The U.S. embassy in Bolivia said Tuesday it regretted the "violence" staged Monday by the protesters at the diplomatic building in the capital of La Paz, news reaching here said.
In a statement, the embassy said they "respect all the democratic and pacific manifestations," but Monday's incidents went to the contrary.
"We reaffirm that our wish is to improve the bilateral relations with Bolivia on the basis of mutual respect," the statement said.
Thousands of Bolivians Monday surrounded the U.S. embassy in La Paz and many of them shot fireworks at the U.S. flag flying in front of the embassy building.
Helmeted U.S. Marines looked on from the embassy's roof. When the protesters tried to push through a police line, the police used tear gas to disperse the crowd.
The protest came after former Bolivian Defense Minister Sanchez Berzain, who was accused of genocide, told the press last week that a U.S. court had granted him political asylum.
The protesters asked the U.S. to extradite Berzain, who lives in Florida now.
They also voiced anger over U.S. sheltering of former Bolivian President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada, who was accused of killing dozens of Bolivians in the conflict between the army and anti-government protesters in 2003, and demanded his extradition.
Bolivian President Evo Morales Sunday called on Washington to cooperate with Bolivia in the extradition of the two men.
"We would like to ask the U.S. government, not only the U.S. ambassador, help us to seek justice against those who conducted a lot of crimes in Bolivia," Morales said.
"It is not imaginable that the worst political figures can be protected by the U.S. government," said the president.
Source:Xinhua
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