Antero Flores-Aráozformer head of the Council of Ministers, appeared this Tuesday at the session of the Subcommittee on Constitutional Accusations of the Congress of the Republic, in which they reviewed the constitutional complaint filed by the Public Ministry against him, the former de facto president Manuel Merino de Lama and the former Minister of the Interior Gastón Rodríguezfor the deaths of Inti Sotelo and Bryan Pintado in the November 2020 demonstrations.
In his presentation, Flores-Aráoz recalled that he held various positions in the State and asserted that he cannot afford to have this “stain.” Therefore, he emphasized that the sanction proposed to be imposed does not seem fair to him.
“We only ask that they be fair. It is an honor to have belonged to Congress, to have chaired the Council of Ministers and to hold other positions with honor, transparency, without problems, without problems, without any complaints. I can’t allow this stain because I don’t deserve it. I am 80 years old and they want me to go to prison at 33. I would not live to tell about it, this is absurd”, he stated.
YOU CAN SEE: Diana Miloslavich: I trust that they will give us the vote of confidence
At another time, the former prime minister assured that during his brief stint in the Merino de Lama regime he went to the Police to urge them to respect human rights during the 2020 protests.
“I am going to present a recording where I will show that I went to the police to call for respect for human rightswhich the Police also have,” he said.
Manuel Merino: “We are defenders of human rights”
Despite the murders of Inti Sotelo and Bryan PintadoIn addition to the dozens of protesters who were injured at the hands of the Police, in the November 2022 marches, Manuel Merino, in the same SAC session, said that during his de facto government they were human rights defenders.
YOU CAN SEE: Motion to interpellate Minister Yldefonso will be debated this Tuesday in the plenary session of Congress
“Beyond the defense of human rights, that we are assiduous defenders of human rightsthe Public Ministry has not carried out a legitimate investigation into who killed the young people, there is no investigation into the people who incited the marches,” he declared.
“They accuse me of omission because I could not foresee that this was going to happen, it is a mockery by the Public Ministry. We who have been defending the interests of all Peruvians. They have not found arguments to accuse us, they violate a fundamental right, “he added.
