The Joint Command of the Peruvian Armed Forces has justified that the use of force to quell the protests in Ayacucho (south), which resulted in nine dead and a dozen wounded, was a consequence of the attacks they have been suffering from «bad Peruvians» since the intensification of demonstrations in favor of former president Pedro Castillo in the last few days.
«In that space of time we have suffered attacks both the National Police and the Armed Forces from these bad Peruvians», said the head of the Central Command, General Manuel Gomez de la Torre, thus implying that they had to resort to firearms to quell the protests.
«We have remained firm in the face of this threat to our national security, we have been gradually recovering normality on our roads, in our airports, in our cities», stressed Gomez de la Torre when he explained the operation to prevent the seizure of the airport in Ayacucho.
However, the military authorities have not explained why some of the people who were watching outside the airport facilities were hit by bullets, according to the newspaper ‘La República’.
For his part, General Ruben Castañeda has avoided talking about how those deaths occurred and has stressed that if they had not retaken control of the airport and with some of the roads still blocked, the Army would not have had the «capacity» to deal with the demonstrations.
«Why did they try to take over the Ayacucho airport? Because it is very important. It serves to bring personnel who are reinforcing the security and control of both the National Police and the Armed Forces. We are bringing people from different parts of the country to take them to Apurimac, first, and then to Ayacucho, which are critical places», said General Castañeda.
On the eve of two weeks since Castillo’s dismissal and detention, around 195,000 people have taken to the streets in 144 localities throughout the country to protest and demand the closure of Congress, the release of the former president and the holding of early elections as soon as possible.
The Peruvian Police has reported that 183 people have been arrested for violent acts during the protests, which have so far left several hundred injured and a total of 25 dead.
As a consequence of this new political crisis in Peru, the new president, Dina Boluarte, has announced the dismissal of the hitherto prime minister, Pedro Angulo, who has barely lasted ten days in office. It is expected that during this week she will reshuffle her cabinet in order to be able to channel the negotiations in the midst of social discontent.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
