Demonstrations, Protests and Riots

Subterms

    More stories

    • 113 Shares129 Views

      in Elections

      Aung San Suu Kyi Trial in Myanmar Nears End

      by

      The prosecution of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has drawn international condemnation. The latest set of corruption charges could put her in prison for the rest of her life.Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s ousted civilian leader, is expected to appear in court on Friday to receive the last of several verdicts handed down to her by the military regime, capping off a secretive 13 months of trial proceedings during which the 77-year-old Nobel laureate has already been sentenced to decades in prison.Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi was detained in a coup in February 2021. Since that time, the junta has charged her with a series of crimes, including corruption, election fraud, inciting public unrest and breaching Covid-19 protocols. Friday’s verdict stemmed from a set of corruption charges related to what prosecutors argue was Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s improper purchase of one helicopter and rental of another.Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi and her political party won the November 2020 election in a landslide. Independent international observers declared the results free and fair. But less than three months after her election victory, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi was detained by the military, a move that has drawn international condemnation.Since the military seized power on Feb. 1, 2021, Myanmar has been racked by violence. Protests erupted across the country as the junta’s opponents mounted a civil disobedience movement and national strike. The military responded with brutal force, shooting and killing protesters in the streets. Thousands of armed resistance fighters have continued to battle the Tatmadaw, as the army in Myanmar is known, using guerrilla tactics and training in the jungle.Last week, the United Nation’s Security Council adopted a resolution condemning the junta’s rights abuses in the aftermath of the coup.The military-controlled Election Commission first brought election fraud charges against Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi in November 2021. During that trial, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior government officials were accused of manipulating voter lists to secure their victory over the military-backed party.Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi has denied all of the charges against her. The United Nations and other international organizations have demanded her freedom, though the junta has insisted that the charges are not politically motivated and has refused to let Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi speak with global leaders who have visited Myanmar in recent months.By Friday, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi had already begun serving a 26-year prison sentence in connection with more than a dozen charges she has faced since the coup. In the most recent case, prosecutors argued that an investigation found Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi did not follow the proper protocols when she rented one helicopter and bought a second, some time between 2019 and 2021.The latest verdicts come as the military seeks to minimize Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s influence in Myanmar, said U Kyee Myint, a human rights lawyer based in Yangon, Myanmar. Despite the regime’s efforts, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi is still revered by many in the country.“As long as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is in politics, the military will never win,” Mr. Kyee Myint said. “That’s why long-term prison terms are imposed — to remove Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s influence in politics.”Earlier this year, the country’s military-backed Supreme Court announced that it would auction off Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s residence, where she spent nearly 15 years under house arrest during a previous military regime. Since being detained in 2021, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi has been allowed to speak only with her lawyers. They have been banned from speaking to the news media during the trials. More

    • 75 Shares189 Views

      in Elections

      How Will History Remember Jan. 6?

