Non-Subscriber Extract
Peru's law of the jungle provokes tribal gathering
19 August 2008
Peru signs emergency decree
On 18 August, the Peruvian government issued a 30-day decree to suspend rights to public gatherings and free movement in several Amazon jungle regions where indigenous groups are currently protesting against proposals for a new land appropriation law.
The indigenous groups are blocking access to highways, a hydroelectric power station, a bridge and various energy installations in protest at a proposed law that could facilitate the sale of their communal lands in the Amazon basin. The law, which was also the subject of nationwide protest during a general strike on 9 July, could permit foreign investors to purchase land more easily in indigenous and inland Amazon areas by reducing the quorum required for approval.
The latest confrontation began with indigenous groups declaring an indefinite national strike on 9 August, and has seen Indian tribes and police clashing in areas of northern Peru.