Free Trade Massacre in Peru

In early June, Peruvian police in the northern Amazon region attacked a group of Indigenous people who since April had been peacefully protesting a lack of consultation about development on their land, and who are opposed to free trade agreements with Canada, the United States and the European Union. The attack resulted in between 30-60 deaths, including a number of police apparently killed by Indigenous protestors in defence and retaliation. Only days later, Canadian activists were appalled by the quick passage in the Senate of Bill C-24 (the Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement) in the middle of a human rights crisis in Peru.