Situation escalates: 17 dead after failed occupation of Peruvian airport And that in the middle of Bern: the Chinese surveillance state harasses CH Media journalists

The general strike

Since the impeachment of the Peruvian president on December 7, 2022, major riots have broken out in the South American country. The protests are directed against the government of interim president Dina Boluarte. The demonstrators demand the resignation of the head of state, the dissolution of the congress and the release of imprisoned ex-president Pedro Castillo.

To protest against the new government, several organizations in the south of the country called for a general strike, which began on January 4. As part of these strikes, protesters blocked the streets in several regions and repeatedly clashed with police.

The protests have never escalated as much as last Monday. The scene was Juliaca, the capital of the province of San Roman in the south of the country. People from neighboring communities had already arrived in advance to support the strike.

The airport in sight

On January 6, as part of the general strike, a group of protesters attempted to occupy Juliaca airport. This project is not new: demonstrators already forced the temporary closure of three airports in Peru in December. Although Juliaca police managed to disperse the demonstrators with tear gas, the airport had to close its operations for security reasons. But he announced a quick reopening.

But that shouldn’t happen anytime soon. The demonstrators repeatedly clashed with security forces around the airport. The situation escalated Monday evening when the protesters managed to enter the airport. The police responded with deadly force. On Monday, a total of 17 people were killed and more than 100 injured.

Police must have fired live ammunition at the protesters at close range, medical personnel told the press. In addition, she would have revolted in the city itself, according to various videos on Twitter:

Peruvian Prime Minister Alberto Otárola defended the security forces’ response. More than 9,000 people are said to have approached the airport on Monday. 2,000 of them launched “a merciless assault on police and facilities” and also used “improvised weapons”. Finally, in his speech, he blamed Castillo for the riots. The current government is trying to defend the peace and tranquility of 33 million Peruvians.

The Battle of Castillo

Particularly in the south of Peru, the population is fighting for the reinstatement of Pedro Castillo as president. They empathize with the man, who himself comes from a poorer background and has had a lightning-fast political career.

Before being elected president, the 53-year-old had never held political office. He grew up in a farming family, his parents could neither read nor write. Castillo, on the other hand, later made just that his mission: he became an elementary school teacher. He first gained national popularity in 2017 when he led a teachers’ strike and won negotiations with the government. In 2020, he finally announced his candidacy for president, which he surprisingly won against competitor Keiko Fujimori.

Due to his rural origins and his job as a teacher, he managed to win over many voters. However, taking office in July 2021 proved difficult: both the corona pandemic and the rising prices due to the war in Ukraine put him under pressure. Meanwhile, his relationship with the cabinet proved difficult.

Due to various allegations and disagreements, key ministers have repeatedly resigned from their posts – from the end of July 2021 to August 2022 there were as many as 67 ministerial changes. He also survived two impeachment trials during this period.

In December, the former village school teacher wanted to prevent the third no-confidence vote this year by dissolving Congress. His cabinet and the opposition then accused him of a coup – Castillo was removed from office, arrested and initially detained for seven days. However, after an initial hearing, the court ordered an additional 18 months of pre-trial detention. A number of investigations are being conducted against him on charges of corruption and plagiarism. However, he is not the only one: numerous parliamentarians are also under investigation into various allegations.

Gloomy prospects

In southern and southeastern Peru, where Castillo has a particularly large following in rural areas, as well as in the capital Lima, there have been repeated violent protests and clashes between demonstrators and police since his resignation. The government of Castillo’s successor, Dina Boluarte, therefore declared a state of emergency throughout the country for 30 days on December 14. A total of 46 demonstrators have been killed since the protests began.

In an effort to calm the tense situation, President Dina Boluarte hinted to the press on December 20, 2022 that she would even bring forward the presidential and parliamentary elections to December 2023. Given the protests, Boluarte initially said he wanted early elections in April 2024 instead of the regular date of 2026.

She had done everything she could, she addressed the demonstrators on Monday after the bloody protests. But the followers aren’t fast enough yet. For this reason, the protests must not stop in the near future.

(saw, with material from the sda ​​and dpa news agencies)