British miner says 3 workers held by Peru protesters

[nosmokes]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N07292743.htm">
original>

British miner says 3 workers held by Peru protesters

By Tania Mellado


LIMA, Peru, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Three foreman were seized during a protest at a major copper site in northern Peru, the British company exploring the site said.

Monterrico Metals Plc <MNA.L> said on Sunday the men were seized by opponents of the project, which has been attacked in a new round of protests that began last month when thousands marched to Rio Blanco determined to drive the miners out.

The foremen were likely seized Thursday night, said Jose Arrieta, an official at Minera Majaz, the Monterrico unit that operates the Rio Blanco site.
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Locals who say the area grows more than a quarter of Peru's coffee fear contamination of rivers that supply water to farmland across a broad swathe of northern Peru.

But the government and the company say the protests are being whipped up for political ends by left-wing activists.

One man died last week in clashes with police before calm was restored. Trouble flared again Friday and protesters blocked roads up to the project all weekend until lifting their barricades Sunday.

Regional police chief Ricardo Benavides said the three men had not officially been reported missing.

"We don't want to be alarmist or sensationalist. Company executives have told us they have been kidnapped. They could be hiding in a house or some place for fear the locals will attack them," he said. "These people are furious."

Peasants in Peru's isolated Andean regions have brutally taken the law into their own hands in the past and Peru also has a history of increasingly violent protests against mining, the country's most lucrative industry. (Additional reporting by Eduardo Orozco)

[Quakerfriend]

1. The Bolivians,

and now the Peruvians. These people are so tough.

Perhaps, their passion to protect THEIR country will ignite a little passion over here.