- HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH - THE WEEK IN RIGHTS - APRIL 28, 2023 -
When thousands of people took to the streets in Peru last year against a backdrop of government corruption and a recent attempted coup, security forces – including military and police – responded with excessive force, using assault weapons and handguns on the crowds. Forty-nine protesters and bystanders, including eight children, were killed.
“They meant to kill.”
It began on December 7, when then-President Pedro Castillo attempted to dissolve congress and take over the judiciary in a failed coup. Peru’s congress removed him from office and Vice-President Dina Boluarte became president, quickly stating that she would govern until the end of Castillo’s term in 2026 – even though polls at the time indicated 80 percent of Peruvians wanted elections.
Thousands of protesters, largely rural workers and Indigenous people in Peru’s south, took to the streets. They called for early elections and told HRW they were frustrated by being unable to create better lives for their children, as a lack of access to education, health care, and services had resulted in much higher rates of poverty, child malnutrition, and a lack of literacy. Protesters said they had a sense of being forgotten by the political leadership.
A new Human Rights Watch report, based in part on witness testimony from injured protesters and bystanders, relatives of those killed, and police officers, among others, also documents due process violations and abuses against detainees, and failures in criminal investigations. It details the political and social crisis eroding the rule of law and human rights in Peru.
The protests, which took place from December 2022 to February 2023, were mostly peaceful, though there were incidents of violence by protesters. More than 1,300 people were injured in the protests, including hundreds of police officers. While some protesters were responsible for acts of violence, that is no justification for the brutal and indiscriminate response by security forces.
The Boluarte administration seems to have looked the other way for weeks as security forces killed protesters and bystanders.
Rosalino Florez, a 21-year-old gastronomy student from a rural community, was fatally injured during one protest after a police officer shot him. Footage reviewed by HRW showed Florez hiding behind a tree as police approached with guns raised. When he ran, the officer fired and Florez fell. He died of his injuries on March 21.
Once again, we’re seeing how government-led attacks on democracy can spiral into additional human rights abuses. One thing is clear: defending democratic institutions and the rule of law in Peru and elsewhere goes hand-in-hand with protecting rights.