Loading ...LIMA, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Peruvian President Ollanta Humala on Tuesday declared a state of emergency suspending civil liberties and authorizing military patrols in a highland region where three people died and scores were injured in protests at a Chinese-owned $7.4 billion copper project.
Humala decreed the emergency for 30 days in the southern Andean regions of Cusco and Apurimac, where the mine, Las Bambas, owned by China’s MMG Ltd, is under construction.
Apurimac governor Wilber Venegas said on Tuesday that three people protesting the project died in clashes with police in the town of Challhuahuacho and scores were wounded.
Rallies called on MMG to revise its environmental plan so that mineral concentrates would be piped out of town. Protesters also demanded the company hire more locals as construction work linked to the mine is dropping.
Some 1,500 police and 150 military officers had been sent to the region ahead of protests that started Friday. The state of emergency applies to six provinces.
more http://finance.yahoo.com/news/peru-decrees-emergency-3-persons-165417729.html