For a week now, we’ve been covering the protests against
Pluspetrol in Peru. First, the Achuar indigenous people in the Loreto region
seized 14 oil wells in order to give added urgency to their demands for
compensation from the oil company. Then on Monday, a protest broke out in the
town of Pichanaki against Pluspetrol’s natural gas exploration.
Late Tuesday night, at least one protestor was killed
and dozens more were injured during a clash
between protestors and the local Peruvian authorities. According to Jose Luis
Alvarez, a senior official in the Peruvian Cabinet, the protestors in Pichanaki
attempted to take control of a police station and military barracks, and police officials were forced
to resort to violence to break up the protest.
The Associated
Press explained that the military base in question is partially being used
by Pluspetrol to store equipment. According to the Peruvian interior ministry,
500 protestors “violently entered” entered the base and were repelled by police
with tear gas. Interior Minister Daniel Urresti said,
“We’ve deployed 1,700 officers
to the area and we’re sending more, all without firearms. ... The
police aren’t attacking the population. They’re resisting an attack from a mob
that’s has been shooting at them. We have two officers with gunshot wounds.”
In
related news, Reuters
reported that Pluspetrol is interested in staying in Peru and continuing to
develop the oil field that is currently offline do to the protests by the
Achuar indigenous group. Pluspetrol’s head of government affairs, Daniel
Guerra, explained that Pluspetrol is definitely interested in participating in
the bidding process, as the company’s contract is up in August.
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