GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES

http://www.gp.org

For Immediate Release:
Monday, June 22, 2009

Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-904-7614,
mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org

Global Greens condemn violence in Peru, seek an independent
investigation of police actions at protests against land grab for oil
drilling

• Statement of the Global Green Coordination, forwarded by the Green
Party of the United States

WASHINGTON, DC — The following statement was issued by the Global
Green Coordination on June 15. The Global Greens
(http://www.globalgreens.org) is the international network of Green
parties and political movements, founded in 2001 at the First Global
Greens Congress, in Canberra, Australia. The Green Party of the
United States is a member of the Global Greens.

Global Greens Condemn Violence in Peru

http://www.globalgreens.org/statements/peru

The Global Green Coordination has called for an independent
investigation into the actions of police in the Amazonian region of
Peru which resulted in at least 50 deaths. After the violence near the
town of Bagua Grande, hundreds more people, mainly indigenous people,
are missing and it is alleged that police have hidden hundreds of
bodies. Indigenous people were protesting against new legislation
which will mean their land can be exploited for oil and gas drilling.

We call on the government of President Alan Garcia to immediately stop
all police actions against demonstrations by indigenous people. We
also urge the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) to launch an
independent investigation into the violence, just as it did after
similar violence in Bolivia earlier this year. In that instance,
UNASUR played a very important role in calming an extremely volatile
situation and they could do so again in this case. It is also vital
that the Peruvian authorities allow human rights organisations free
access to the area where the clashes took place, so that a thorough
assessment of what happened can be made.

The Global Greens also call on the international community to put all
the pressure it can on the Peruvian Government so that it stops police
violence against indigenous protesters and launches a thorough and
independent investigation into the causes of the violence.

An important element of the pressure which could be brought to bear on
Peru is related to trade agreements: the change in legislation the
indigenous protested against is necessary following the stipulations
in the recent Free Trade Agreement between Peru and the USA. The
Commercial Agreement the EU is currently negotiating with with Peru,
Colombia and Ecuador contains very similar provisions, and partly goes
beyond US demands. Therefore, a radical change of the EU negotiations
is necessary as a first step we call on the European Commission and
Council to suspend negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement with Peru
(as well as Ecuador and Colombia) until an independent investigation
has reached its conclusions and the people responsible for the
violence have been tried and, if found guilty, been sentenced to
punishment. The suspension should provide the time necessary to
reorientate the contents of the negotiations, so that a future
agreement protects people and the environment rather then exploit
them.

MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193
• Tally of Green election victories

http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/election-results.html

• Green candidate news http://www.gp.org/2008-elections/candidate-news.php
• Green candidate database for 2008 and other campaign information:

http://www.gp.org/elections.shtml

• Green Party News Center http://www.gp.org/newscenter.shtml
• Green Party Speakers Bureau http://www.gp.org/speakers
• Green Party ballot access page http://www.gp.org/2008-elections

Global Greens http://www.globalgreens.org

International Committee of the Green Party of the United States

http://www.gp.org/committees/intl

2009 Annual National Meeting of the Green Party, Durham, NC, July
23-26 http://www.gp.org/2009-ANM
• Media credentialing page http://www.gp.org/forms/media

Green Pages, Vol. 13, No. 1
The official publication of record of the Green Party of the United States

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