Protests in Peru claimed lives of 17 people
2023.01.10 01:19
Protests in Peru claimed lives of 17 people
By Ray Johnson
Budrigannews.com – The country’s human rights office reported on Monday that clashes with police in southern Peru resulted in the deaths of at least 17 people. This was the deadliest day so far for protests calling for early elections and the release of former president Pedro Castillo, who is currently in prison.
According to Henry Rebaza, a Puno health ministry official who spoke to the state-run television channel TV Peru, the clashes occurred in Juliaca, a city in the Puno region of southern Peru, and left 68 people injured. The ministry says that at least two teenagers were killed.
Ismael Cornejo, the regional health director for Puno, told RPP, a local radio station, that some of the bodies had been shot.
Since the protests began in early December following Castillo’s removal and arrest shortly after he attempted to illegally dissolve Congress, the latest casualties bring the total number of people killed in anti-government clashes with security forces to 39.
On charges of rebellion, Castillo has been sentenced to 18 months of pre-trial detention, which he denies.
Additionally, Rebaza informed Peru TV that the airport in Juliaca cannot evacuate the 28 injured police officers. According to Peru’s Prime Minister Alberto Otarola, thousands of protesters attempted to break into the airport and police station.
A Reuters witness saw gunshots and smoke on the Juliaca streets throughout the day as protesters threw rocks and improvised slingshots at police while hiding behind large metal plates and road signs.
In addition, people with severe injuries were seen in a crowded hospital waiting room and performing CPR on a man who was motionless on the ground and was wearing a sweater that was stained with blood.
Reuters was informed by an unidentified woman that their relative had been shot while going for a walk with a friend who lived nearby.
“How can we have so many dead?” “I want to call the central government.” said Jorge Sotomayor Perales, who is in charge of the intensive care unit at a Juliaca hospital.
The Ombudsman Office, Peru’s human rights office, urged protesters to refrain from attacking property or preventing ambulances from moving and called for police to use force in accordance with international standards.
The Ombudsman reported earlier on Monday that a newborn had passed away while being transported to a local hospital from the town of Yunguyo, southeast of Juliaca, in an ambulance that was delayed due to a road blockade.
After a lull over the holidays, protests demanding Castillo’s release and early elections resumed last week. In addition, the protesters demand that Dina Boluarte, the new president, resign, that Congress be closed, and that the constitution be amended.
Boluarte stated that she was unable to grant some of the protesters’ most important demands during an earlier “national agreement” meeting with representatives from the country’s regions and various political institutions on Monday. She asked people to “reflect.”
She stated, “The only thing in my hands was moving the elections forward, which we have already proposed.” You are asking for a cover to continue causing disorder in the cities.
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The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights stated that it would visit Lima and other cities in Peru from Wednesday to Friday to assess the situation.
