Latin American Herald Tribune - Nicaraguan Go...

MANAGUA – The Nicaragua government granted political asylum to two Indian leaders from Peru’s Amazon region who were accused by the South American country’s judiciary of committing violent acts on June 5 in the jungle province of Bagua, government spokeswoman Rosario Murillo said Thursday.
Indian leaders Saul and Cervando Puerta Peña have been “safe in Nicaragua’s embassy in Lima” since Monday, Murillo said.
“They are safe at our embassy facility with the full consent of our president (Daniel Ortega) and the ambassador in that country (Tomas Borge Martinez),” Murillo said.
The Peruvian Indians “have availed themselves of the tradition of refuge (provided by the Nicaraguan) government to brothers and sisters in struggle who are the object of persecution,” Murillo told state media.
Murillo, who is also the wife of the president, said the Puerta Peña brothers are being accorded “the refuge they need to ensure their human rights and right to life.”
On June 9, the Nicaraguan government granted political asylum to Peruvian indigenous leader Albeto Pizango, who also took refuge at first in Managua’s embassy in Lima and later was authorized to travel to the Central American country.
Early last month, violence erupted during authorities’ attempt to clear a roadblock in the jungle province of Bagua and end the takeover of a oil pipeline pumping station.
Twenty-four police officers and 10 Indian protesters were killed, according to the official report, although relatives of the victims and human rights groups said dozens of civilians were killed and their bodies were incinerated or dumped in rivers.
Amazon Indians carried out two months of protests in northern Peru against a law that gave the government the power to grant mining, logging and drilling concessions on ancestral lands without consulting residents.
The protests ended when Peru’s Congress – acting on a request by Peruvian President Alan Garcia – voted overwhelmingly on June 18 to repeal the two most contentious laws. EFE