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Rival marches in Bolivian capital Bolivia marks freedom bicentenary
(1 day later)
Rival marches have been held in Bolivia's constitutional capital, Sucre, as the nation celebrates 200 years of independence from Spain. Bolivians marked the 200th anniversary of their country's uprising against Spanish rule with rival ceremonies in different parts of the country.
Thousands of Indians, who support Bolivia's indigenous President Evo Morales, demanded an end to what they described as racism in the country. Addressing the nation, President Evo Morales said that Latin Americans were engaged in a second struggle for liberation against capitalism.
Meanwhile, soldiers in ceremonial uniforms led an official parade. Meanwhile, the opposition held parades in the constitutional capital Sucre.
Police were on alert, following last year's violent attacks on Indians on the streets of the city. Bolivia is the first of many South American states that will celebrate bicentennials in the next few years.
Indians were allegedly picked out and beaten, some stripped and publicly humiliated, the BBC's Candace Piette in Sucre reports. 'New enemy'
President Morales - who kicked off the festivities by appearing before indigenous farmers in an Andean town on Friday - is boycotting the celebrations in Sucre out of respect for the victims of violence. President Morales made his speech in a remote Andean village where one of Bolivia's greatest independence fighters, Juana Azurduy, had been based.
Sucre has kept many of it Spanish colonial habits and is an intensely conservative place, our correspondent says. A former trade unionist, he said capitalism had put the wealth in the hands of the few and it was now the enemy that had to be fought, the BBC's Candace Piette reports.
She adds that President Morales, who is Aymaran Indian, has been struggling to introduce a new constitution which gives the indigenous population many rights. Mr Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, told the gathering of farmers and dignitaries that Latin Americans have been oppressed for years and are still fighting against internal and external enemies.
"The people who forget their struggle and their history are a people who have no awareness of their destiny," the president was quoted as saying by Spanish news agency, EFE.
Meanwhile in Sucre, where the independence struggle started 200 years ago, opposition leaders attended a separate event and used their speeches to criticise Mr Morales for "creating divisions" in the country.
There were processions through the streets and the city's church bells were rung at the end of days of dancing displays and school military marching bands in the main square, our correspondent says.
Police in Sucre had been on high alert, following last year's violent attacks, when Indians were allegedly picked out and beaten, some stripped and publicly humiliated.