Amazonian indigenous Peruvians demand release of ousted president

Wearing a crown with a tiny skull attached, Ashaninka leader Irineo Sanchez on Thursday joined dozens of indigenous protesters in Lima demanding the release of ousted Peru president Pedro Castillo.

Some of the indigenous protesters, who had come from the Peruvian Amazon jungle, were carrying bows and arrows, which police said they confiscated.

They are among the thousands of protesters demanding not only Castillo’s release but also the resignation of his successor Dina Boluarte, the dissolution of Congress and new elections.

“I came to take part in a protest march. My country is very ill … we want to bring forward elections and close Congress, which does not represent us,” Sanchez, 57, told AFP.

Wearing face paint and traditional cotton tunics called cushma, the indigenous people came to Lima by bus and truck from the Tambo river community in the central Junin department.

“Pedro Castillo remains my president, but they illegally removed him. Dina Boluarte in no way represents the country,” added Sanchez.

The Ashaninka, who live in the jungle areas of central and southeastern Peru, are the largest of 65 Amazonian indigenous ethnicities in the country.

Working mostly as farmers, they number around 70,000 people in a country of 33 million.

Between 1986 and 1996 they found themselves in the crosshairs of the battle between Shining Path Maoist guerrillas and the armed forces.

Police accuse political groups aligned with the Shining Path, which the government considers a terrorist organization, of instigating the pro-Castillo demonstrations.

At least seven people have died and another 200 were injured in clashes between protesters and security forces.

Castillo was impeached and arrested last week after attempting to dissolve the legislature and rule by decree.

He has been accused of rebellion and conspiracy and faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

A hearing was under way at the supreme court in Lima on Thursday to decide whether to release him from provisional detention or remand him in custody for 18 months.

The leftist former rural school teacher’s 17 months in power were marked by a power struggle with the right-wing dominated Congress.

Before he even took office in June 2021, Castillo’s political opponents tried to paint him as a dangerous communist with ties to the Shining Path.

“They forgot about us. We’ve come to claim our rights,” said protester Liner Americo Jaime. “We fought the terrorism, we’re the defenders of democracy.”

Many indigenous peasants fought against the Shining Path as part of peasant patrols in rural areas.

Castillo himself claims to have been a peasant patrol member.