Peru: Join the campaign against death threats suffered by the Monterrico Metals whistleblower journalist

As mentioned in this post last Sunday, Julio Vásquez Calle has been receiving continued death threats via anonymous phone calls (to his home telephone and private cellular number). He is the journalist who went public with the now infamous photos that showed the extent of the torture suffered by himself and 28 others at the Monterrico (MNA.L) mining camp at Majaz, now re-named Rio Blanco. Anyone that has basic knowledge of Peru's modern history understands that death threats there are no joke at all.

The good news is that now there's a mail-writing and petition campaign that is making people aware of the threats suffered by Vásquez, and you can join in (in either Spanish or English, as you prefer). Lillie over at Memory In Latin America has all the necessary details in this post right here, so please go over, spend five minutes of your time and write a mail that will promote free speech in Peru, protect a brave reporter and help put another nail into the coffin of the sordid junior mining company that gives the industry such a bad name.

Thank you in advance.

Update
Cool, the excellent UK blog Ten Percent has picked up the baton and is running with it. Great to get support for this issue in MNA.L's homeland. Thanks RB

The Monterrico Metals torture case: Who is to blame?

Julio Vásquez

That there was torture committed against 29 Peruvian nationals at the mining camp of Monterrico Metals (MNA.L) at Majaz (now named Rio Blanco) is now beyond dispute. But one of the issues is whether the protagonists were the personnel of Monterrico Metals or the officers of the National Police Force present that day. We know that both took part in the three days of torture against peaceful demonstrators who were lured into the trap under false pretences, but who gave the orders?

Today, light was shed on this part of the crime. Julio Vásquez, the reporter on the scene who was tortured along with the rest, spoke to Peru's state-run CNR radio station. Here is an extract from what he said:

"The police had orders to torture us from the people in charge of the mining camp......"

As clear as clear can be, Vásquez states for the record that Monterrico Metals was the brains behind the torture. How long will the company remain silent? Criminal charges need to be brought against this shameful company and damages should be paid to its victims. Is there a lawyer in the house?


UPDATE: Thanks to this post in the blog 'Huanca York Times' (a finalist for Peru's best regional blog this year) you can see a report on Peru TV about the Majaz torture with an in-studio interview with Julio Vásquez. Recommended viewing for Spanish speakers, as it does a good job. Salu2 HuancaYork