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UN Investigators: Peruvian Police Used Excessive Force to Quell Protesters

Lisa Schlein

   GENEVA - Investigators at the U.N. Human Rights Office are accusing
   police in Peru of having used excessive force to quell anti-government
   mass protests last November, killing two people and injuring hundreds
   of others.

   The investigators view the crackdown by Peru's security forces as
   unnecessarily harsh and in violation of international human rights
   norms and standards. Protesters took to the streets between November 9
   and November 15 to challenge the legitimacy of the interim president,
   Manuel Merino, as well as in anger over general social conditions.

   The protests came to a head during violent clashes between police and
   demonstrators in the capital, Lima, on November 15. U.N. human rights
   spokeswoman Liz Throssell said police officers did not distinguish
   between the largely peaceful protesters and the minority who allegedly
   were violent.

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