The IACHR visits the protest area and calls for an end to the violence

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) called for an end to violence in Peru, after visiting the country and the southern areas that have led the days of most violent protests. He ordered that the deaths in the social upheaval be investigated before ending a visit to the country on Friday to assess the situation of political crisis.

Peru has been engaged since December in protests against the government of President Dina Boluarte since he took office, after his predecessor, Pedro Castillo, was dismissed for trying to dissolve Congress to prevent his removal.

The IACHR urged the Peruvian authorities and the sectors in protest to seek a “broad, genuine, inclusive dialogue” to effectively find a solution to the crisis.

After touring Arequipa and Juliaca, in the areas of hottest protests, he entrusted the State to investigate the complaints of excessive use of force by the police and the military, in days of demonstrations that have already left almost fifty dead. Also to clarify if there are violent sectors that delegitimize the demonstrations.

“The commission recalls that the State has the duty to carry out serious, impartial and effective investigations in a reasonable time by specialized prosecutors and the specialized prosecutor for human rights, as well as prosecute and punish those responsible,” said Stuardo Ralón, Vice President of the IACHR at a press conference.

He announced that in 30 days, The IACHR will issue its report on what happened in Peru. The mission has been between December and January in Lima, Ica, Arequipa, Juliaca (Puno region), Ayacucho and Cusco.

The Inter-American Commission was also in Peru in November, at the request of Pedro Castillo, when he was still president to attend the crisis of political instability of the government of the ex-president who was later dismissed in December.

He mentioned that the majority of deaths have occurred in the southern regions of the country, with a majority indigenous and peasant population that suffer from structural social problems, such as exclusion and racism.

He highlighted the cases of Ayacucho and Puno, the two southern regions where the conflicts have been deadlier.

“According to the information received, it is reported that State agents used excessive force when repelling an attempt to take over the airport,” he mentioned about Ayacucho.

He added that, in the city of Juliaca, Puno, “according to the autopsies, these people died from gunshot wounds.”

“Considering the nature of the facts, it must have an ethnic-racial focus and eventual responsibilities by chain of command or establish who were the people who activated the firearms,” ​​he said.

“An effort must be made to find out if there are violent groups that, apart from the right to protest, can distort it or use the demonstration for other purposes that are far removed from it,” he added.

Shortly after, Boluarte swore in three new ministers, including the Interior Minister. The retired general Vicente Romero, who was already in that position in the government of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, assumed this portfolio after criticism of police action in the protests.

In addition to him, he appointed lawyer Luis Adrianzen as Minister of Labor, after Eduardo García resigned the day before in rejection of the official handling of the demonstrations.

He also changed the Minister for Women by appointing Nancy Tolentino, after the resignation of her predecessor, Grecia Rojas, for also disagreeing with Boluarte’s decisions on the crisis.

The Ombudsman’s Office reported on Friday at 4:30 in the afternoon that there were mobilizations, strikes and roadblocks in 44 provinces, most of them in the southern regions of the country.

In addition, it registered 83 blockade points on national roads and a violent incursion and burning of a water pump from the Antapaccay company, in the southern region of Apurímac.

Former United States Ambassador to Peru and Undersecretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Brian A. Nichols, expressed his regret for the political and social situation in the country.

“We are deeply concerned by the violence in Peru and saddened by those injured and those who lost their lives. All Peruvians deserve to live in peace and democracy. We await the commitments declared by the government to solve the country’s challenges, ”said the senior US official on his Twitter account.

the protests -which demand an advance of general elections, the resignation of Boluarte and the closure of Congress- gained new impetus this week, after resuming last Wednesday, after a partial truce due to the end of the year holidays. With the removal of Castillo, political instability in Peru has already claimed five presidents in six years.

Among the protesters who demand the resignation of the president, the closure of Congress and new elections, there are those who also demand that Castillo, the predecessor of Boluarte, be released who was deposed and remains in prison preventive for eight months while he is investigated for alleged rebellion.

Boluarte assumed the government after Castillo, who had been president since 2021, was removed by Congress after trying to dissolve this state power with a television message on December 7. The current president was vice president and she was elected on the same list with her predecessor. Parliament swore her in on the same day Castillo’s dismissal for being her constitutional successor.

Castillo was arrested when he was in a vehicle with his entourage on an avenue in the center of Lima. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, he was going to the Mexican embassy to seek political asylum.

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