Rights groups appalled by lack of criticism over abuses in Peru

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LIMA, Peru (AP) In less than two months, more than 50 people have died in Peru, many of them protesters at the hands of police. And while a few worried international voices have emerged, much of the regional and global community has remained largely silent.

The silence comes to the dismay of human rights groups who are calling for more condemnation of state violence after then-President Pedro Castillo was impeached and imprisoned for trying to dissolve Congress.

The feeling is that we were alone, said Jennie Dador, executive secretary of the national human rights coordinator of Perus, a civil society group. None of the states in the region have done anything concrete.

As regional leaders gather in the Argentine capital on Tuesday for a meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, there are signs that, at least for now, some leaders seem to prefer to put the issue aside.

But not at all. Chile’s President Gabriel Boric said there is an urgent need for change in Peru because the outcome of the path of violence and repression is unacceptable. Mexico’s President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador, a staunch supporter of Castillo, gave a recorded message in which he demanded an end to the repression in Peru.

The two regional leaders spoke shortly after Argentine President Alberto Fernandez failed to mention Peru when opening the regional summit.

This dynamic illustrates how although the crackdown on protests in Peru has received some global attention, activists say it is far less than they would expect given that 56 people have died since Dina Boluarte, the former vice-president, was sworn in as president on December 7. of this total, 45 had direct clashes with the security forces, according to the Perus mediator.

The international community has expressed concern, but I really think it could be more forceful, said Csar Muoz, associate Americas director at Human Rights Watch. A key thing that other governments in the region could do, Muoz added, is to emphasize that the rule of law means there must be independent investigations into all deaths.

Latin American leaders are meeting on a day when another large protest is expected in Peru’s capital, the latest in a series of street protests that began last week when thousands of people, many from remote Andean regions , descended on Lima for mobilizations to demand the resignation of Boluartes, immediate elections and the dissolution of Congress.

In Lima, protesters were met with volleys of tear gas as the government maintained a defiant stance, accusing protesters of fomenting violence and using street protests to seize power. Prior to last week, most of the major anti-government protests took place in remote parts of Peru, mostly in the south of the country, revealing a deep divide between residents of the capital and the long-neglected countryside.

Although human rights activists agree that there have been acts of violence by protesters, including efforts to take over airports and the burning of police stations, it does not justify a broader effort to criminalize political manifestation in general.

Peru has managed to go unnoticed, said Marina Navarro, Executive Director of Amnesty International Peru. Given the seriousness of the situation, with this number of people dead, we do not hear as much about it as there could be.

This same pattern is expected to continue in Buenos Aires on Tuesday after much speculation that some countries will try to raise the issue at the regional summit.

Peru is a thorny issue, said an Argentine foreign ministry official who declined to speak officially because he is not authorized to speak publicly about politics. From a regional perspective, Peru is cause for concern and division.

Negotiations on whether to include the issue at the summit continued through Monday, the official said, noting there was general agreement to leave contentious issues aside to focus on things where it is. could be a general consensus.

The crisis in Peru, which sparked the worst political violence the country has seen in more than two decades, has proven to be a divisive issue in Latin America, with some of the region’s most leftist governments expressing support for Castillo, Perus first leader from a rural Andean background who was facing his third impeachment process from his fledgling administration when he attempted to dissolve Congress.

Still, the larger question of how Boluarte came to power should not preclude comments about abuses, human rights organizations say.

There must be international pressure for this government to cease all types of repressive attitudes and this has nothing to do with issuing an opinion on the legitimacy of the government, said Manuel Tufr, head of the division justice and security at the Center for Legal and Social Studies. , an Argentine human rights organization.

But the Boluartes government has also made it clear that it will not take any criticism lightly.

After law enforcement raided a university in Lima on Saturday, where demonstrators who had come from distant regions for the protests were being housed, Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote on Twitter that the Organization of American States should examine Perus case.

Shortly after, Prime Minister Alberto Otarola hit back and said Petro should mind your own business.

Peru’s foreign ministry then issued an official note of protest against what it described as Petros’ involvement in domestic political issues. He also issued a protest against Bolivia after its president, Luis Arce, expressed support for the protests.

One of the strongest statements criticizing Peru’s actions has come from outside the region, with the European Union saying on Monday that it deplores the very high number of casualties since the protests began and reiterated its condemnation of the widespread acts of violence and use of force by the security forces.

U.S. Ambassador to Lima Lisa Kenna also surprised many observers earlier this month when she released a statement saying it was fundamental for law enforcement to respect human rights. man, the right to demonstrate and to protect citizens.

For some analysts, the region’s lukewarm response tells a bigger story of how Peru’s recent history of political crises with six presidents in the past six years means it has lost prominence on the scene. world.

Peru as a country has lost its presence, said Oscar Vidarte, professor of international relations at the Catholic University of Peru. It is a chaotic country, a country that has become ungovernable, questioned in terms of democracy and respect for human life, the countries of the region have clearly turned their backs on it.

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Associated Press writer Almudena Calatrava in Buenos Aires, Argentina contributed to this report.

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