Peru’s prime minister says there was no order to kill protesters

There was no order to fire on protesters in Peru from Peru’s interim president, Dina Boluarte, or from anyone in the country’s government, Prime Minister Alberto Otarola said. On March 4, reports La República.

As a former defense minister and former prime minister, Otarola assured prosecutors that it was the joint command of the armed forces and the national police that was responsible for carrying out operations to restore order during anti-government protests.

During the interrogations on January 23 and February 16, prosecutors particularly insisted on whether there was a clear order to use authorized firearms during the repression of street actions against the Boluarte government, especially in Ayacucho, Andahuaillas, Juliaca and Arequipa.

Otarola pointed out that neither Boluarte nor any member of the cabinet, nor he himself, gave the order to shoot. He pointed out that it was the job of the army and the police to carry out operations against the protests, which according to the government killed 48 civilians.

According to Otarola, Boluarte raised the need to respect people’s lives, but this was not recorded in the protocols or in any document, since the president gave this message orally.

“In the Council of Ministers and in the different bilateral meetings that Boluarte held with various ministers, this was said orally”– said the head of government of Peru in the first interrogation.

However, the Prime Minister has not been able to explain why, after President Boluarte’s explicit order that the lives of citizens be a priority, the deaths of civilians from gunshot wounds to the head and thorax, and in some cases in the back, continue to be registered in the streets of the country. .

“I have always instructed the unified command of the armed forces to comply with the norms of regulated use of force. They were oral and written.answered.

At the same time, he recalled that on December 15 in Ayacucho, soldiers opened fire indiscriminately against the demonstrators, killing even civilians. After the deaths in Ayacucho, Otarola, while still Minister of Defense, kept all the commanders responsible for the execution of civilians in their positions, despite numerous evidences that the military violated the norms for the use of force.

“The Unified Command is the body in charge of planning, preparing, coordinating and conducting the military operations and actions of the Armed Forces. As Minister of Defense, I have given clear instructions to the Head of the Joint Command, Major General Manuel Gómez de la Torre, to respect this framework. I reiterate that the Minister of Defense does not command military operations”.explained Otarola.

In fact, on December 7, 2022, the Peruvian Congress carried out a right-wing coup, as a result of which leftist leader Pedro Castillo was removed from office. The President was arrested and imprisoned after the announcement of the dissolution of Congress.

Congress, which impeached the legitimately elected president Castillo, appointed Prime Minister Dina Boluarte as president. This decision was immediately supported by the United States.

After the coup, massive protests began in different regions of Peru, during which, according to various sources, some 70 people died. The demonstrators demand the release of Castillo, the dissolution of congress, the resignation of Boluarte and the holding of early elections.

Source: Rossa Primavera