Fourth coup bid

Press, 5 August 1981, Page 8

Fourth coup bid

NZPA-Reuter La Paz Bolivia’s three-man ruling junta will negotiate with two generals who launched a new attempt on Monday to topple President Luis Garcia Meza. The Foreign Minister (Mario Rolon Anaya) said that the junta, which does not include President Garcia Meza, would ■ travel to Bolivia’s eastern province of Santa Cruz for negotiations. On Monday, a former President, Alberto Natusch Busch, and a former Army chief of staff, Lucio Anez RiverO. demanded ■ General Garcia Meza’s resignation and said they had the support of all military units in the Santa Cruz area. It was the fourth coup attempt against the President since he came to power.

also in a coup, in July last year. Bolivia has had 189 successful coups in its 156 years of independence. In a telephone conversation, with NZPA-Reuter correspondent. General Natusch said he had sought assurances from the country’s armed forces that General Garcia Meza would step down and guarantees for all officers imprisoned, exiled, or wanted for involvement in previous coup attempts.

General Natusch ruled Bolivia for 16 days in November, 1979. before stiff civilian . resistance forced him to resign and General Anez, the Army chief of staff, was expelled to Argentina after leading an unsuccessful attempt to topple General Garcia Meza on June 27.