(Lima) The President of Peru Dina Boluarte, whose country is in the grip of demonstrations which have killed at least 42 people in five weeks, ruled out on Friday resigning as demanded by the protesters.
“Some voices from supporters of violence and radicals demand my resignation, inciting the population to chaos, disorder and destruction. I say to them responsibly: I am not going to resign, my commitment is with Peru,” said Ms.me Boluarte in a message to the nation broadcast by state television.
Three members of the government of Mme Boluarte resigned in two days: the Minister of Labor Eduardo Garcia, in disagreement with the management of the demonstrations by the government, that of the Interior Victor Rojas, and the Minister of Women and Vulnerable Populations Grecia Rojas.
Since the start of the crisis, clashes between demonstrators and the police have left at least 42 dead, including a policeman burned alive by the crowd, according to the Defender of the People (ombudsman).
The protests erupted after the dismissal and arrest on December 7 of left-wing President Pedro Castillo, accused of having tried to carry out a coup d’etat by wanting to dissolve the Parliament which was about to oust him from power.
Mme Boluarte, who was Mr. Castillo’s vice-president, succeeded him in accordance with the Constitution. But the demonstrators, who see her as a “traitor”, demand her departure as well as immediate early elections.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), which completed an inspection mission in Peru on Friday, called for an impartial investigation into the government’s repression of the demonstrations, considering that there were signs pointing to “excessive use of strength “.
The Peruvian prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation for “genocide” against Mr.me Boluarte and several other senior officials.