      by

      Far-right groups stockpiling guns and explosives, preparing for a violent overthrow of a government they deem illegitimate. Open antisemitism on the airwaves, expressed by mainstream media figures. Leading politicians openly embracing bigoted, authoritarian leaders abroad who disdain democracy and the rule of law.This might sound like a recap of the last few years in America, but it is actually the forgotten story told in a remarkable new podcast, Ultra, that recounts the shocking tale of how during World War II, Nazi propagandists infiltrated far-right American groups and the America First movement, wormed into the offices of senators and representatives and fomented a plot to overthrow the United States government.“This is a story about politics at the edge,” said the show’s creator and host, Rachel Maddow, in the opening episode. “And a criminal justice system trying, trying, but ill-suited to thwart this kind of danger.”Maddow is, of course, a master storyteller, and never lets the comparisons to today’s troubles get too on the nose. But as I hung on each episode, I couldn’t help think about Jan. 6 and wonder: Will that day and its aftermath be a hinge point in our country’s history? Or a forgotten episode to be plumbed by some podcaster decades from now?When asked about the meaning of contemporary events, historians like to jokingly reply, “Ask me in 100 years.” This week, the committee in the House of Representatives investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot will drop its doorstop-size report, a critical early installment in the historical record. Journalists, historians and activists have already generated much, much more material, and more is still to come.In January, a Republican majority will take over the House and many of its members have pledged to begin their own battery of investigations, including an investigation into the Jan. 6 investigation. What will come from this ouroboros of an inquiry one cannot say, but it cannot help but detract from the quest for accountability for the events of that day.Beyond that, polling ahead of this year’s midterm elections indicated that Americans have other things on their minds, perhaps even more so now that the threat of election deniers winning control over voting in key swing states has receded. But what it means for the story America tells itself about itself is an open question. And in the long run, that might mean more accountability than our current political moment permits.Why do we remember the things we remember, and why do we forget the things we forget? This is not a small question in a time divided by fights over history. We all know the old saying: Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. But there is another truism that to my mind often countervails: We are always fighting the last war.The story that Maddow’s podcast tells is a doozy. It centers on a German American named George Sylvester Viereck, who was an agent for the Nazi government. Viereck was the focus of a Justice Department investigation into Nazi influence in America in the 1930s. For good reason: Lawmakers helped him in a variety of ways. One senator ran pro-German propaganda articles in magazines under his name that had actually been written by Viereck and would deliver pro-German speeches on the floor of Congress written by officials of the Nazi government. Others would reproduce these speeches and mail them to millions of Americans at taxpayer expense.Viereck also provided moral and financial support to a range of virulently antisemitic and racist organizations across the United States, along with paramilitary groups called the Silver Shirts and the Christian Front. Members of these groups sought to violently overthrow the government of the United States and replace it with a Nazi-style dictatorship.This was front-page news at the time. Investigative reporters dug up scoop after scoop about the politicians involved. Prosecutors brought criminal charges. Big trials were held. But today they are all but forgotten. One leading historian of Congress who was interviewed in the podcast, Nancy Beck Young, said she doubts that more than one or two people in her history department at the University of Houston knew about this scandal.Why was this episode consigned to oblivion? Selective amnesia has always been a critical component of the American experience. Americans are reared on myths that elide the genocide of Indigenous Americans, the central role of slavery in our history, America’s imperial adventures and more. As Susan Sontag put it, “What is called collective memory is not a remembering but a stipulating: that this is important, and this is the story about how it happened.”Our favorite stories are sealed narrative boxes with a clear arc — a heroic journey in which America is the hero. And it’s hard to imagine a narrative more cherished than the one wrought by the countless books, movies and prestige television that remember World War II as a story of American righteousness in the face of a death cult. There was some truth to that story. But that death cult also had adherents here at home who had the ear and the mouthpiece of some of the most powerful senators and representatives.It also had significant support from a broad swath of the American people, most of whom were at best indifferent to the fate of European Jewry, as “The U.S. and the Holocaust,” a documentary series by the filmmakers Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein that came out in September, does the painful work of showing. A virulent antisemite, Rev. Charles E. Coughlin, hosted by far the biggest radio show in the country. At his peak in the 1930s about 90 million people a week tuned in to hear his diatribes against Jews and communism.In some ways, it is understandable that this moment was treated as an aberration. The America First movement, which provided mainstream cover for extremist groups, evaporated almost instantly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Maybe it was even necessary to forget. When the war was over there was so much to do: rebuild Europe, integrate American servicemen back into society, confront the existential threat of nuclear war with the Soviet Union. Who had the time to litigate who had been wrong about Germany in the 1930s?Even professional historians shied away from this period. Bradley Hart, a historian whose 2018 book “Hitler’s American Friends” unearthed a great deal of this saga, said that despite the wealth of documentary material there was little written about the subject. “This is a really uncomfortable chapter in American history because we want to believe the Second World War was this great moment when America was on the side of democracy and human rights,” Hart told me. “There is this sense that you have to forget certain parts of history in order to move on.”As anyone who has been married for a long time knows, sometimes forgetting is essential to peace. Even countries that have engaged in extensive post-conflict reconciliation processes, like South Africa and Argentina, were inevitably limited by the need to move on. After all, you make peace with your enemies, not your friends.The aftermath of Jan. 6 is unfolding almost like a photo negative of the scandal Maddow’s podcast unfurls. With very few exceptions almost everyone involved in the pro-Nazi movement escaped prosecution. A sedition trial devolved into a total debacle that ended with a mistrial. President Harry Truman, a former senator, ultimately helped out his old friend Senator Burton K. Wheeler, a figure in the plot to disseminate Nazi propaganda, by telling the Justice Department to fire the prosecutor who was investigating it.But the major political figures involved paid the ultimate political price: they were turfed out of office by voters.Many of the perpetrators of the Jan. 6 riot, on the other hand, have been brought to justice successfully: Roughly 900 people have been arrested; approximately 470 have pleaded guilty to a variety of federal charges; around 335 of those charged federally have been convicted and sentenced; more than 250 have been sentenced to prison or home confinement. Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers, was convicted of seditious conspiracy, the most serious charge brought in any of these cases. In their report to be released this week, the Jan. 6 committee is expected to recommend further criminal indictments. One big question looming over it all is whether former President Donald Trump will be criminally charged for his role in whipping up the frenzy that led to the assault on the Capitol.A broader political reckoning seems much more distant. Election deniers and defenders of the Jan. 6 mob lost just about every major race in swing states in the 2022 midterms. But roughly 200 Republicans who supported the lie about the 2020 election being stolen won office across the country, The New York Times reported.What larger narrative about America might require us to remember Jan. 6? And what might require us to file it away as an aberration? The historian’s dodge — “ask me in 100 years” — is the only truly safe answer. But if the past is any guide, short-term political expediency may require it to be the latter.After all, it is only now that decades of work by scholars, activists and journalists has placed chattel slavery at the center of the American story rather than its periphery. What are the current battles about critical race theory but an attempt to repackage the sprawling, unfinished fight for civil rights into a tidy story about how Black people got their rights by appealing to the fundamental decency of white people and by simply asking nicely? In this telling, systematic racism ended when Rosa Parks could sit in the front of the bus. Anything that even lightly challenges finality of racial progress is at best an unwelcome rupture in the narrative matrix; at worst it is seen as a treasonous hatred of America.History, after all, is not just what happened. It is the meaning we make out of what happened and the story we tell with that meaning. If we included everything there would be no story. We cannot and will not remember things that have not been fashioned into a story we tell about ourselves, and because we are human, and because change is life, that story will evolve and change as we do.There is no better sign that our interpretation of history is in for revision than the Hollywood treatment. Last week it was reported that Steven Spielberg, our foremost chronicler of heroic World War II tales, plans to collaborate with Maddow to make Ultra into a movie. Perhaps this marks the beginning of a pop culture reconsideration of America’s role in the war, adding nuance that perturbs the accepted heroic narrative.And so I am not so worried about Jan. 6 fading from our consciousness for now. One day, maybe decades, maybe a century, some future Rachel Maddow will pick up the story and weave it more fully into the American fabric, not as an aberration but a continuous thread that runs through our imperfect tapestry. Maybe some future Steven Spielberg will even make it into a movie. I bet it’ll be a blockbuster.The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: letters@nytimes.com.Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. More

