Thursday, June 9, 2011

The Carabaya Puno protests turn ugly

Please note that this protest, in the North of the Puno region, is not the same one that is currently in progress against the Santa Ana project of Bear Creek Mining and has blocked the border crossing at Desaguadero. This is in the northern part of the region and is all about opposing the Inambari hydroelectric power plant project and a generalized rejection of mining concessions in the area. Here's a direct translation of this report from Puno area news media, Los Andes:

Exclusive: Strikers in Carabaya cause damage in the mining Warehouses of Solex and Pacific Sur

The population of the province of Carabaya, currently protesting against the construction of the Inambari Hydroelectric project, this afternoon caused damage to several installations of two mining companies in the area.

Locals went to the location called Uchuy Macusani, where the warehouse of mining company Solex is located, and once there burnt the the receptacles used to process aluminium. They also burned wooden structures and hose pipes and all the rooms of the buildings suffered damage.

Damaged was also caused to the warehouses of mining company Pacific Sur in the zone called Patapampa, where rooms were also burned and destroyed. At the moment tonight the city is calm, however there is worry about what tomorrow may bring.