Massive demonstrations and roadblocks continued in Peru despite the extension of the state of emergency in several regions of the country, where there is a protest movement against President Dina Polarti, which has killed at least 42 people in 5 weeks.
The measure, announced by the Peruvian government on Saturday and valid for 30 days, allows the army to intervene to maintain order and requires the suspension of a number of constitutional rights such as freedom of movement, assembly and protection of immunity. houses.
In addition to Lima, a state of emergency has been declared, especially in the provinces of Cusco and Puno in the south of the country, as well as in the port of Callao near the capital.
A state of emergency was declared in mid-December in all parts of the country for a period of 30 days.
Today, Sunday, traffic was still blocked in 10 of Peru’s 25 regions, especially in the south, the epicenter of the protests.
On Saturday, authorities reopened Cusco International Airport, the main entry gate for tourists arriving in the country’s south, after it was closed on Thursday.
However, trains, which are the only way to get to the famous Machu Picchu castle, are still suspended, and local trade unions confirm that the tourism sector is losing about 7 million sols (about 1.7 million euros) per day due to the crisis.
Protests against Pollarte erupted after the dismissal of Socialist President Pedro Castillo on December 7 and his arrest on charges of attempting a coup d’état to dissolve the parliament he was preparing to overthrow.
Bolarte, who had been Castillo’s vice president, assumed the presidency as his successor in accordance with the constitution. She belongs to his own leftist political party. But demonstrators who consider her a “traitor” are calling for her overthrow and immediate elections. Polwarti has so far refused to step down.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which ended an inspection mission in Peru on Friday, called for an impartial investigation into the crackdown, citing evidence of “excessive use of force.”
Violence is concentrated in the southern Andes, where the Quechua and Aymara live. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights recommended that the two peoples be better integrated into Peruvian society in order to end the unrest.
And it was announced that demonstrations would be organized on Monday in marginalized areas of the southern Andes and in Lima, where some groups of demonstrators began to flock to “take the city under control.”
The government has attributed the riots to “professional agitators receiving illegal funding,” and police have announced the arrest of Rocío Leandro, a trade union leader from the Ayacucho region, on charges of financing the protests.
Source: AFP
