As renewed unrest threatened the country, the Bolivian Armed Forces issued a statement Monday calling on groups protesting an energy law passed last week to respect the Constitution and warned it would reject any moves that would destabilize Bolivia, dpa reported. The communique said the army would carefully follow "developing events with the aim of guaranteeing respect for order and the legitimately constituted government". The statement came as coca growers, miners, teachers and others renewed their protests to demand 50-per-cent royalties on petroleum and gas and as the wealthy province of Santa Cruz announced it would go ahead with a referendum to decide whether to break away from the rest of Bolivia. Santa Cruz is an eastern province dominated by residents of European descent compared with the mostly indigenous and poorer rest of the country. Its bid for autonomy, however, has not been approved by Congress. The coca growers, workers and other groups who converged on La Paz to protest also were demanding that Bolivia's gas and oil industry be nationalized and Santa Cruz give up its autonomy bid. --More 2227 Local Time 1927 GMT
