In a joint statement issued Sept. 4, local authorities and social organizations in Peru's conflicted Apurímac and Ene River Valley (VRAE) rejected the government's proposal to declare the area a "combat zone." Signatories, including the VRAE Federation of Agricultural Producers, called upon the government to seek peace by promoting social justice, saying declaration of a "combat zone" would only hurt badly needed invesment in the remote and rugged area. The statement also expressed solidarity with the families of soldiers kiled in recent Sendero Luminoso attacks in the VRAE. (La Republica, Sept. 4)

Guatemalan community leader and environmental advocate Sofía Vidal Osorio was slain by unknown gunmen Aug. 17 at Morales, Izabal department. Vidal served as the elected leader of the community of La Ceiba, and was coordinator of the Inter-Comunitarian Council for the Sierra Caral Special Protected Area, an advocacy group seeking creation of a reserve to save the threatened forests of the small mountain range overlooking Lake Izabal. She had three times testified before Guatemala's congress in favor of declaring the protected area. Guatemala's Foundation for Eco-Development and Conservation (FUNDAECO) is calling on the government to declare the reserve in honor of Vidal, and take measures to end the state of lawlessness in the region. (National Council of Protected Areas—CONAP, Guatemala, Aug. 21)

This reporter ran into his first bit of trouble since arriving in Peru two weeks ago while leaving Arequipa for Lima the morning of Sept. 1. The only bus that left at the time I needed to go was also the cheapest—which I knew meant it would stop at every village and crossroads to pick up passengers. It was rickety, dirty and cramped, and packed full of Peruvian budget travellers—including three middle-aged Quechua women in traditional dress. One of them was openly sobbing as she hugged a relative good-bye at the station; being away from home and family was obviously a frightening prospect for her. We finally departed an hour late, after every seat had been sold. Then, to my dismay, we were halted at a checkpoint just outside the city by agents of the Fiscalía—the special investigative police...

The ten communities of the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve in Peru's rainforest region of Madre de Dios announced a decision Aug. 25 rejecting the operations of the Hunt Oil company on the ancestral territory of the Harakmbut, Yine and Matsigenka peoples. The decision was made at a meeting of regional indigenous leaders at Diamante, Manu province, Madre de Dios region. It was issued in the name of the council leaders of the Amarakaeri Reserve and the Native Federation of the Río Madre de Dios (FENAMAD).

Carlos Navas, mayor of Imazita in Peru's Amazonas region and spokesman for the indigenous aliance AIDESEP, hailed the government's formation of an investigative comission on the Bagua massacre as "an important step" towards reconciliation in the wake of June's deadly unrest. Agriculture Minister Adolfo De Córdova announced Sept. 2 that seven members of the comission have been chosen—three elected by AIDESEP, three chosen by the Executive Branch, and one to represent Peru's regional governments.

Bolivia's President Evo Morales called upon the government of Peru Sept. 3 to suspend the political refuge status that it has granted three former Bolivian cabinet ministers who face criminal charges in their home country. "I don't understand how asylum can be given to delinquents," he said at a press conference in La Paz. Bolivia is seeking the return of Mirtha Quevedo, Javier Torres Gotilla and Jorge Torres Obleas, who served in the cabinet of Gonzalo "Goni" Sánchez de Lozada, himself exiled in the US. "Goni" and the three ex-ministers are all wanted on "genocide" charges in Bolivia for their role in the deadly repression of protests in October 2003. (La Primera, Lima, Sept 4)

Peruvian Defense Minister Rafael Rey Sept. 1 denied reports that he is seeking US military bases in the country, saying his words had been distorted. Rey caused a media splash when he spoke to RPP radio news earlier that day in defense of US plans for military bases in Colombia, saying that they did not pose a threat to the region, and adding: "In Peru, the collaboration with the North Americans against narco-trafficking is very positive, and unfortunately we cannot count on North American aid for the anti-subversive struggle, which is now mixed with the narco-traffic in the zone of the VRAE." (RPP, Sept 1)

A Peruvian air force M-17 helicopter crashed Sept. 2 in the coca-growing region known as the Apurímac and Ene River Valley (VRAE) after being hit with rifle fire from presumed Sendero Luminoso insurgents, killing the pilot and co-pilot and gavely wounding an army solider on board. The attack occurred at San Antonio de Carrizales, Santo Domingo de Acobamba district, Huancayo province, Junín region, where the crew were attempting to rescue three soldiers wounded in a confrontation with presumed senderistas that morning. A second helicopter on the mission returned to the military base at Pichari, Cusco region. The rescue operation was abandoned. (El Comercio, La Republica, Lima, Sept. 3)