(AFP) – Sep 18, 2008

LA PAZ (AFP) — A judge in La Paz has ordered Pando state Governor Leopoldo Fernandez jailed as he awaits trial on accusations of inciting unrest that led to the deaths of 16 pro-government demonstrators.

Fernandez, arrested Monday on charges of genocide, is a key player in a long-running conflict between leftist President Evo Morales and four other rebel governors which erupted into deadly unrest, after soldiers seized control of the northern state of Pando under a martial law order.

The governors are demanding Morales drop plans to rewrite the constitution along socialist lines, abandon land reforms, and recognize their ambitions for autonomy.

Judge William Davila ordered Fernandez jailed because he was "openly defying the law" by refusing to submit to questioning and could therefore obstruct justice.

At least 18 people were killed and some 100 wounded in last week's street violence across the country, a standoff which Morales on Monday condemned as an attempted coup d'etat.

A representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights arrived in Cobija Thursday for a three-day visit to find out more about the investigation into the killings.

"We are in Cobija to see how the investigation is being carried out and to consider what kind of investigation the UN can do, not to substitute for the district atttorney's office but to reinforce or perhaps complement it," Vegard Bye told AFP.

"It seems to me that the district attorney's office is doing the best work it can within very difficult conditions. There are few resources, a lot of sensitivity in the population and a climate of a lot of politicization," he said.

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