A huge scandal has erupted
in Peru over the Peruvian police force’s response to the Tía María protest. It
started when Peruvian daily Diario Correo published a photo of a Tía María
protestor brandishing a weapon against a Peruvian police officer, accompanied
by a story with the headline “this is how the anti-miners attacked.” However, a
video emerged online showing the article to be a fake:
“A video shows four police
officers holding Coasaca, with a fifth officer seen running towards him from
approximately 30 meters and brandishing a sharp handheld weapon. This officer
proceeds to place the weapon in the hand of Coasaca. Coasaca drops the weapon
but the officer picks it up and presses it into his hand, forcing to hold it.
At this point, the officer turns around and lifts Coasaca’s hand with the
weapon for a ready photographer to take pictures of the farce. The faces of all
of the officers are covered and the name badge of the officer placing the
weapon in Coasaca’s hand depicts the fake name ‘Filosofexxx’.”
Understandably, Peru is in an uproar over this absurd
display of police incompetence, and Peruvian Prime Minister Pedro Cateriano
even publicly stated that the police officers involved in the incident should
be punished and demoted. Ultimately, this kind of incident hurts all parties
involved, from the Peruvian government, to the mining company, to the Peruvian
people. Tía María is being used as a litmus test for the government’s ability
to support mining projects, and so far, events have gone very, very poorly.
In other mining-related news, workers for the mining company
Coopsol Minería y Petróleo started
a strike and marched to the city of Ica to protest for improved working
conditions. They want a bonus, cleaning tools, and housing for the workers.
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