Demonstrators march amid anti-government demonstrations after former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo was ousted in Lima, Peru, January 21, 2023. Photo Credit: Reuters
Peru has indefinitely closed the famous ancient ruins of Machu Picchu on Saturday anti government protest What started last month is rapidly engulfing the South American country.
The culture ministry said it had closed the country’s most famous tourist attraction as well as the Inca Trail leading to the site “for the safety of tourists and the population in general”.
Tourism Minister Luis Fernando Helguero told a news conference that 417 visitors to Machu Picchu were trapped and unable to get out, of whom more than 300 were foreigners.
The closure of the Incan citadel, which dates back to the 15th century and is often referred to as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, comes after protesters descended on Lima, many of them from remote Andean regions, to demand the capital’s independence. Let’s travel Resignation of President Dina Boluarte.
Also on Saturday, police raided Peru’s most important public university in Lima to remove protesters who were being held on campus while participating in larger demonstrations. Interior Minister Vicente Romero said that more than 100 people had been detained.
Until recently, protests were concentrated in the south of the country. They began last month after then-President Pedro Castillo, Peru’s first leader with a rural Andean background, was indicted and imprisoned for trying to dissolve Congress.
Protesters are demanding the resignation of Boluaarte The former vice president took the oath of office on December 7 to replace Castillo., They also want the Congress to be dissolved and fresh elections held. Castillo is currently detained on charges of insurrection.
More than 55 people have died in the ensuing unrest, most recently on Friday night when a protester was killed and at least nine others injured in clashes with police in Puno. A total of 21 protesters and one police officer have died in the southern region.
On Saturday morning, police used a small tank to burst into flames at the National University of San Marcos.
Javier Kutipa, 39, who traveled by bus from Puno, had been sleeping on the floor there since Thursday, but went to have breakfast just before police arrived. He described the police crackdown as “practically an assault” with helicopters, tear gas and small tanks.
“It enrages us. The only thing the government is doing with these detentions is to escalate tensions. He added that “when the population learns about this they are going to react in a more radical fashion.”
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Hundreds of protesters gathered outside law enforcement offices on Saturday evening chanting “freedom” and “we are students, not terrorists”. More gathered in other places in the city of Lima.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights expressed “concern over police intrusions, evictions and mass detentions” at the university and urged the state to “guarantee the integrity and due process of all people”.
The university issued a news release saying the police raid came after protesters “attacked” security personnel.
Cusco, where Machu Picchu is located, has been the site of some of the most intense conflicts, causing a significant loss of tourism revenue. Cusco airport was briefly closed this week after protesters became exhausted.
Train service to Machu Picchu has been suspended since Thursday due to track damage.
Some stranded tourists have opted to walk to Piscakucho, the nearest village, Helguero said, “but it involves a walk of six, seven hours or more and only a few have been able to do that.”
The culture ministry said tourists who had already bought tickets to Machu Picchu from Saturday, up to a month after the protests end, will be able to get a full refund.