    • 125 Shares189 Views

      in Elections

      Protesters in Peru Demand Justice for Ousted President Pedro Castillo

      by

      Eight days after Pedro Castillo’s removal from office and arrest, thousands of his supporters have joined protests demanding his reinstatement. To them, he is the voice of the marginalized.LIMA, Peru — Outside a detention center at the foot of the Andes Mountains, a camp has formed in recent days, with as many as 1,000 people traveling hundreds of miles to demand freedom for the highest-profile detainee: their former president, Pedro Castillo.They will stay until he is reinstated, said one supporter, Milagros Rodriguez, 37, or until “civil war begins.”Mr. Castillo, a former schoolteacher and union activist who promised to fight for the poor, is the man at the center of Peru’s dizzying political drama, having been removed from office last week after he tried to dissolve Congress and create a government that would rule by decree. Within hours he was under arrest, accused of rebellion, and his vice president was sworn into office.Now, Dina Boluarte is the sixth president in five years in a country reeling from a long history of high-level scandals and deep divisions between its rural poor and urban elite.During a virtual court hearing televised live on Thursday, a judge ordered Mr. Castillo be kept in pretrial detention for 18 months while his case proceeds. Mr. Castillo refused to appear at the hearing.What started out as a relatively peaceful transfer of power has quickly erupted into widespread violence that has left at least 16 dead, many of them teenagers, and led to attacks against police stations, courthouses, factories, airports and a military base.Protesters outside the detention center on Thursday.Marco Garro for The New York TimesAt least 197 civilians and more than 200 police officers have been injured in clashes, according to the country’s ombudsman’s office, which in a statement Thursday called on security forces to “immediately cease the use of firearms and tear gas bombs dropped from helicopters.”The government has responded to the unrest by imposing a national state of emergency, suspending the guarantee of many civil liberties, including the freedom of assembly. In an effort to quell the unrest, the new president has called for early elections, for as soon as December 2023, a move that Congress is debating.Ms. Boluarte, a former ally of Mr. Castillo, has found herself increasingly at odds with the rural Peruvians who voted the two of them into office last year. On Thursday, her government expanded the state of emergency, imposing a curfew in 15 provinces.What to Know About the Ousting of Peru’s PresidentCard 1 of 4Who is Pedro Castillo? More

