Ecuador President Dissolves Supreme Court
Saturday April 16, 2005 9:46 AM AP Photo QTO103 By MONTE HAYES Associated Press Writer QUITO, Ecuador (AP) - President Lucia Gutierrez declared a state of emergency in the capital city of this Andean Mountain country and dissolved a Supreme Court he and his allies had appointed last winter, saying the unpopular judges were the cause of three days of pot-banging street protests in Quito. Although they had opposed the court that was stacked by Gutierrez, his political foes immediately labeled its summary dissolution an act of a dictator. Speaking in a televised address to the nation Friday night with his military high command standing behind him, Gutierrez said he was using the powers granted him by the constitution to dismiss the justices. In explaining their dismissal, he said opposition to their appointments was causing the protests. ``The measure ... was taken because congress until now has not resolved the matter of the current Supreme Court, which is generating national commotion,'' he said. The state of emergency placed the military in charge of public order and suspended individual rights, including the right to free expression and public assembly. Early Saturday morning, the military command went on television to give its implicit support to Gutierrez. Adm. Victor Hug Rosier, head of the armed forces, said the only purpose of the state of emergency was ``to recover the order, peace and tranquility lost during the last days.'' Despite the restriction on public meetings, thousands of residents poured into Quito's streets Friday to protest the measures, shouting that Gutierrez, a former army colonel before his election in 2002, was a dictator. ``I want him to go and the congress, too. All the politicians have shown themselves to be corrupt,'' said Gorge Moor, 43, a civil engineer, accompanied by his 9-year-old daughter, who was waving a small yellow, blue and red Ecuadorean flag. Quito Mayor Paco Moncayo, a retired army general and a leader of the opposition Democratic Left party, criticized the military command for supporting Gutierrez's actions. ``The president can't dissolve the court. We are living in a dictatorship and this decree unmasks the dictatorship,'' he said. ``We are calling for civil disobedience.'' Street protests began Wednesday in response to an impromptu suggestion of a local radio station that residents of Quito form a nocturnal pot-banging caravan. They increased in numbers until at least 10,000 people - banging pots and sticks and shouting ``Get out, Lucio!'' - were marching in the streets as Gutierrez made his announcement Friday. The court crisis was set in motion in November when the former justices sided with opposition politicians in a failed effort to impeach Gutierrez on corruption charges. Gutierrez then assembled a bloc of 52 lawmakers in the 100-seat unicameral congress, which voted in December to remove the judges. Legal experts said the vote ran contrary to Ecuador's constitution. Opponents say Gutierrez cut a deal with former President Abdala Bucaram to stack the Supreme Court and clear Bucaram of corruption charges as payback for key votes Bucaram's political party provided last year blocking the impeachment drive against Gutierrez in congress. The court cleared Bucaram of the charges and he returned to Ecuador earlier this month after eight years in exile. In a bid to ease the political backlash, in late March Gutierrez proposed a judicial reform that would replace the new court and establish new methods for selecting judges. The legislature has not acted on the proposal. Gutierrez was elected president in November 2002 after campaigning as a populist, anti-corruption reformer. But his left-leaning constituency soon fell apart after he instituted austerity measures, including cutting subsidies on food and cooking fuel, to satisfy lenders like the International Monetary Fund.
Ekuador

 Der ecuadorianische Präsident Lucio Gutiérrez hat in der Nacht zum Samstag den Obersten Gerichtshof des Landes aufgelöst und für die Hauptstadt Quito sowie für die Provinz Pichincha den Ausnahmezustand ausgerufen.

Gutiérrez, ein Ex-Militär, der seit Januar 2003 im Amt ist, reagiert damit auf anhaltende Proteste gegen seine Regierung, die sich vor allem auf die Hauptstadt des Andenstaates konzentrieren. Gutiérrez trat ursprünglich mit dem Ziel an, Armut und Korruption bekämpfen zu wollen, verfolgte dann aber eine liberal-konservative Wirtschaftspolitik, die den Forderungen des Internationalen Währungsfonds entspricht. Unter anderem wurden Subventionen für Lebensmittel gekürzt. Aufgrund verschiedener Regierungskrisen regiert der Präsident mit wechselnden Mehrheiten im Parlament und hat seine Regierung mehrfach umgebildet.

Die Opposition wirft Gutiérrez Verfassungsbruch und einen diktatorischen Regierungsstil vor. Die Krise erreichte ihren Höhepunkt, als ein Amtsenthebungsverfahren gegen Gutiérrez gescheitert war. Der oberste Gerichtshof hatte in dieser Frage die Position der Opposition eingenommen. Daraufhin entließ der Präsident am 8. Dezember mit einer Parlamentsmehrheit alle Richter des obersten Gerichtshofs. Gleichzeitig wurden neue Richter ernannt. Rechtsexperten sehen darin einen klaren Verfassungsbruch. Gutiérrez erklärte in einer Fernsehansprache, er bediene sich der Befugnisse, die er laut Verfassung habe. Es folgten Streiks und Straßenproteste. Außerdem schlossen sich mehrere Abgeordnete des Regierungslagers der Opposition an, wodurch die Regierung ihre Parlamentsmehrheit verlor.

Nach der Ausrufung des Ausnahmezustands ist das Militär für die Aufrechterhaltung von Recht und Ordnung in Quito zuständig, wobei ein Dekret auch nicht näher definierte Einschränkungen der Bürgerrechte vorsieht. Zivilstafrecht wird für die Dauer des Notstandes durch militärisches Recht ersetzt. Paco Moncayo, Bürgermeister von Quito und Oppositionspolitiker, kommentierte das Verfahren des Präsidenten mit den Worten: „Wir leben in einer Diktatur, und dieses Dekret demaskiert die Diktatur.“ Er rief die Bewohner der Hauptstadt zu zivilem Ungehorsam auf.