The Peruvian Ombudsman’s Office has denounced the abuse of tear gas in the ‘Reacciona Peru’ demonstration this Saturday in Lima against the government of Pedro Castillo, contrary to the «rational and strictly necessary» use it had demanded of the police.
At the beginning of the protest, the organization had warned of the presence of minors in the march and had asked the Police to make a «rational» use of tear gas and not to use horses in their intervention, in accordance with the ruling of the Judiciary, since this can affect the integrity of the demonstrators.
However, ‘El Comercio’ reported that according to the Ombudsman’s Office, more than 10 tear gas bombs were used against demonstrators who were marching peacefully, which forced them to retreat and affected elderly people and merchants who were passing through the area.
«We are going to make our assessments about the use of tear gas bombs despite the situation was controlled, it was not the time to use,» said a representative. In addition, the agency has confirmed the arrest of two people in the framework of these protests.
To the cry of «no to acts of corruption» the protesters have demanded the resignation of the president or the presidential vacancy, as reported by RPP. The objective of the march is «to seek a solution to the political crisis, in the face of a government increasingly implicated in corruption», according to one of its organizers, as stated by this radio station.
Citizens in the regions of Trujillo, Huancayo, Cusco, Chiclayo, Arequipa and Piura have also joined these demands, although in these locations no confrontations with police authorities have been registered.
