On Wednesday, the Peruvian Interior Ministry gave its approval
for a one-month deployment of military forces to the town of La Oroyo to
support the police in their clashes with local protestors. One person has
already been killed and more than fifty injured as protestors went on strike
and blocked the Central Highway in the wake of the failed auction of the Doe
Run Peru smelting and refining complex.
The residents of La Oroyo fear that without a revival of the
mining complex, the job base in their community will completely collapse.
However, these protestors chose
a crucial national highway as the site of their protest. Peruvian Interior
Minister José Luis Pérez Guadalupe told Canal N that, “We all respect the right
to work, labor problems, to protest, but within a context. Here, it is
affecting the whole country.”
Meanwhile, the Tía María protestors have not been silenced
by the months-long presence of the Peruvian armed forces in the Tambo Valley.
On Friday, the protestors will head
to the regional capital of Arequipa to protest the large copper mining project
during Peruvian President Ollanta Humala’s visit to the city for its 475th
birthday.
IN oil-related news, Perúpetro announced
its “Plan B” for finding
a qualified operator to run the country’s Block 192. The auction of the rights
to the block ended in disaster when none of the pre-approved bidders decided to
submit a proposal. If all else fails, Perúpetro will negotiate directly with
the French oil company Perenco, which currently operates the country’s Block
67.
No comments:
Post a Comment