8 Apr 2008, 19:03 GMT

By Carlos Quiroga

LA PAZ, April 8 (Reuters) - A bitter conflict between supporters of Bolivian President Evo Morales and his rightist rivals is at risk of spiraling into violence, Catholic Church leaders warned on Tuesday.

Morales and the opposition are locked in a standoff over a new draft constitution fiercely opposed by the leaders of four eastern provinces. They want greater autonomy from the central government in La Paz, a Morales stronghold.

The country's 40 Roman Catholic bishops, who have been mediating, urged both sides to cool the dispute that has raised fears of fresh political violence in the poor and historically unstable country.

"We're very worried by the growing distance between the regions, social classes and ethnic groups, and the ideological polarization that could end in confrontations with unpredictable consequences of pain and death," a Church statement said. "The situation is worsening dangerously."

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