Ousted Ecuadorean President Lucio Gutierrez was stranded inside the Brazilian ambassador's residence on Thursday night while angry protesters outside shouted insults, while Brazil, after granting him asylum, held talks with the country's new government.
About 100 protesters gathered near a gate guarded by riot police yelled "Coward!" and "Brazil, give back the thief!"
Gutierrez's enemies say he should be tried for abuse of power, corruption and the violent repression of protests that prompted a congressional vote on Wednesday to remove him from office.
Brazilian ambassador Sergio Florencio Sobrinho said Gutierrez was in the residence waiting for a flight to Brazil. But after a meeting with government officials on Thursday night, the ambassador said Ecuador was not yet ready to grant permission for Gutierrez to leave.
The Organization of American States (OAS), meanwhile, asked Ecuador's new government to explain how Congress concluded that the president needed to be removed from office.
Brazil's decision to grant asylum to Gutierrez provoked outrage among many Ecuadoreans, who said he shouldn't be allowed to escape into exile without being held accountable for alleged crimes. Others said they were fed up with politicians in general after seeing their third leader driven from office in eight years.
"People want a total change," said Jose Manjarrez, 63, who complained that members of Congress had done nothing to ease poverty or fight corruption. "All of them have to go, because all of them are to blame."
Newly sworn-in President Alfredo Palacio, who was vice president under Gutierrez, installed members of a new Cabinet on Thursday in an effort to bring stability to the nation of 12.5 million people. Palacio has promised to hold a referendum and a constitutional assembly to create a new state structure.
Streets were largely peaceful on Thursday after days of street protests that pitted Gutierrez's opponents against his supporters and police firing tear gas.
Gutierrez came to office in January 2003 as a populist, anti-corruption reformer, but soon angered many Ecuadoreans by adopting economic austerity measures. Many were upset by growing accusations of nepotism and corruption in his inner circle.
He dissolved the Supreme Court a week ago in hopes of placating protesters who accused him of stacking the court in his favor, but the move backfired and set off even more massive protests that prompted Wednesday's congressional vote to fire him.
Scores were injured and at least two deaths were linked to the protests. Hundreds of mourners attended a funeral on Thursday for a Chilean photographer who friends said had helped rescue a woman and her young child engulfed by a cloud of tear gas before he was overcome by the gas and asphyxiated.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appealed for a halt to violence on Thursday, saying, "What's needed now is calm."
The OAS planned a session for yesterday to discuss the situation, and has asked Ecuador's representative to explain how Gutierrez was dismissed under a constitutional clause allowing legislators to remove a president for "abandonment of the post" -- while he was still in the Government Palace issuing orders.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
STORM’S PATH: Kong-Rey could be the first typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in November since Gilda in 1967. Taitung-Green Island ferry services have been halted Tropical Storm Kong-rey is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon early today and could make landfall in Taitung County between late Thursday and early Friday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, Kong-Rey was 1,030km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the nation’s southernmost point, and was moving west at 7kph. The tropical storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126 kph, CWA data showed. After landing in Taitung, the eye of the storm is forecast to move into the Taiwan Strait through central Taiwan on Friday morning, the agency said. With the storm moving
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work