22 police, 30 protesters die as Amazon clashes roil Peru
YURIMAGUAS, Peru - Indigenous protesters and Peru's army refused to back down and a truce looked distant yesterday after two battles in the
Protesters said 30 of their own died and the government said 22 members of the security forces perished in two days of clashes over Garcia's drive to bring foreign companies to the rainforest to open mines and drill for oil.
The bloodshed has prompted widespread calls for Garcia's prime minister to quit, underscored divisions between elites in Lima and the rural poor, and threatened to derail the government's push to further open Peru to foreign investors.
An American ally, Garcia lashed out at the protesters, saying they had attacked their own country, acted like terrorists, and may have been incited by foreigners.
The army imposed curfews, but thousands of Indians with wooden spears vowed to dig in at blockades along remote Amazon highways and keep protesting if government did not halt the development plans.
