Protesters pressure government to revoke licence for mining firm

(1 Jun 2011) Puno - 31 May 2011 1. Various of trucks with protesters arriving in Puno 2. Protesters walking towards Puno, AUDIO: protesters shouting 3. Police officers standing in line 4. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) No name given, Protester: " We have come here with good intentions, sir" 5. Wide of police by roadside as trucks drive past 6. Medium of protesters 7. Police standing on road leading to Puno 8. Traders and some tourists entering town by foot 9. Protests in Puno by shop and hotel owners against the Aymaras' blockades, UPSOUND: shouting (Spanish) "Puno wants peace" 10. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) No name given, shop owner: "We want peace in the region of Puno. I think it was enough, the negotiations moved forward, our authorities went to Lima and they made great advances to solve the environmental problems we had in Puno." 11. Medium of protesters marching Lake Titicaca - 30 May 2011 12. Wide of lake 13. Various of Uros islands, artificial islands where indigenous Aymaras have lived for hundreds of years and one of the region's most visited places 14. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Luis Carbajal, Island resident: "All of the families living here get a living out of the tourists. The income is not a lot. We live off the tourists who come and stay here and of what we sell, but right now we have nobody." 15. Various of tourists at marketplace on island STORYLINE: A heavy police presence ensured that continuing protests against a planned silver mine in Peru's southern highlands remained peaceful on Tuesday. The mostly Aymara Indians have been peacefully demonstrating for more than two weeks, demanding that the government revoke the licence for the Canadian-owned Santa Ana mine in the Puno region - mainly with a blockade that has paralysed commerce at the nearby Bolivian border crossing. Shop owners and tourism sector workers in Puno held a protest of their own on Tuesday about the increasing economic cost of the blockade. The mine in dispute is owned by Bear Creek Mining Corp., a company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that says it has invested 25 (m) million US dollars in the project and had hoped to begin production next year. Protesters say they fear the mine will contaminate Lake Titicaca - one of Peru's biggest tourist sites - hurting fishing and farming. Bear Creek's director has said the mine would have no impact on South America's biggest lake, which straddles the border between Peru and Bolivia. He said it isn't in the same drainage basin as Titicaca. Last Thursday, protests by some 10-thousand people from both sides of the border turned violent when rioters attacked the tax office in Puno, hauling files and furniture into the street and setting them ablaze. Protesters smashed windows at other public buildings and banks and burned several vehicles. On Tuesday, trucks brought more protesters to Puno to demonstrate in its main square, only to find shop owners and local residents holding their own protest. One local business owner said "the negotiations moved forward, our authorities went to Lima and they made great advances to solve the environmental problems we had in Puno." The ongoing dispute is also affecting tourism on Lake Titicaca's floating Uros islands, which had only a handful of visitors on Monday. The islands - made from reeds - typically receive at least three boats of tourists daily. Luis Carbajal, a local resident, told AP Television: "All of the families living here get a living out of the tourists. The income is not a lot. We live off the tourists who come and stay here and of what we sell, but right now we have nobody." Companies have pledged more than 40 (b) billion US dollars in investments in Peru's mining sector in the coming decade. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/9e24cdb3d81260ebbec0c4baf7ec46fb Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork