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Peruvian protest over Amazon Rainforest turns deadly

Per The New York Times, violence has erupted between indigenous protesters and the Peruvian police in the northern Bagua Province. The indigenous groups were protesting the government’s plans to open vast tracts of rain forest to oil drilling, logging and hydroelectric dams, per the article.

Using separate reports from Peruvian authorities and Indian leaders, the Associated Press reported that 25 protesters and 11 police officers were killed. Authorities said that the police were trying to break up a road blockade by 5,000 protesters, some of whom held 38 police officers hostage.  Protest leaders said police opened fire from helicopters with bullets and tear gas, per AP.

Twitter users in Peru and elsewhere provided context to the developments:

 

  1. jorgejhms (Lima, Peru) en lima protestamos cerca de unas mil personas. los animos están caldeados, la gente indignada. esto no acaba aca #bagua ( about a thousand people in Lima are in protest. heated minds, people       are outraged. This does not end here # bagua) from web
  2. omar2312 (Undisclosed) ante la magnitud de la tragedia debería establecerse un duelo nacional… pero el gobierno parece incapaz de de pensar en algo así. #Bagua (given the magnitude of the tragedy should be a national mourning … but the government seems incapable of thinking about something) from web
  3. newmak (Undisclosed)  #Bagua. Hay que armar protesta por las muertes en Bagua. ¿quienes apoyan? (We must assemble in protest at the deaths Bagua. Who supports?)
  4.  

 

Twitter users also commented on the accounts given by the officials and the media:

  • Jaisia (Lima, Peru) : Las cifras de Simon sobre nativos muertos en #Bagua no me convencen. (Prime Minister Simon’s numbers of the indigenous dead do not convince me) from web
  • QueenYZ (Lima, Peru): the attacks provine from two sides: not only from the police, also from the natives… @CarlosQC from TweetDeck
  • julianortegam (Bogota, Colombia): #Bagua no me gustó que esta noche en Paracol TV pusieran a #SMC a hacer énfasis en q hay 38 policías *secuestrados* x los indígenas… [1/2] (I did not like that tonight’s coverage on TV Paracol SMC # emphasized              the 38 policemen”kidnapped” by   the indians …(cont)  from TweetDeck
  • julianortegam (Bogota, Colombia): …después de que apenas mencionaran, en un solo paquete, las dos o tres decenas de muertos entre policías y aborígenes [2/2] #Bagua (after barely mentioning in a single package the two or three dozens of death of aborigines and police). from TweetDeck
  • Breaking Tweets: Breaking Tweets puts a spin on world news through the use of Twitter. Founded in January 2009, the site seeks to bring people around the world together and increase knowledge about global events.

    The philosophy behind the site is “hyperlocal gone global.” There is an emphasis on what is happening in a specific place at a specific time and looks at how people are reacting to that event(s) in the area.
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