1 year ago
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A march billed arsenic the “takeover of Lima” escalated into moving battles betwixt protesters and riot constabulary amid stone-throwing and swirls of teargas connected Thursday evening successful Peru’s capital.
Thousands of protesters from crossed the state poured into Lima earlier successful the week to instrumentality portion successful a monolithic march demanding the resignation of President Dina Boluarte aft astir six weeks of turmoil that has killed much than 50 people, including 1 constabulary serviceman and 8 radical who died arsenic a effect of strikes and blockades.
In a late-night tv address, Boluarte said constabulary had the protests nether power and that those liable for unit and vandalism would not spell “unpunished”, adding “this is not a peaceful march”. She said the “government is steadfast and its furniture is much agreed than ever”.
Boluarte claimed that the protests had “no societal agenda” but alternatively sought to “break the regularisation of law, make chaos and upset and prehend power”. She added that attacks connected 3 determination airports had been planned successful beforehand and would beryllium punished with “all the rigour of the law”.
“To the Peruvian people, to those who privation to enactment successful bid and to those who make acts of protestation I say: I volition not get bushed of calling them to a bully dialogue, to archer them that we enactment for the country,” she said.
One idiosyncratic died and astir 10 were injured successful clashes with constabulary successful the confederate metropolis of Arequipa connected Thursday, according to Peru’s ombudsman’s office, erstwhile protesters reportedly tried to invade the airport. Several airports person been closed and immense swathes of the state person been paralysed by much than 120 roadblocks.
Outrage implicit the rising decease toll has powered the mounting protests, which began successful aboriginal December successful enactment of ousted erstwhile president Pedro Castillo but person shifted overwhelmingly to request Boluarte’s resignation, the closure of Congress and caller elections. Boluarte was Castillo’s vice-president and replaced him aft helium attempted to shutter Congress and regularisation by decree connected 7 December.
Earlier connected Thursday, thousands marched astir Lima’s San Martín square, galore holding banners of their spot of origin. Peasant information organisations known arsenic ronderos carried accepted whips and Indigenous women wore accepted colourful skirts. There were chants of “Dina, murderer, the radical repudiate you” amid banners showing Peru’s archetypal pistillate president bathed successful blood.
“We privation justice, we don’t privation our dormant to beryllium forgotten,” Zulema Chacón told the Guardian. “We privation that usurper out, she doesn’t correspond us.”
“They are the thieves and they prevarication and prevarication to us,” said Delia Zevallos, 52, a shopkeeper, referring to the lawmakers successful Congress, Peru’s astir despised governmental organ. “The radical person woken up, we’re not children immoderate more, we cognize however to work and constitute … and nary 1 tin archer america what to do.”
Boluarte, who said past week that she would not resign, met a typical of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights earlier connected Thursday. Last week, the UN bureau said it was “very acrophobic astir the rising violence” successful Peru.
Both the US and UK ambassadors to Peru welcomed the gathering and issued statements connected Thursday calling for calm and exhorting the authorities to question dialogue.
In a connection successful Spanish connected Twitter, the US ambassador, Lisa Kenna, said it was “fundamental that the forces of bid respect quality rights and support the citizenry”.
In a akin statement, her UK counterpart, Gavin Cook, called for “immediate and impartial investigations, accountability measures and justness for the victims of the reports of quality rights violations”.
English (US)