Bolivian assembly restarts under military guard

SUCRE, Bolivia (Reuters) - Bolivian police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters as the assembly rewriting the country's constitution reconvened on Friday under military guard three months after violent demonstrations forced it to suspend its work.

Opposition delegates boycotted Friday's session, which the party of leftist President Evo Morales, using its slim majority in the assembly's governing body, had moved from downtown Sucre to an army facility on the city's outskirts.

The assembly had been forced to suspend deliberations in mid-August after days of demonstrations in the southern city of Sucre by protesters calling for the relocation of Bolivia's capital.

"We cannot waste time. What we want is to honor our mandate and produce a new constitution," said Felix Cardenas, a delegate from the minority party National Conciliation during the debate on Friday, which was boycotted by most opposition delegates.

The assembly's mandate expires on December 14.

The conflict over the capital stems from a power struggle between Morales and his conservative rivals, who want more autonomy for the regions they govern and also support the capital switch.

Nominally, Sucre is the South American country's capital, but it is only home to the top courts, while the legislature and the seat of government are in La Paz, a bastion of support for Morales.

'DEFEND' ASSEMBLY

Morales supporters have staged massive protests in recent weeks opposing the calls for the capital's relocation, and thousands of them traveled to Sucre this week pledging to "defend" the assembly.