- Title: Peru president backs investigation into protest deaths
- Date: 29th December 2022
- Summary: LIMA, PERU (DECEMBER 29, 2022) (REUTERS) PERU'S PRESIDENT DINA BOLUARTE SITTING NEXT TO MINISTER BEFORE NEWS CONFERENCE BOLUARTE, MINISTERS AND REPORTERS DURING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PERU'S PRESIDENT, DINA BOLUARTE, SAYING: "The police and the army went out to defend the lives and peace of 33 million Peruvians. Regarding the violence and deaths you have just asked me about, which pains me to the core, I did not ask for these deaths to occur. However, within its autonomy as a state institution, the Public Prosecutor's Office is doing its job." BOLUARTE AND MINISTERS DURING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PERUVIAN INTERIOR MINISTER VICTOR ROJAS, SAYING: "We have information that possibly from January 4th of next year, there will again be social conflicts, specifically in the southern region. That is the information we have. Today I will travel to Arequipa, Cusco, and Puno to corroborate this information and deploy the police." BOLUARTE AND MINISTERS DURING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PERU'S PRESIDENT, DINA BOLUARTE, SAYING: "Some presidents in the region, I believe, have misinterpreted the case of former President Pedro Castillo. I understand that President Petro (Colombian President Gustavo Petro) was at some point removed from his position as mayor and went to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and was reinstated. But that case is not similar to that of former president Pedro Castillo." BOLUARTE AND MINISTERS DURING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PERU'S PRESIDENT, DINA BOLUARTE, SAYING: "I am the first woman to assume the highest office in my country. Sisters and brothers, I tell you that my resignation solves absolutely nothing. In the following months, we will work on political reforms of transition government." BOLUARTE WAVING REPORTERS
- Embargoed: 12th January 2023 18:24
- Keywords: Pedro Castillo Peru President Dina Boluarte politics
- Location: LIMA, PERU
- City: LIMA, PERU
- Country: Peru
- Topics: South America / Central America,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001943229122022RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Peruvian President Dina Boluarte said Thursday (December 29) she will provide all necessary resources to prosecutors so they can investigate over two dozen deaths during protests that have rocked Peru following the ouster of her predecessor.
An estimated 22 people have been killed in clashes during the protests and another six have died in traffic accidents related to street blockades, according to government data.
President Boluarte said at a news conference her government would hand all the resources to the prosecutor's office so they could investigate the deaths.
Boluarte assumed the presidency earlier this month after leftist President Pedro Castillo was ousted in an impeachment vote hours after attempting to illegally dissolve Congress.
She was previously Castillo's vice president.
Castillo was arrested and remains in pretrial detention while under investigation on rebellion and conspiracy charges.
His ouster led to days of sometimes violent protests in Peru.
In response, Boluarte's government implemented a state of emergency that granted security forces special powers and limited freedoms such as the right to assembly.
Human rights groups have accused authorities of using firearms on protesters and dropping smoke bombs from helicopters.
The army says protesters have used weapons and homemade explosives.
Interior Minister Victor Rojas said in the conference alongside Boluarte he had information that the protests could reignite, particularly in the south, on Jan. 4 after pausing during the Christmas holidays.
Boluarte added that some neighboring countries had "wrongly interpreted" what happened to Castillo.
In the days after Castillo's ouster, the leftist governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico and Colombia issued a joint statement calling for the protection of Castillo's human rights and said those who removed Castillo should prioritize "the will of the citizens."
Another leftist bloc of Latin American countries including Cuba and Venezuela said days later it rejected "the political framework created by right-wing forces against Constitutional President Pedro Castillo."
Castillo's family received asylum in Mexico, while Mexican authorities are in talks with Peru to offer Castillo protection as well, Mexico has said.
Peru declared Mexico's ambassador to Lima "persona non grata" and ordered him to leave the country earlier this month, for what it considered Mexico's meddling in Peru's internal affairs.
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