Living in Peru : your everyday companion

(LIP-ir) -- After two days of violent protests in which hundreds were detained and several killed, unions representing farmers in Peru announced Tuesday night that strikes and protests would end.

JNUDRP union leader, Enrique Malaga, announced yesterday in a radio interview that it had been decided that protests would come to an end and unions would negotiate with the government.

Malaga asked farmers across the country to remain calm and trust that authorities would meet their demands.

Several hundred people where detained while four farmers lost their lives during protests in several of Peru's regions on Monday and Tuesday.

Highways were blocked and hundreds of vehicles were unable to reach their destinations as farmers pushed for state subsidies and concessions on loans during protests.

Peru's government declared eight of its regions in a state of emergency and handed over control to the country's Armed Forces. Protests took place from Piura to Arequipa.

It was also announced that protests related to a new tourism law in Cusco would come to an end and the region would be accredited an APEC venue for the 2008 leaders' summit.

The government announced that regional and municipal authorities in Cusco had assured they would cooperate so that APEC meetings were a success.

12 meetings are to be held in Cusco on several different dates. The first is to be held from April 5 - 7.