Bolivian riot cops attack protestors on crutches & in wheelchairs

Disability rights activists in Bolivia made a 100-day protest caravan across the country to the capital city (La Paz) to demand an increase in the state disability allowance & better work opportunities (buildings are inaccessible to wheelchairs & people with disabilities often cannot go to work or school). The protestors want an annual subsidy of about $400 (£254); they now receive only about $130. The caravan was supported by the kindness of people along the 1,000 mile trek to La Paz. In La Paz, the protestors were met by riot cops blocking off the street to the presidential square & attacked indiscriminately with pepper spray & electric shocks. Government officials have the temerity & stupidity to claim they acted in response to violent attacks by protestors hitting them with sticks & crutches & that cops were also injured in the confrontation. Amnesty International is demanding an independent investigation of this attack. Judge for yourself since a picture is worth a thousand lies. (Photos by David Mercado/Reuters)