Perú

Peruvian natives lift Amazon roadblocks
News wires

Leaders of indigenous protests in Peru's Amazon rainforest said that activists were dismantling their roadblocks, ending weeks of turmoil that killed at least 34 people.
The move comes after Peru's Congress revoked two controversial decrees on land ownership in the Amazon River basin, which had triggered mass protests by indigenous groups.
The highway linking the Amazon rainforest cities of Yurimaguas and Tarapoto, 1000 kilometres north-east of Lima, was cleared for traffic again by mid-morning Friday a spokesperson for the Interethnic Association of the Peruvian Jungle said.
"Now the indigenous communities and government authorities must begin to resolve the problems of the Amazon at the negotiating table," said Daysi Zapata, the group's president.
The Amazon Indians, who total 400,000 in number, have been in conflict with the government for the past two months over half a dozen decrees issued in 2007 and 2008, an AFP report said.
Indigenous groups said by opening the Amazon rainforest to foreign oil and mining companies and other commercial interests, they threaten their way of life.
The protests erupted into bloody clashes on 5 and 6 June after police were sent to clear roads of Indian-manned blockades around the town of Bagua.
At least 24 police and 10 protesters were killed in two days of clashes.
Zapata on Friday again urged the government to lift the curfew and state of emergency rules imposed on Bagua.
Zapata became the protesters' leader when she replaced Alberto Pizango who is wanted by the government for sedition, conspiracy and rebellion.
On Friday she called on the government to drop all charges against Pizango, who fled the country and is in political exile in Nicaragua.
Zapata said she expects the President Alan Garcia's administration to fulfill World Trade Organisation rules that call for governments to consult indigenous communities on development plans that affect their land.
"If the government makes these mistakes again the indigenous communities will rise again," she warned.
The Garcia administration's dramatic policy reversal came after pressure from the opposition and international reaction to the bloody crackdown.