    • 63 Shares109 Views

      in Elections

      Perú en estado de emergencia

      by

      La medida suspenderá algunos derechos civiles, como la libertad de reunión, y profundiza una crisis que se desató cuando el Congreso destituyó al presidente electo la semana pasada.LIMA — El gobierno de Perú declaró un estado de emergencia en todo el país el miércoles, una medida que intenta controlar la violencia generalizada tras la destitución del presidente electo del país, quien había intentado disolver el Congreso, la semana pasada.Se trató de un inesperado giro de los acontecimientos, incluso en un país habituado a la agitación política y las protestas.La medida de emergencia, anunciada por Alberto Otárola, ministro de Defensa del país, significaría la suspensión de la libertad de reunión y de tránsito, entre otros derechos civiles, por 30 días. Fue promulgada el miércoles por la noche por la nueva presidenta del país, Dina Boluarte, y especificó que sería aplicada por la policía nacional con el apoyo de las fuerzas armadas. El decreto no impuso toque de queda.La medida es la respuesta más significativa del gobierno a una crisis que estalló el miércoles pasado, cuando el entonces presidente, Pedro Castillo, intentó disolver el Congreso, con el que había estado enfrentado desde que asumió el cargo el año pasado.En cuestión de horas, el Congreso de Perú lo acusó y Castillo fue detenido, lo que desencadenó oleadas de protestas de partidarios enfadados que creen que su destitución fue ilegítima.Diversos analistas políticos aseguraron que, aunque gobiernos anteriores han declarado estados de emergencia en algunas partes del país, la medida no se había utilizado de manera tan amplia desde la década de 1990, cuando el país fue aterrorizado por el grupo terrorista marxista Sendero Luminoso.En declaraciones a los periodistas afuera del palacio presidencial el miércoles, Boluarte, quien asumió el cargo hace apenas una semana, pidió mantener la calma.Dina Boluarte, la nueva presidenta de Perú, asumió el cargo hace apenas una semana e hizo un llamado a mantener la calma. Desde entonces, la violencia ha estallado en varias partes del país.Cris Bouroncle/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images“El Perú no puede desbordarse en sangre”, dijo antes de mencionar los días de Sendero Luminoso. “Ya esa experiencia la hemos vivido en los ochenta, en los noventa, y creo que no queremos volver a esa historia dolorosa que nos ha marcado la vida y el rostro a miles y miles de peruanos”.El intento de Castillo de disolver el Congreso e instalar un gobierno que gobernaría por decreto fue denunciado por sus opositores y muchos de sus aliados como un intento de golpe de Estado. Boluarte, exvicepresidenta, fue juramentada como presidenta ese mismo día.Al inicio, la reacción de la gente a la rápida transición de poder fue relativamente discreta. Pero en los últimos días han surgido manifestantes en masa, principalmente en áreas rurales, que han participado en ataques contra comisarías, juzgados, fábricas y aeropuertos, entre otros objetivos.Al menos seis personas han muerto, la mayoría manifestantes jóvenes, y más de 100 policías han resultado heridos, según las autoridades peruanas.Recientemente, la policía de Perú anunció que desde el pasado miércoles 71 personas, acusadas de perturbar la tranquilidad pública, han sido detenidas en los departamentos de Lima, Apurímac, Arequipa, Ica y La Libertad.Las manifestaciones están respaldadas por la mayor federación de sindicatos, la asociación más grande de pueblos indígenas de la Amazonía peruana y muchas organizaciones que representan a los agricultores pobres, entre otros grupos.Hasta ahora, no ha surgido ningún líder que busque unificar a los distintos grupos. Perú ha sido afectado por la agitación política y los escándalos de corrupción de alto nivel que han derivado en seis presidentes desde 2016.Al menos seis personas han muerto en las protestas, la mayoría manifestantes jóvenes, y más de 100 policías han resultado heridos, según las autoridades peruanas.Franklin Briceño/Associated PressEn Cusco, las protestas han bloqueado carreteras de la región, impidiendo el suministro a las minas de cobre y los mercados de alimentos y cerrando Machu Picchu y otras ciudades turísticas, dijo el gobernador regional, Jean Paul Benavente. Calculó que unos 3000 turistas —entre ellos, ciudadanos estadounidenses— están varados en la capital regional o en el Valle Sagrado y otras zonas cercanas a Machu Picchu.En una entrevista telefónica el miércoles, Benavente dijo que el ejército aún no se había desplegado para apoyar a la policía en la protección de la infraestructura clave. Mientras hablaba, los manifestantes se replegaban tras un nuevo intento de ocupar el aeropuerto de la ciudad de Cusco.Benavente dijo que había ayudado a apaciguar la situación al recordarle a los líderes de la protesta que el aeropuerto ya no estaba operativo.“Son dirigentes que dan la cara, que dan diálogo”, dijo. “Lamentablemente, hay turbas, hay grupos muy focalizados que a veces se desbordan e intentan hacer este tipo de actos vandálicos”.Benavente es uno de los pocos funcionarios electos que parecía tener la esperanza de que el diálogo pudiera generar una salida pacífica y legal a la crisis. La demanda principal que une a todos los manifestantes, dijo, son nuevas elecciones generales. Si el Congreso y el gobierno pueden ejecutar con rapidez una reforma a la Constitución para permitir elecciones anticipadas, pronto se podría alcanzar una “tregua”. De otro modo, lo más probable es que las demandas se vuelvan más radicales, dijo.Castillo, quien antes fue maestro y era activista sindical proveniente de una familia rural pobre, animó a muchos peruanos como él con su plataforma de izquierda en las elecciones del año pasado. Hizo campaña con la promesa de abordar la pobreza y la desigualdad. Su eslogan, “No más pobres en un país rico”, y su llamado a reescribir la Constitución convenció a muchos agricultores rurales en una nación profundamente desigual donde la élite urbana se opuso con vehemencia a su candidatura.Muchos de sus seguidores dijeron que estaban frustrados por un sistema diseñado para ayudar a las élites.Pero después de asumir el cargo, tuvo dificultades para gobernar, y su gobierno resultó empañado por acusaciones de corrupción, incompetencia y mala gestión.Después de la detención de Castillo la semana pasada, sus partidarios acusaron a la élite política de llevarlo al suicidio político y aseguraron que la clase dominante política nunca le dio la oportunidad de gobernar plenamente. En entrevistas, algunas personas dijeron que sentían que les habían robado el voto, llevándolos a las calles.José Godoy, politólogo peruano, se mostró crítico con la decisión de declarar el estado de emergencia.Significa “la constatación de que se privilegian medidas de fuerza antes que un diálogo con la ciudadanía”, dijo. “Esto disminuye la credibilidad de Boluarte”.Godoy agregó que esa decisión también afectará a la economía.“Me parece desproporcionado”, dijo. “Creo que debió darse solo en los lugares donde hay realmente convulsión”.Castillo es uno de los varios presidentes de izquierda que llegaron al poder en Latinoamérica en los últimos años mientras prevalecía un enfado profundo contra los políticos de la clase dominante. Muchos de estos líderes han buscado unirse a partir de una promesa común que busca zanjar la profundización de la desigualdad y quitarle el control a la élite política.El lunes por la noche, varias de esos países alineados emitieron un comunicado conjunto en la que llamaban al presidente destituido “víctima de un antidemocrático hostigamiento” e instando a los líderes políticos de Perú a respetar la “voluntad popular” de los ciudadanos que votaron por él.El comunicado, emitido por los gobiernos de Colombia, Bolivia, Argentina y México, se refiere a Castillo como “presidente” y no menciona a Boluarte.Mitra Taj More

