Water Behind Deadly Clash at Monterrico Peruvian Mine Site

[struggle4progress]

PIURA, Peru, August 9, 2005 (ENS) - At least one man is dead and 40 are injured after 3,000 farmers protesting a copper mine that threatens to contaminate the watershed on which they rely, stormed the exploration camp of a British company on July 28.

It is the latest outbreak of protest against mining companies that the rural communities have been trying for years to eject from the Piura District, located about 1,000 kilometers north of Lima. <snip>

The farmers claim that seven people were killed in the clash, a number confirmed by local church and civic officials, including Mayor Carlos Martinez of San Ignacio in the nearby district of Cajamarca where about 500 of the protesters reside. <snip>

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2005/2005-08-09-03.asp