Da: "Nello Margiotta" A: Oggetto: Fw: Peru Reprivatizes State-Owned Utilities Despite Loud Protests Data: sabato 15 giugno 2002 14.38 Peru privatizes state-owned utilities despite loud protests AFP - 6/15/2002 LIMA - President Alejandro Toledo's government on Friday sold two state-owned electrical utilities to the Belgian firm Tractebel, despite loud protests against the sale and a court ruling seeking to bar it. Tractebel, the only firm bidding in the sale, offered 167 million dollars total for Egasa and Egesur, in a public session marked by the dramatic appearance of a legislator who has declared a hunger strike against the privatization. The sale sparked immediate protests in Peru's second largest city Arequipa, 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) south of Lima, where the two utilities are based. Twenty-six people were wounded in the protests, in which police lobbed tear gas at protesters throwing rocks at city offices and buildings. Among the injured was Arequipa police chief Eduardo Perez Rocha, struck in the head with a rock. The demonstrators yelled "Arequipa, revolution!" and "Urgent, urgent, new president!" Interior Minister Fernando Rospigliosi blamed the violence on "small groups of extremists seeking deaths and injuries to incite fury in the city." In a lunch with North American business executives Friday, Toledo vowed to continue the privatization of public entities "firmly, unambiguously and with energy," despite the unrest. "To grow, we need domestic and foreign private investment, and to attract investment, we need to create a climate of political, economic and social stability, and most of all legal stability, clear and transparent rules of play," Toledo said. The sale Friday was enlivened by the appearance of Arturo Valderrama, an opposition legislator leading a push to reject privatization in Congress. Valderrama, who began a hunger strike Tuesday in Congress, approached those presiding over the sale with copies of a ruling issued Thursday by Arequipa judge Benny Alvarez ordering a halt to the sale. Minister of Energy and Mines Jaime Quijandria and other officials hosting the sale were visibly annoyed by his interruption. "They're trying to give away Egasa and Egesur, the legitimate assets of Arequipa," Valderrama proclaimed loudly, as businessmen attending the sale looked on in surprise. Later they yelled: "Get out, you clown, get out!" Thursday, most of southern Peru, including two of the country's main cities, was paralyzed as thousands took to the streets to protest the sale of two state-owned regional utility companies. Businesses closed and public transportation was at a standstill in Arequipa, Peru's second largest city, and Cuzco, the former Inca capital, throughout the day. Residents in a total of six southern departments, once a hotbed of support for Toledo, went on strike demanding a special vote on the sale. Thirty people launched a hunger strike to protest the auction, including Arequipa Mayor Juan Manuel Guillen, a former Toledo ally. After the sale Friday, they said they would continue their strike.