OAS asks Peru to hold general elections soon

Washington, Jan 30 (EFE).- The Organization of American States on Monday asked the Peruvian government to hold general elections very soon and expressed its concern over the excessive use of force by police during the protests against President Dina Boluarte.

Via a resolution adopted by all the OAS member nations except for El Salvador, the Washington-based organization’s Permanent Council asked Peru to hold “fair, free and transparent” elections quickly.

The document was presented to the full body by the permanent mission of Colombia, with the support of Haiti, Honduras and Antigua and Barbuda.

The OAS nations also expressed their concern about the Lima government’s excessive use of force in response to the protests in Peru.

The document called for “effective measures” to be adopted so that those who perpetrated “acts of violence” may be brought to justice. It also called on the Peruvian government to respect due process for people who have been arrested at the demonstrations.

Peruvian Foreign Minister Ana Cecilia Gervasi on Monday will travel to Washington DC to meet with “top officials” of the US government and with lawmakers in the US Congress.

On Saturday, the Peruvian attorney general’s office had announced that it was investigating the death of a demonstrator in Lima as a presumed homicide within the context of “human rights violations” during the protests.

The death raises to 65 the number of fatalities since the anti-government protests erupted last December to demand Boluarte’s resignation, the closure of Congress, early general elections and the convening of a constitutional assembly.

Boluarte assumed the presidency in Peru on Dec. 7 after former President Pedro Castillo attempted to stage a self-coup, a power grab that failed.

The demonstrations demanding that Boluarte step down began in southern Peru as soon as she took office and quickly spread throughout almost the entire country, after which the first deaths resulted amid the police crackdown on the protests.

EFE aaca/pem/bp