video transcript

Indigenous protesters clash with police in the Bolivian capital of La Paz. Tribe members, angered by a proposed highway that would cut through their territory, hurl everything from sand to rocks at officers. Riot police use tear gas and water cannons to beat back the demonstrators, who have occupied La Paz for more than a week. They trekked into the capital from more than 600 kilometres away - a journey that took two months. They are upset by plans to build a $420 million highway through the Isiboro protected area in the Amazon. Organisers implied there could be more violence if the government doesn't back down from the project. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ADOLFO CHAVEZ, LEADER OF ANTI-TIPNIS MARCH, SAYING: "If this problem isn't fixed here, I think the solutions are going to take place in the jungle." Bolivian president Evo Morales - the country's first indigenous leader - has announced the highway will be put to a referendum among the 63 groups who call Isiboro home. Andrew Raven, Reuters