VIOLENT PROTESTS CONTINUE IN BOLIVIA; 5 KILLED

LA PAZ, Bolivia - Thousands of Aymara Indian farmers angered by Bolivia's
economic problems clashed with soldiers yesterday in the Andean towns of
Achacachi and Batallas. Three soldiers and two farmers were killed and
dozens injured in the confrontations.

In Achacachi, 80 miles north of the capital La Paz, farmers threw rocks at
soldiers who responded with rubber bullets and tear gas.

Hundreds of the protesters then stormed government offices, destroying
furniture, documents and setting buildings and vehicles on fire. Some of
them entered a hospital, dragged an injured army captain from his bed and
killed him on the main square.

The farmers, who blocked roads in the area, threw rocks at soldiers who
tried to disperse them.

In Batallas, an Aymara village 45 miles north of La Paz, army units also
fought with farmers who formed road blocks.

The escalation of anti-government action that began last week reflected
Bolivians' disgust over rising water rates, unemployment and other economic
difficulties plaguing this nation in the heart of South America. The
economic crisis was blamed in part on the government's war on cocaine
trafficking.

In response to the violence, the government declared a suspension of many
constitutional guarantees Saturday. Under the emergency provisions, the
government is allowed to arrest and confine protest leaders without a
warrant, impose restrictions on travel and political activity and establish
a curfew.

Police were also at the center of some of the protests in other parts of
the country, with hundreds of officers in La Paz and in Santa Cruz, the
country's second-largest city, taking over their own headquarters and jails
and demanding a 50 percent increase in pay.

The strike turned violent yesterday in La Paz, with police firing tear gas
at soldiers, who fired their automatic weapons into the air.

Yesterday, an agreement was reached that ended the strike.