In new protests over the Bloc 192 oil-field in the north Peruvian Amazon, some 20 indigenous Achuar and Kichwa warriors occupied the local air-strip of multinational Pluspetrol, in Trompeteros, Loreto region. They also seized a pumping station at nearby Pavayacu. The protesters are demanding better compensation for the use of their lands, and opposing the new contract for development of the field to Canadian company Pacific Stratus Energy, a subsidiary of Pacific Rubiales. A civil strike was also declared in Iquitos, the region's principal city, where barricades were built on major streets, paralyzing traffic. The Iquitos protesters, supported by the region's president, want the oil bloc to be taken over by state-owned PetroPeru. "The only thing foreign companies have done is pollute and foment distrust among local populations," said Loreto president Fernando Meléndez. "We don't see any benefits and remain an impoverished region." The bloc has been exploited for more than 40 years, most recently by Pluspetrol, an Argentine company whose contract expired Aug. 29. The 48-hour paro or civl strike was jointly called by Loreto Patriotic Front (FPL) and the Federation of Native Communities of Alto Tigre (FECONAT). (TerraPeru, Sept. 3, La República, Reuters, Sept. 2; El Comercio, Peru21, Sept. 1; Andina, Aug. 21)
