Home>News Center>World
         
 

Ecuador supreme court fired, quito in emergency
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-04-16 15:01

Ecuadorean President Lucio Gutierrez fired the entire Supreme Court on Friday in an attempt to end a political crisis and declared a state of emergency in the capital Quito to quell protests.

"The magistrates of the current Supreme Court are declared dismissed," former army colonel Gutierrez said in a surprise television address to the nation.

He also declared the Andean mountain capital in a state of emergency, which restricts rights to assembly and expression.

But thousands of enraged citizens rushed onto the streets of Quito to defy the emergency and protest, waving flags, bashing pots and calling on Gutierrez to quit. The security forces did not immediately move to disperse them.

It was the second time Ecuador's Supreme Court has been fired in four months.

In December, a short-lived pro-government congressional majority dismissed an earlier court at the behest of Gutierrez, who argued it was biased against him. The opposition accused him of behaving like a dictator and the president's attempts to end the subsequent congressional deadlock failed.

Protests grew louder when the new president of the Supreme Court, named by pro-government legislators, threw out corruption charges against a key Gutierrez ally, Abdala Bucaram. This allowed the former president to return from eight years of exile in Panama earlier in April.

The United States and the United Nations both expressed concern about government interference with the courts and Gutierrez lost his congressional majority, delaying key economic legislation.

In a bid to end the crisis, Gutierrez offered to set up an independent body to name new judges, in a judicial reform he said should be approved by a referendum. But the opposition rejected the proposal, demanding the immediate dismissal of the Supreme Court.

A key opposition legislator reacted badly to the latest move, saying Gutierrez was a tyrant.

"He's taking us into a dictatorship and we're going to stop him by supporting demonstrations in Quito," said Xavier Sandoval, a leading congressmen from the Social Christian Party, Ecuador's largest.

The political crisis has reawakened memories of popular unrest that has led to the overthrow of two Ecuadorean presidents since 1997.

Gutierrez himself served jail time for leading an attempted coup in 2000. He was elected in late 2002 with support from the poor majority but has alienated many supporters by negotiating with the International Monetary Fund and pursuing austere economic policies.



 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

Foreign Ministry opens house to public

 

   
 

Law 'eases tensions' across Straits

 

   
 

Rich or poor, cancer is nation's biggest killer

 

   
 

China assures Japan, secures missions

 

   
 

EU fails to reach deal on lifting arms ban

 

   
 

UK police hunt for 3 missing Chinese girls

 

   
  Paris hotel fire kills 20, half of them children
   
  Bad brakes force Amtrak to cancel Acela
   
  Lebanon appoints moderate ally of Syria as new PM
   
  Reports: US airport screeners still do poorly
   
  Pakistan hostage in Iraq appeals to Musharraf: Al-Jazeera
   
  Powerful quakes rock Indonesia's Java island
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  News Talk  
  Are the Republicans exploiting the memory of 9/11?  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 少妇大叫太大太爽受不了| 欧美大交乱xxxxxbbb| 国产成人精品免高潮在线观看| igao视频在线| 日本大片在线看黄a∨免费| 亚洲欧美久久精品一区| 精品无码一区二区三区水蜜桃| 国产成人精品2021| 9999国产精品欧美久久久久久| 成人理论电影在线观看| 乱亲玉米地初尝云雨| 欧美黑人巨大videos精品| 四虎1515hh永久久免费| 91色视频网站| 国产麻豆videoxxxx实拍| 一级片一级毛片| 日本肉体裸交xxxxbbbb | 黑巨茎大战俄罗斯美女| 国产麻豆精品精东影业av网站| 一级做a爰片性色毛片16美国| 日本精品久久久久中文字幕8| 亚洲日本一区二区一本一道| 看全色黄大色黄女视频| 国产hd高清freexxxx| 黄页视频在线观看免费| 国产精品无码一本二本三本色 | 亚洲乱码一区二区三区在线观看| 玖玖在线资源站| 和前辈夫妇交换性3中文字幕| 香蕉久久人人爽人人爽人人片av| 国产精品亚洲精品爽爽| 99re热这里只有精品18| 好男人好资源在线影视官网| 中文字幕日韩丝袜一区| 日韩在线天堂免费观看| 亚洲人成人网站在线观看| 污污网站免费观看| 免费A级毛片无码A∨男男| 美女一级毛片毛片在线播放| 国产人成视频在线视频| 国产精品大bbwbbwbbw|