    • 113 Shares189 Views

      in Elections

      Peru Declares National State of Emergency Amid Deadly Protests

      by

      The measure suspended some civil rights, including the freedom of assembly, and deepens a crisis set off when the elected president was impeached by Congress last week.LIMA, Peru — The government of Peru declared a nationwide state of emergency on Wednesday as it sought to control widespread violence following the ouster last week of the country’s elected president, who had tried to dissolve Congress.It was an extraordinary turn of events even in a country accustomed to political upheaval and protest.The emergency measure, which was announced by Alberto Otárola, the country’s defense minister, suspended the rights of assembly and freedom of transit, among other civil liberties, for 30 days. It was signed into law Wednesday evening by the country’s new president, Dina Boluarte, and specified it would be enforced by the national police force with the support of the military. The decree did not impose a curfew.The move is the most significant government response to a crisis that erupted last Wednesday when the president, Pedro Castillo, tried to disband Congress, which he had been feuding with since taking office last year.Within hours, Peru’s Congress impeached him and Mr. Castillo was arrested, setting off waves of angry protests by supporters who believe his removal was illegitimate.Several political analysts said that while past governments have declared states of emergency in certain parts of the country, the measure had not been used this widely since the 1990s, when the country was brutalized by a Marxist terrorist group called the Shining Path.Speaking to reporters outside the presidential palace on Wednesday, Ms. Boluarte, who took office a week ago, called for calm.Dina Boluarte, Peru’s new president, took office just a week ago, and called for calm. Since then violence has erupted across parts of the country.Cris Bouroncle/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images“Peru cannot overflow with blood,” she said, and then referred to the Shining Path days. “We have already gone through that experience in the 1980s and ’90s, and we do not want to return to that painful story that has marked the lives of thousands of Peruvians.”Mr. Castillo’s attempt to dissolve Congress and install a government that would rule by decree was denounced by both opponents and many of his allies as a coup attempt. Ms. Boluarte, the former vice president, was sworn in that same day.What to Know About the Ousting of Peru’s PresidentCard 1 of 4Who is Pedro Castillo? More

