Peru's Prime Minister to Step Down
Rory Carroll - The Guardian UK
Yehude Simon said he will resign over violent clashes between security forces and Amazon tribes.
Yehude Simon, the prime minister of Peru. (Photo: Getty
Lima - The prime minister of Peru, Yehude Simon, said he will bow to opposition demands and resign over violent clashes between security forces and Amazon tribes which left dozens dead.
"I am going to go for sure as soon as calm returns in the coming weeks," he told local radio today. Earlier he apologised to indigenous leaders for the government's attempt to enforce decrees opening the rainforest to oil and gas exploration.
Congress is to repeal two controversial laws in the wake of clashes 11 days ago which left at least 34 dead, including 23 police, near the northern town of Bagua. Other ministers are expected to step down or be fired by President Alan Garcia.
"How many people had to die for the government to realise that the laws were poorly done?" Daysi Zapata, a leader of Aidesep, an indigenous rights group, told reporters.
Indigenous leaders have lifted some but not all of their months-long blockades of waterways, roads and pipelines.