Peru Declares Curfew As Violent Amazon Clashes Continue

The Peruvian government has declared a curfew in its Amazon region after several days of clashes have left more than 60 dead, including 23 policemen and approximately 40 Indians protesting the rapid development of the tropical forest. President Alan Garcia, a free-trade advocate, has been instrumental in allocating more than 70 percent of the Peruvian Amazon for oil and gas extraction, and indigenous tribes are protesting recent decrees that would break up their communal property and sell the parcels for development. Protests turned violent late last week as police and soldiers attempted to reoccupy roads and pipeline installations seized by the tribes. Meanwhile, the Brazilian Congress has approved a controversial law allowing companies and individuals who illegally deforested land in the Amazon before December 2004 to obtain legal title to those holdings. The law, which would bestow title on illegally cleared parcels up to 3,700 acres, has been sharply criticized by environmentalists, who say it will spur further deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon. President Lula da Silva is expected to sign the bill into law.