    • 138 Shares99 Views

      in Elections

      La violencia continúa en Perú tras la destitución de Pedro Castillo

      by

      Al menos seis personas han muerto a causa de la violencia que se ha extendido por todo el país tras la destitución la semana pasada de Pedro Castillo después de que intentara disolver el Congreso.[El miércoles, el gobierno de Perú anunció un estado de emergencia nacional. Aquí puedes leer más, en inglés, sobre la medida].LIMA — El traspaso relativamente pacífico, aunque abrupto, del poder presidencial en Perú la semana pasada ha derivado en violencia y disturbios, ya que los partidarios del expresidente han intensificado las denuncias de que su destitución fue ilegítima y han protagonizado ataques contra comisarías, juzgados, fábricas, aeropuertos y una base militar.Los manifestantes, respaldados por organizaciones que representan a sindicatos, grupos indígenas y agricultores pobres, exigen nuevas elecciones lo antes posible.Al mismo tiempo, los líderes izquierdistas de varios países latinoamericanos han dado su apoyo al anterior mandatario de Perú, Pedro Castillo, destituido el miércoles pasado y detenido tras intentar disolver el Congreso.Los disturbios de esta semana crecieron y se extendieron a distintas partes del país, mientras el gobierno, al tiempo que denunciaba la violencia, se esforzaba por estabilizar la situación y responder a las demandas de los manifestantes.El martes por la noche, el ministro de Defensa, Alberto Otárola, anunció que las fuerzas armadas asumirían la responsabilidad de proteger infraestructuras estratégicas como aeropuertos y centrales hidroeléctricas, y que el gobierno declararía en breve el estado de emergencia en la red de carreteras del país. “No vamos a negar que la situación del país es en este momento grave y preocupante”, declaró.Al menos seis personas han muerto en los enfrentamientos, según la Defensoría del Pueblo de Perú, y todos los fallecidos parecen ser manifestantes, entre ellos cinco adolescentes. Amnistía Internacional y grupos locales de derechos humanos han acusado a la policía de responder, en algunos casos, con fuerza excesiva.Anteriormente, el martes, la oficina de la Defensoría del Pueblo había dicho que siete manifestantes habían muerto, pero rectificó después de decir que un hombre identificado ante la oficina como muerto no podía encontrarse en el registro civil del país.El martes, la nueva presidenta del país, Dina Boluarte, hizo un llamamiento a la “calma”.“Esta situación que está enlutando al país nos congoja a toda la familia peruana”, dijo a la salida de un hospital de Lima, la capital, tras haber declarado el estado de emergencia en algunas zonas del país.“Yo soy madre de dos hijos y no quisiera estar pasando por esta situación donde nuestros seres queridos están falleciendo”, afirmó.Boluarte hizo campaña junto a Castillo, pero más tarde calificó sus acciones de intento de golpe de Estado. También es de izquierda y nació en el departamento andino de Apurímac, en su mayoría pobre, donde estallaron las primeras protestas.La nueva presidenta dijo que se reuniría con los líderes de las fuerzas armadas de Perú y que tenía la opción de declarar el estado de emergencia nacional, una medida que suspende algunas libertades civiles.Castillo fue destituido tras intentar disolver el Congreso la semana pasada.Victor Gonzales/Consejo de Ministros de Perú vía Agence France-PresseLas autoridades peruanas cerraron al menos dos aeropuertos en medio de las protestas, incluido el de Cuzco, utilizado por los turistas que visitan Machu Picchu y la región circundante conocida como el Valle Sagrado, una importante fuente de ingresos para el país.La policía y el ejército también dijeron que una base conjunta había sido destruida en el departamento de Cusco, mientras que unos 1000 manifestantes habían ocupado una planta de gas en la misma zona.También se suspendió el servicio de trenes desde y hacia Cusco y Machu Picchu, según una alerta de viaje de la Embajada de EE. UU. en Lima.El nuevo ministro de Economía y Finanzas del país, Alex Contreras, declaró a un canal de noticias local, RPP, que las protestas podrían costar a diversos sectores de Perú entre 15 y 26 millones de dólares al día.Un general de la policía, Óscar Arriola, dijo que 119 agentes de policía resultaron heridos en los recientes enfrentamientos, mientras que Amnistía Internacional aseguró que había verificado imágenes de agentes de policía disparando gas lacrimógeno a corta distancia directamente contra los manifestantes en la plaza principal de Lima.En su discurso del martes, Boluarte dijo que “había dado las indicaciones a la policía de no usar ningún arma letal, ni siquiera perdigones de goma”, y añadió que había pedido al ministro del Interior “individualizar a las personas que hayan hecho uso de estas armas que están dañando a nuestras hermanas y a nuestros hermanos”.Castillo, exmaestro de escuela y activista sindical de izquierda que ganó las elecciones presidenciales por un estrecho margen el año pasado, ha tenido problemas para gobernar, enfrentándose a acusaciones de corrupción, incompetencia y mala gestión, mientras los legisladores parecían empeñados en echarlo.La semana pasada, enfrentado a un tercer intento de destitución, anunció que disolvería el Congreso y crearía un nuevo gobierno que gobernaría por decreto.La medida fue ampliamente