2023-07-18 11:08:21
Photo by Klebher Vasquez/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
In response to the call by social organizations from all over Peru for new mobilizations in Lima, Erika Guevara Rosas, director for the Americas at Amnesty International, has declared:
“Amnesty International calls on President Dina Boluarte and her ministers to send a clear message to the security forces throughout the country that their duty is to facilitate and protect the right to protestand that the excessive use of force against protesters will not be tolerated.
During the last few months, the police and the army have made unlawful use of force repeatedly, which has cost the lives of dozens of people. These appalling scenes of state repression must not be repeated. The authorities must guarantee that in no case are bullets or lead shot to respond to protests. In the case of tear gas, law enforcement officers should only resort to it in totally exceptional cases, when strictly necessary, for a legitimate purpose, in a lawful and proportionate manner.”
Over the past few months, thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest. The authorities have responded with lethal force and with excessive use of less-lethal force, with the goal of silencing and punishing protesters, particularly those indigenous and peasant communities. Between December 2022 and February 2023, 49 protesters lost their lives, 11 people died in the context of roadblocks, and hundreds were seriously injured.
In May, Amnesty International published a report documenting 25 of those deaths and concluding that 20 of them were extrajudicial executions. To date, no charges have been brought against any public official for the crimes committed.
“Anyone should have the freedom to make their voices heard”
Marina Navarro, Executive Director of Amnesty International Peru, has stated: “Anyone should have the freedom to make their voices heard. The Peruvian authorities must guarantee the rights to freedom of expression and assembly, and refrain from spreading disinformation or stigmatizing those who choose to exercise these rights. There must be no more people killed or injured in the framework of the mobilizations.”
No person should die in the context of state repression or for going out to protest. The organization reiterates to the Peruvian authorities that the use of public force must be proportional and necessary, which includes the use of tear gas, used excessively, unnecessary and illegitimately during the latest demonstrations in Peru.
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