Police launch tear gas while being confronted by protesters in southern Peru. Photo: EFE.
On Wednesday, January 11, police repression killed one person and and injured at least 43 in a demonstration in Cusco, Peru protesting the government of de facto President Dina Boluarte.
The progressive parliamentarian Ruth Luque reported that one protester in Cusco died from a gunshot wound at the end of another day of anti-government demonstrations throughout Peru.
Parliamentarian Luque, who is from Cusco, reported that Remo Candia, 50 years old, was treated by medical personnel at the Antonio Lorena State Hospital, but died while undergoing surgery.
“So much pain, rage, and impotence! While the government of Dina Boluarte asks for dialogue, it imposes deaths, massacres,” Luque commented.
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The Peruvian Ombudsperson’s Office announced on Wednesday night that the deceased, Remo Candia Guevara, was the president of the community of Anansaya Urinsaya Collana de Anta. He was the first person in Cusco region to die from police repression during recent protests in the country.
Lamentamos que enfrentamientos en #Cusco hayan originado fallecimiento del presidente de comunidad de Anansaya Urinsaya Ccollana de Anta, Remo Candia Guevara. Pedimos al director del Hospital Lorena comunicarse con fiscal de turno para la realización de la necropsia de ley. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/vGAUraXVnl
— Defensoría Perú (@Defensoria_Peru) January 12, 2023
“We demand an immediate investigation to find those responsible for the death, and [impose] corresponding sanctions,” the Ombudsperson’s Office stated.
At least 43 people injured in Cusco
The death of the indigenous leader occurred on Wednesday night, after police guarding the Cusco airport attempted to prohibit protesters from entering the terminal.
The protest spread to other areas of the city, and the confrontations left at least 43 injured, four of them seriously. Candia was one of the seriously injured, reported the head of the Regional Health Directorate of Cusco, Abel Paucarmayta. Seven of the injured are policemen.
Reportedly, 11 people were arrested during the marches.
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The governor of Cusco, Werner Salcedo, called upon the people to remain calm and protest in a peaceful manner, while several demonstrators pointed out that police instigated the confrontations by attacking the protesters with tear gas and firearms.
The Peruvian Public Prosecutor’s Office criticized Governor Salcedo for allegedly detaining demonstrators in the Inca Garcilaso stadium.
Extrajudicial killings condemned
On Wednesday, the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) of Peru announced that several human rights organizations have reported on extrajudicial killings perpetrated by the security forces of the country.
The secretary of the CNDH, Jennie Dador, stated that these organizations will file complaints regarding these crimes before the delegation of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), which is currently deployed in Peru.
The criticisms against the violence imposed against demonstrators by security personnel were based on international norms’ definition of “extrajudicial” as killings executed outside any form of legality and lacking legitimate claims of self-defense.
In accordance with these conventions, the massacre of 10 people in the southern Andean region of Ayacucho and 17 in Puno are being considered as extrajudicial murders.
The secretary of the CNDH said that Peruvian organizations have criticized other human rights violations, such as the indiscriminate use of force, the criminalization of protest, the haphazardness of police officers while confronting unarmed protesters, and the massive and unjustified detentions.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/KZ
