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Protests Erupt in Ecuador; Soldiers Seize Main Airport

   VOA News 30 September 2010
   Rebellious  police  personnel  shout  slogans  at the Regimiento Quito
   barracks, in Quito, September 30, 2010.

Photo: AFP

   Rebellious  police  personnel  shout  slogans  at the Regimiento Quito
   barracks, in Quito, September 30, 2010.

   Angry military troops and police officers are taking to the streets of
   Ecuador  where the country's president is refusing to back down over a
   new round of budget cuts. Â
   Troops  upset  about salary and benefit cuts seized the country's main
   airport  Thursday,  while police officers fired tear gas, burned tires
   and shut down highways leading to the capital of Quito.
   There were also reports of protests in Guayaquil and other cities.
   Ecuador's  military chief insisted Thursday the country's armed forces
   remain  loyal  to President Rafael Correa, while Mr. Correa challenged
   protesters  at  police  headquarters  in Quito to kill him.  Instead,
   several officers hurled water at the president, forcing him to leave.
   The  Ecuadorian  president  is defending the budget cuts as necessary,
   arguing they are affecting all government sectors.
   Mr.  Correa  took power in 2007 and was re-elected last year after the
   country approved a new constitution.
   The  Ecuadorian  leader is an ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
   and,  like  the Venezuelan leader, has been critical of U.S. policy in
   Latin America.
   Ecuador  has  about  14  million  people  and  a  history of political
   instability.

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