denunciada tanto por opositores como por antiguos aliados como un intento de golpe de estado. En cuestión de horas, Castillo fue detenido, el Congreso votó por su destitución y la vicepresidenta, Boluarte, una antigua aliada, asumió el cargo.Los acontecimientos se desarrollaron a una velocidad tan vertiginosa que a muchos peruanos les costó entender lo que estaba ocurriendo. Ahora, muchos de los partidarios de Castillo, sobre todo en las zonas rurales que forman su base, dicen que sienten que les han robado su voto.Algunos manifestantes esperan que su movimiento crezca a medida que la policía responda a las manifestaciones con lo que califican de mano dura. Han presentado varios argumentos jurídicos para justificar la ilegalidad de la destitución de Castillo, y piden a Boluarte que convoque nuevas elecciones.Boluarte ya ha dicho que intentará adelantar las próximas elecciones presidenciales dos años, para 2024, un esfuerzo que requerirá la aprobación del Congreso.La presidenta Dina Boluarte hizo un llamamiento a la unidad nacional durante su toma de posesión la semana pasada. Ya ha dicho que intentará adelantar las próximas elecciones presidenciales dos años, hasta 2024.Martin Mejia/Associated PressCastillo es uno de los varios presidentes de izquierda que han llegado al poder en América Latina en los últimos años en medio de un profundo enfado con los políticos de la clase dirigente. Muchos de estos líderes han tratado de unirse en torno a un propósito común que busca hacer frente a la creciente desigualdad y arrebatar el control a la élite política.El lunes por la noche, varios de esos países alineados emitieron una declaración conjunta en la que calificaban al presidente destituido de “víctima de un antidemocrático hostigamiento” e instaban a los líderes políticos de Perú a respetar la “voluntad ciudadana” en las urnas.La declaración, emitida por los gobiernos de Colombia, Bolivia, Argentina y México, se refiere a Castillo como “presidente” y no menciona a Boluarte.El presidente de México, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, en su conferencia matutina del martes, dijo que su gobierno seguirá considerando a Castillo el líder de Perú “hasta que allá lo resuelvan en términos de legalidad”.La relación entre las dos naciones, dijo, estaba “en pausa”.El año pasado, Castillo hizo campaña electoral prometiendo hacer frente a la pobreza y la desigualdad. Su lema —“no más pobres en un país rico”— y su llamamiento a reformar la Constitución animaron a muchos campesinos en un país profundamente desigual donde la élite urbana se opuso con vehemencia a su candidatura.Las protestas cuentan con el respaldo de la mayor federación de sindicatos, la mayor asociación de indígenas de la Amazonia peruana y muchas organizaciones que representan a agricultores pobres, entre otros grupos.Jaime Borda, quien dirige Red Muqui, una red de organizaciones ecologistas y de derechos humanos que trabajan en las zonas rurales de Perú, dijo que la ira en las calles no se debía solamente a la frustración por la destitución de Castillo, sino a un “descontento de la población por todo el acumulado de las cosas de estos últimos años”, a saber, un sistema político que para muchos parecía fomentar la corrupción y servir a las élites.Muchos manifestantes, dijo, creían que Castillo había sido llevado a la autodestrucción política por esa misma élite política.La gente que sigue a Castillo “es muy consciente de que, al final, esa no era la forma de irse, de intentar un golpe de Estado”, dijo. “Pero la gente también te dice pero lo hemos elegido a él como nuestro representante, lo hemos elegido a él como nuestro presidente”.Cunarc, una asociación de patrullas de seguridad rural, se encuentra entre los grupos que lideran las protestas.Santos Saavedra, presidente de Cunarc, dijo que el llamamiento de Boluarte al diálogo “va a ser imposible porque la población no reconoce el gobierno de facto”.Victoriano Laura, de 48 años, un minero de la ciudad de La Rinconada, en lo alto de la cordillera de los Andes, dijo el martes que muchas personas estaban viajando desde La Rinconada a la ciudad de Juliaca, a unos 160 kilómetros de distancia, para protestar.“La gente está furiosa” por la destitución del presidente, dijo. “La violencia está empezando por la provocación de la policía, y la gente no se va a quedar callada”.Hasta ahora, no ha surgido ningún líder que intente unificar a los distintos grupos. Perú se ha visto lastrado por la agitación política y los escándalos de corrupción de alto nivel que han llevado que desfilaran seis presidentes desde 2016.Partidarios de Castillo bloquean la carretera Panamericana Sur en Ica, Perú, el martes.Martin Mejia/Associated PressEn sus escasas apariciones públicas desde su detención por rebelión, Castillo ha defendido sus acciones y no ha mostrado arrepentimiento.Durante su segunda comparecencia ante el tribunal el martes, Castillo dijo que había sido detenido injustamente y que nunca renunciaría.“Jamás renunciaré y abandonaré esta causa popular. Desde aquí quiero exhortar a las Fuerzas Armadas y a la Policía Nacional que depongan las armas y dejen de matar a este pueblo sediento de justicia”, en referencia a los manifestantes.Cuando un juez le interrumpió para preguntarle si quería decir algo en su defensa, Castillo respondió: “Nunca cometí un delito de conspiración ni rebelión”.Mitra Taj More

