New Bagua Protests: The Dog That Didn't Bite

UNCLAS LIMA 000203 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM SOCI ENRG EMIN PE SUBJECT: New Bagua Protests: The Dog That Didn't Bite REF: 10 LIMA 69; 09 LIMA 1010 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Planned February 22 protests organized by indigenous organizations in the Amazon and elsewhere fizzled. Protesters had an expansive list of objectives, from arresting former GOP officials and opposing the Bagua investigative report issued in December (ref A),to banning all mining concessions in the Amazon and Andean regions. The Peruvian government responded preventively, sending security forces in advance and suspending one mining company's explorations in the area. The government appears to have learned from past mistakes, and (according to insiders) believes it must ensure order first, and only negotiate on that basis. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) Planned February 22 protests organized by indigenous organizations in the Amazon and elsewhere fizzled. According to police estimates, up to 600 protesters gathered for a couple of hours midday in Jaen (Cajamarca),with smaller numbers in Yurimaguas (Loreto) and only about 100 in Bagua (in Amazonas, the area of last year's violent clashes between indigenous protesters and police - ref B). In Lima, demonstrations were likewise small, low-key, and brief. Protest organizers in the Amazon attributed the low turnout to a high profile police presence. A non-participating indigenous group told the Embassy the week before that most indigenous communities' support for the protests was weak. ¶3. (SBU) Protesters, led by the indigenous organization AIDESEP and supported by several left-leaning political groups, self-defense committees ("ronderos"),the radical public teachers' union SUTEP, the communist union CGTP, and others, had an expansive and absolutist list of objectives. Topping the list was rejection of the Bagua investigative report issued in December (ref A),which protesters say was biased. The list also included such disparate demands as the arrest of former prime minister Yehude Simon and other GOP officials (whom the protesters deemed as "genocidal"), the repeal of additional [unnamed] decrees, the removal of several mining companies, and the banning of all mining and petroleum concessions in the Amazon, Cordillera del Condor, and high Andean regions. ¶4. (SBU) The Peruvian government responded preventively, sending hundreds of security forces to Bagua, Tarapoto, Yurimaguas, and Jaen in advance of the scheduled protests to ensure order. In an unusual move, the GOP also ordered the Peruvian mining company Afrodita to suspend its explorations in Cordillera del Condor, near the Ecuadorian border, which had become a lightning rod for some protesters. The government has received many complaints over the years regarding this concession, we believe largely because some groups were hoping that the concession territory would be included in a later-created national park. Some groups also complained the company had conducted insufficient consultations before starting its explorations. Comment ¶5. (SBU) The government appears to have learned from past mistakes, when poor planning and execution led to disaster. According to government insiders, the GOP must begin by ensuring order and public security, and conduct subsequent negotiations on that basis. Sending security forces in advance of the protests was a conscious decision to prevent things from getting out of hand. McKinley