Peru: Calling for Respect for Life in Conflict

Clashes in Lima, Peru, Credit: Voice of America from WikiMedia

Source: Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns

Peru is facing a moment of deep political turmoil, including the massacre of dozens of mostly indigenous citizens in the long marginalised southern region of the Andean country. Since a controversial change of government last 7 December, protesters have been met by extreme violence by security forces, leading to more than 50 deaths, 600 serious injuries and hundreds of arbitrary detentions.

Communities enraged by the violence took their concerns to the capital city of Lima this past weekend, where further government repression was unleashed, leading to more deaths and injuries.

Unrest followed a rapid succession of power shifts at the presidential level at the end of 2022. On 7 December, facing possible impeachment, President Pedro Castillo dissolved Congress and declared a government of exception, only to be impeached and jailed within hours. His vice president Dina Boluarte was sworn in as Peru's first female president, but her leadership was quickly shaken by widespread protests clamouring for new elections, echoing the sentiments of 83% of the population.

When her promises to move presidential elections to December 2023 failed to calm the unrest, she declared a state of emergency on 14 December, banning the right to assembly and unleashing a violent response against protesters by Peruvian security forces.

In the tragic wake of this repression Maryknoll Father Mike Briggs, who serves in the capitol city Lima, expressed his concern: "We are hoping that there be no further loss of life and that the government listens to the people."

The Peruvian human rights organization DHUMA, led by Maryknoll Sister Pat Ryan, also weighed in:

"We reject the state of emergency declared by the government, since this measure does not resolve the demands of the Peruvian people who took to the streets to protest. Nor does it contribute to finding a solution to the political-social situation, and on the contrary encourages the continuity of social mobilisation and the consequent police and military repression, exacerbating the current national crisis. We regret the deaths of young people in the context of protests in the southern Andes region, and we hold the government of Dina Boluarte, the Minister of the Interior and Defence, responsible for their political decisions to act by repressing the population with the use of lethal weapons, committing murders and serious injuries."

While the Christmas holiday brought a measure of calm, protests were gearing up at the beginning of January, especially in the south. Facing outrage from the protesters' deaths, Boluarte promised to investigate, but has taken no responsibility.

Some in the country consider Castillo an ineffective leader who burned his democratic credentials by his recent actions. Others excuse his actions, noting that, from the moment he stepped into power, he was under attack by a Lima-centered political elite that has long blocked full political participation of indigenous and rural citizens such as Castillo.

In the face of unrest and uncertainty, the Social Action Commission of the Peruvian Bishop's Conference (CEAS) has stated: "Let us move closer to peace and dialogue, in assuring no more deaths, and to achieving justice and reparations for the families."

Link: https://maryknollogc.org/