Peru massacres natives in oil-related protests

20-22 citizens and 9-12 policemen are said to have died in violent incidents at the Amazonian town of Bagua, near Ecuador. Other 30-36 civilians were also injured. Figures vary depending on sources.

The locals had been protesting against the new Peruvian laws that would allow for easier exploitation of Amazonian oil, lumber and mining resources by multinational corporations with no respect for the ecology of the rainforest or the health and rights of the natives.

Eventually the Peruvian government sent armed helicopters that opened live fire on the protesters killing many. This act has been denounced as the largest genocidal action in the alst 20 years.

The new ultracapitalist laws that the Peruvian parliament is set to approve have been massively rejected by the natives, who make up a sizeable fraction of all Peruvians, and the subsequent revolts have brought the government to declare the state of emergency in 5 regions.

Sources: Rebelión , BBC, Al Jazeera.
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Peruvian Amazon protests achieve their goal

Yesterday I mentioned that Peruvian natives were protesting actively against a law that allows selling the forest land to multinationals, and that President García had declared the emergency rule in the affected provinces. Today I read that they have stopped the protests, not as result of military intervention but because the Congress has supressed those laws.

The laws were decreed by the President under temporary special powers but have been now revoked by a congressional comitee, much to the frustration of the pseudo-socialist (neo-con) Alan García.

Peru declares emergency rule to quell native protests

Peru is among the South American states that has worse reputation in regard to indigenous rights. Yesterday I read at BBC (not major headlines, you can guess) that the goverment has decided to declare the mergency rue in several Amazonian provinces in order to annihilate the protests of some 65 native ethnicities that have arisen against oil multinationals, blocking the abusive developements in the area that are killing the enviroment and the peoples who live in it.

This uprising has been triggered by the new land sale law promoted by US vassal Alan García after signing a free trade agreement with the empire of the North. Native Peruvians consider this law to be just a blank cheque for multinationals to exploit and destroy the jungle at the expense of the enviroment and their lives and, therefore, decided to blockade hydroelectric, oil and gas industries in the area.

The reaction of the government has been military rule in the affected provinces.