    • 138 Shares109 Views

      in Elections

      Istanbul Mayor Jailed for Insulting Public Officials, Barring Him From Politics

      by

      The mayor of Istanbul, a possible rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the 2023 elections, was convicted of insulting public officials.ISTANBUL — A court in Turkey barred the mayor of Istanbul from political activity for years after convicting him on charges of insulting public officials, a ruling that could sideline a rising star in the opposition who is seen as a potential challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in elections next year.The mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, runs Turkey’s largest city and economic center. He was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison but has not been arrested and will appeal the ruling, his party said. If the ruling stands, he would not go to prison because his sentence is below the threshold required for incarceration under Turkish law.But he would be removed as mayor and barred for the duration of his sentence from political activity, including voting and running for or holding public office. That could essentially destroy the near-term prospects of a leader with a proven record of winning elections against Mr. Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party, or A.K.P.Mr. Imamoglu was charged with insulting public officials, a crime under Turkish law. But his supporters see the case against him as a ruse cooked up by Mr. Erdogan and his allies to remove a contender from the political scene.“This case is proof that there is no justice left in Turkey,” Mr. Imamoglu told a demonstrators gathered outside the municipal headquarters to protest the verdict. “This case is a case run by those people who don’t want to bring Turkey the most divine values, such as justice and democracy.”Turks are looking to parliamentary and presidential elections to be held in or before next June to determine the future course of this country of 85 million, one of the world’s 20 largest economies and a member of NATO.Mr. Erdogan, as the country’s predominant politician for nearly two decades and president since 2014, has pushed Turkey toward greater authoritarianism, using his influence over broad swaths of the state to bolster his rule and undermine his rivals. He will seek to extend his tenure next year, although his standing in the polls has dived because of an economic crisis. The Turkish lira has lost much of its value against the dollar, and year-on-year inflation is more than 80 percent, according to government figures.A coalition of six opposition parties hopes to unseat Mr. Erdogan and deprive his party of its parliamentary majority next year, but they have yet to announce a presidential candidate.Mr. Imamoglu has not spoken publicly about whether he will run for president, but some recent polls have found him to be more popular than Mr. Erdogan. He also has the rare distinction of having beaten Mr. Erdogan’s party for control of Turkey’s largest city, twice in the same year.In March 2019, Mr. Imamoglu beat Mr. Erdogan’s chosen candidate in Istanbul’s municipal election, putting Turkey’s largest opposition party in charge of the city for the first time in decades. It was a stinging loss for Mr. Erdogan, not least because he had grown up in the city and made his own political name as its mayor before moving on to national politics.Alleging electoral irregularities, Mr. Erdogan’s party appealed for and were granted a rerun. Mr. Imamoglu won that too, with an even larger margin than he had the first time around.The current case against Mr. Imamoglu has its roots in his public criticism of government decisions in 2019 to remove dozens of mayors from Turkey’s Kurdish minority from their posts and replace them with state-appointed trustees.The government accused those mayors of having ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, a Kurdish militant group that has fought against the state and which Turkey, the United States and the European Union consider a terrorist organization. The mayors denied the charges and critics considered their ouster a subversion of the democratic process.In a speech, Turkey’s interior minister, Suleyman Soylu, called Mr. Imamoglu a “fool” for criticizing the mayors’ removal. Mr. Imamoglu responded that the “fool” was those who had annulled the original results of the Istanbul mayoral elections.Turkey’s Supreme Election Council, which oversees the country’s elections, filed a compliant against Mr. Imamoglu for insulting state officials. A state prosecutor formally charged Mr. Imamoglu last year.Critics have accused Mr. Erdogan of extending his influence over the judiciary, allowing him press for rulings that benefit him politically.In a video message posted on Twitter before the sentence was announced on Wednesday, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the head of Turkey’s largest opposition party, said that a guilty verdict would prove that Turkey’s judges were in cahoots with Mr. Erdogan.“Any decision other than an acquittal will be the confession of a plot and the palace’s orders,” he said, referring to the presidential palace. “I am warning the palace for the last time, get your hand off the judiciary.” More

    • 125 Shares199 Views

      in Elections

      Violence Grows in Peru After President Pedro Castillo Is Ousted

      by

      At least six people have been killed in violence that has spread across the country following last week’s impeachment of Pedro Castillo after he tried to dissolve Congress.LIMA, Peru — A relatively peaceful, if abrupt, transfer of presidential power in Peru last week has shifted into violence and unrest as supporters of the former president intensified claims that his ouster was illegitimate and have staged attacks against police stations, courthouses, factories, airports and a military base.The protesters, backed by organizations that represent unions, Indigenous groups and poor farmers, are demanding new elections as quickly as possible.At the same time, the leftist leaders of several Latin American countries have thrown their support behind Peru’s former leader, Pedro Castillo, who was removed from office last Wednesday and arrested after he tried to dissolve Congress.The resulting unrest this week has grown and spread to different parts of the country as the government, while denouncing the violence, has struggled to stabilize the situation and respond to protesters’ demands.On Tuesday night the defense minister, Alberto Otárola, announced that the armed forces would take responsibility for protecting strategic infrastructure such as airports and hydroelectric plants, and that the government would soon declare a state of emergency for the nation’s highway system. “We are not going to deny that the situation in this country is currently serious and worrying,” he said.At least six people have died in the clashes, according to Peru’s ombudsman’s office, with all of the dead appearing to be protesters, among them five teenagers. Amnesty International and local human rights groups have accused the police of responding, in some cases, with excessive force.Earlier Tuesday, the ombudsman’s office had said that seven protesters died, but corrected itself after it said that a man identified to the office as dead could not be found in the country’s civil registry.On Tuesday, the country’s new president, Dina Boluarte, called for “calm.’’“This situation that has cast a shadow over the country is causing anguish to the entire Peruvian family,” she said, speaking outside a hospital in Lima, the capital, having declared parts of the country under a state of emergency.“I am a mother of two children, and I do not want to be going through this situation where our loved ones are dying,” she said.Ms. Boluarte once campaigned alongside Mr. Castillo, but later called his actions a coup attempt. She is also a leftist, and comes from the largely poor Andean department of Apurímac, where the protests first erupted.What to Know About the Ousting of Peru’s PresidentCard 1 of 4Who is Pedro Castillo? More