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Return to regular viewPolice retake control of Peruvian town where mob killed mayor
DREW BENSON, Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
©2004 Associated Press
URL: sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/04/27/international1734EDT0688.DTL
(04-27) 20:15 PDT ILAVE, Peru (AP) --
Police retook control an Andean town on Tuesday, a day after highland Indians beat to death the mayor, accusing him of corruption.
Hours after pulling police out of Ilave, 565 miles southeast of Lima, the government sent a convoy of trucks with more than 200 officers back into the town near Lake Titicaca.
But the officers tried to keep a low profile and only about a dozen were visible before nightfall in this community near Lake Titicaca.
In a nationally televised address, President Alejandro Toledo called on Ilave to "maintain the climate of tranquility," and said his government understood the town's plight. But he also issued a warning.
"Democracy means order and discipline. In a nation of law we cannot permit someone to take justice into his own hands," he said. "We will act with all the force that the law permits. Those responsible at all levels will be severely punished."
About 500 Aymara Indians milled about waiting for the arrival of a government delegation heading to Lima to hear demands and help restore order.
"We are waiting for a solution. There's been no school or work for a month. We want new elections as soon as possible," said 50-year-old Rosa Carvajal.
On Monday, about 10,000 people, mostly Aymara Indians from surrounding villages, protested to demand Mayor Cirilo Fernando Robles resign over corruption allegations and his failure to deliver on campaign promises.
During the protest a riot erupted and a mob broke into a house, where Robles was conducting a town council meeting. They dragged the mayor and three other municipal workers into the street and beat them, killing Robles and leaving his body underneath a bridge.
The mob of about 3,000 people then surrounded the police station, attacking it with homemade gasoline bombs.
About 50 police officers were in the station, and they reportedly managed to repel the mob with help from reinforcements. Soon after, they fled the town.
Now, with a larger force back in Ilave, "we are trying to re-establish normal activities," Interior Minister Fernando Rospigliosi told Canal N television.
A woman identified as the sister of one of the town councilmen told Channel 2 on Monday night that police had arrested three men for killing Robles but were forced to release them by the mob.