MADRE Denounces Peruvian Police Crack Down on Indigenous Protesters

Early Friday June 5, as hundreds of Indigenous protesters blocked a
highway in the northern province of Bagua, a police force of some 600
opened fire into the crowd, killing 25 and injuring more than 150. In
subsequent clashes over the weekend, up to 22 police officers and at
least 40 Indigenous people, including three children, have been
killed.

MADRE decries the police brutality that led to these killings and
notes that the human rights crisis in Bagua is ongoing: the government
has declared a curfew from 3pm to 6am, protesters have been labeled
"terrorists," and Peruvian troops have occupied towns.

MADRE joins the international Indigenous movement in condemning the
Peruvian government's incursions onto Indigenous territories in the
Amazon.

This weekend's police violence is intended to enable implementation of
the US-Peru Free Trade Agreement, which entered into force on February
1, 2009. The Agreement was accompanied by new laws in Peru to open up
Indigenous lands in the Amazon region to multinational corporations
for increased mining, agribusiness, oil drilling and deforestation.
Since April, Indigenous Peoples have organized to demand the repeal of
the new laws. Local communities have blocked roads and bridges to
prevent multinational corporations from operating on their lands.

While Peruvian President Alan Garcia has claimed that the protesters
are standing in the way of development, MADRE joins Indigenous leaders
who have underscored their right to free, prior and informed consent
regarding any activities on their lands, as codified in the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Member of the MADRE Network of Experts and Chairperson of the UN
Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Victoria Tauli-Corpuz released
this statement in the wake of the violence:

"The Chair of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues expresses her
shock and deep distress at reports received of atrocities committed
starting 5 June against Indigenous Peoples in the Amazon region,
resulting in the loss of lives, disappearances and grave injuries. The
Chair sends her deepest condolences to the families of the victims.
The Chair calls upon the Peruvian Government to:

Immediately cease all violence against indigenous communities and organizations,
Ensure immediate and urgent medical attention to the wounded and
assist the families of the victims,
Abide by its national and international obligations regarding the
protection of all human rights, including the rights of indigenous
peoples and human rights defenders, especially their right to life and
security."