Morning Star.png Ecuador’s President Correa Sacks Generals for Corruption James Tweedie, The Morning Star, London, 12 February 2016 Rightwingers protested across Ecuador on Wednesday following President Rafael Correa’s sacking of the country’s four top generals for issuing statements on “administrative matters.” Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Luis Garzon had condemned the government on Twitter for fining the army pension fund and “taking resources away from ... soldiers and their families.” Marches and rallies by opposition supporters were, however, dwarfed by counter-demonstrations by supporters of Mr Correa’s socialist Pais Alliance government. Correa, Rafael 2.jpg Rafael Correa, Socialist President of Ecuador “Soldiers can have certainty over their pensions,” Mr Correa said. “Our armed forces are very important for the country, but they are not the whole country.” The Morning Star’s contact on the scene said the protest demonstration in the capital Quito drew around 500 people, while 2-3,000 gathered to hear Mr Correa speak. The president also hit back at the mainstream media for labelling him a dictator. “I want the press to listen to me. Stop manipulating the people,” he said. “Everything we are doing is legal and for the goodwill of the people.” Regime change agenda But one opposition protester told regional broadcaster Telesur that “Correa should resign,” claiming that Ecuador was in a state of “total insecurity” and suffering a moral crisis. She said the dismissal of the military high command was just one of many “abuses” by the government and that Mr Correa should be jailed. The dispute began last week when the government confronted the generals over a suspicious land transaction in 2010. The Social Security Institute of the Armed Forces (ISSFA) allegedly overcharged the Ministry of Environment for land sold for over £33 million — £28m above the value logged on the land registry. Pension-fund hullabaloo But the head of the joint chiefs of staff and the leaders of the army, navy and air force portrayed the government’s request for reimbursement as an attack on the army pension fund. “With much pain I’ve had to dismiss the high command,” Mr Correa tweeted last Friday. We will not allow anyone to manipulate soldiers or the country. “Military pensions are guaranteed by article 370 of the constitution and by ISSFA,” he added later. From: <http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-3e65-Ecuador-Correas-sacking-of-top-ge nerals-sparks-opposition-protests#.Vr1dofl9600> http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-3e65-Ecuador-Correas-sacking-of-top-gen erals-sparks-opposition-protests#.Vr1dofl9600 -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "YCLSA Discussion Forum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
