Peru’s Prime Minister, Yehude Simon, has today announced that he will resign following weeks of violence between Peru’s indigenous groups and security forces. Protests organised by Peru’s Indian groups have centred on the government’s unwillingness to consult or include them in its plan to exploit natural resources in areas located in the Amazon Basin. This is compounded with the strong possibility that these groups will be displaced from these areas following an influx of foreign energy companies.

Mr Simon has vowed to quit the government once he persuades Peru’s parliament to repeal two new laws which effectively open-up large swathes of indigenous lands to natural resource exploitation; namely oil drilling, logging and the introduction of hydroelectric dams. These proposed new laws are controversial, to say the least, and are facing strong opposition.

The indigenous groups, to the government’s surprise, have been extremely well organised and are posing a threat to President Alan Garcías’ plan to attract foreign investment to the region. The government’s official line is that its security forces have been the victims of a ‘frenzy’, with 11 police officers killed on Friday night. Indigenous leaders have, however, argued that the violence erupted after police fired shots from helicopters into crowds of protesters, with at least 22 civilians killed. The Chachapoyas Medical Association has since stated that 25 Indians have died in the violence. Other sources put the number at 34, while hundreds of indigenous civilians are said to be missing.

These developments have, by some commentators, been described as “the Amazon’s Tiananmen”. The protesters, armed with only spears and machetes, are proving to be a strong opposition to the government’s new laws and look determined to continue with their protests.

Associated Press