State violence against protest targets Peru's indigenous communities

by Agency Reporter | Feb 22, 2023 | Briefing

NEW RESEARCH from Amnesty International has found that Indigenous people and campesinos (rural farmworkers) have been disproportionately targeted by military forces and the National Police of Peru (PNP) in the repression of protests across the country which began in December 2022.

While the regions with majority Indigenous populations represent only 13 per cent of Peru’s total population, they account for 80 per cent of the total deaths registered since the crisis began. Evidence suggests that the authorities have acted with a marked racist bias, targeting populations that have historically suffered discrimination.

The Army and the PNP have unlawfully fired lethal weapons indiscriminately against the population.

Amnesty International’s Americas director, Erika Guevara-Rosas, said: “With a total of 48 people dead from state repression, 11 deaths from road blockades and one policeman killed, as well as hundreds injured in a tragic period of state violence, the Peruvian authorities have allowed the excessive and lethal use of force to be the government’s only response to the clamour of thousands of communities who demand dignity and a political system that guarantees their human rights.

“The systemic racism ingrained in Peruvian society and its authorities for decades has been the driving force behind the violence used to punish communities that have raised their voices.”

More:
https://www.ekklesia.co.uk/2023/02/22/state-violence-against-protest-targets-perus-indigenous-communities/