rich eastern half, whose population is mostly of European descent, and the impoverished, mostly indigenous western part. "The Armed Forces are carefully following developments and ... will act, if necessary to preserve national integrity and sovereignty, the rule of law and the defence of democracy.", the statement carried by dpa said. Mesa warned this week that the country is on the brink of civil war and called for quick early elections. A radical indigenous leader Wednesday called for civil war to "see who runs the country", indigenous people or whites. On Wednesday, farmers supporting the Movement to Socialism (MAS) took over seven oil fields in eastern Bolivia, forcing the wells to halt production. Three of the fields are run by a subsidiary of British Petroleum, and four belonging to a firm whose main shareholder is the Argentine- Spanish Repsol company, officials said. --More 2327 Local Time 2027 GMT
