Paraguay military mobilizes after declaring a state of emergency

ASUNCION (Reuters) – The Government of Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo moved on Monday to about a thousand troops and police in northern Iraq, after the Congress to declare state of emergency to combat an armed group that sowed terror in the area.

President Fernando Lugo said the military will have the power to use weapons of war for the capture of members of the Paraguayan called People’s Army (PPA) accused of being responsible for kidnappings and killings in the region bordering Bolivia and Brazil.

Congress on Saturday approved a law allowing arrests and transfers Lugo decree without warrant in five of the 17 departments of the country but the Government clarified that only make use of these powers in cases of extreme necessity.

“The specific operational objective has been to allow the participation of armed forces in tasks, which would not be possible without the state of exception,” Lugo said at a news conference at the presidential residence.

“No constitutional right is being suspended with the measure. The life of the people should proceed in a normal way in these regions,” the socialist president.

The EPP would consist of about one hundred members with ties to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Colombia’s largest guerrilla group, and responsible for the murder of four people in an ambush last week.

Military forces were from early years to support the work of the police in the area but had no authority to act directly.

Police resources were insufficient to combat a group that would have sophisticated weapons, equipment and training to survive in the dense forests of the north, where some officers suffered the rigors of weather and insect attack.

The opposition-controlled Congress approved a state of emergency for 30 days, half the time called for Lugo, who has a strained relationship with the opposition majority in the legislature and is under strong pressure to give the members of the EPP.

“The capture of the EPP is a great evaluation (the Government), but it will not be the only returning safety assessment of the five departments where under a state of emergency at this time,” said Lugo, who did not rule request a extension to the legislators.

(Reporting by Daniela Desantis and Mariel Cristaldo. Edited by Derek Caney)

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By Michael. Posted on Monday, April 26th, 2010. Filed under Latin American. Tags: Fernando Lugo, Latin American, paraguay.