(IPYS/IFEX) – On the night of 24 January 2005, journalist Antonio Angulo Daneri was attacked by a group of demonstrators during the presentation of his book “Llamalo amor, si quieres” (“Call it love, if you wish”). The incident occurred during the Book Fair in Trujillo, capital of La Libertad region, northwestern Peru. The demonstrators insulted […]
(IPYS/IFEX) – On the night of 24 January 2005, journalist Antonio Angulo Daneri was attacked by a group of demonstrators during the presentation of his book “Llamalo amor, si quieres” (“Call it love, if you wish”). The incident occurred during the Book Fair in Trujillo, capital of La Libertad region, northwestern Peru.
The demonstrators insulted the journalist and threw eggs at him in retaliation for an article that appears in his book. In the article, the journalist talks about the leader and founder of the Partido Aprista Peruano (PAP) party, Victor Raul Haya de la Torre, and examines the possibility that he is a homosexual.
“The fair’s organisers asked the local police to guard the main table in order to avoid possible disturbances by PAP supporters,” Angulo told IPYS. According to the journalist, the demonstrators began insulting him after he finished his presentation. About thirty people surrounded the main table in a matter of seconds. The organisers and members of the police helped the journalist take shelter in a room behind the stage. Thirty minutes later, he was escorted to a police car and driven to a nearby hotel. It subsequently became apparent that La Libertad regional government employees were among the protesters. Angulo later received an apology from La Libertad Vice-President Sina Santa Maria.
This is not the first protest sparked by the book’s publication. On 29 December 2004, the daily “Correo” published a letter by La Libertad Regional President Homero Burgos, in which he scorned the book and called it “defamatory.” A presentation in Iquitos, northeastern Peru, which was planned for 21 January, was cancelled for security reasons.
