(17 Jun 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Lima, Peru – 17 June 2024
1. Peruvian Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen news conference with with the Association of Foreign Press in Peru (APEC)
2. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Gustavo Adrianzén, Peruvian Prime Minister:
"16 nations that are friends of Peru, historically friends of Peru, express their concern about a bill (in the Peruvian Congress) that in the first round is approved on APCI, the Peruvian Agency for International Cooperation, which has to do precisely with the management, the relationship that the state has with different organizations (NGOs) that receive funds from abroad. To say the least, this publication, this statement, is inopportune because it is not a defined issue (referring to not having had a second vote in Congress)."
3. Press Conference
4. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Gustavo Adrianzén, Peruvian Prime Minister:
"We do not believe that our friends, countries with a tradition of friendship and historical relations, such as the United States are going to feel resentful because we bring Chinese investments. I believe that to the extent that we bring investments that can promote the country’s economy, we should all feel satisfied."
5. Wide of news conference
6. Journalists leaving
STORYLINE:
Peru’s Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzén on Monday described as "inopportune" a joint statement by the United States, the European Union and 14 nations that showed their concern over a bill that seeks to increase control over the financing received by non-governmental organizations.
"To say the least, this publication, this statement, is inopportune," Adrianzén said in a conference with the international press, referring to a communiqué from 16 embassies in Lima issued on June 10 after the Congressional Foreign Relations Commission approved a bill for the Peruvian Agency for International Cooperation to obligatorily register non-governmental organizations that carry out "political activism" work.
Political activism is defined in the legislative proposal as anything that "seeks to modify national public policies or electoral results in favor of the interests of private foreign entities".
The proposal typifies as a serious infraction – punishable by fines of more than $600,000 or even loss of registration – the use of international cooperation resources for activities declared as "acts that affect public order, public or private property, citizen security, national defense and internal order."
The Prime Minister said that the controversial bill "is not definitive" since it still needs to be submitted to a vote before a full Congress.
"It is surprising that not being at first a definitive decision, that is why I say at least inopportune, a declaration of this nature is made coming from friendly nations," said Adrianzén.
On June 10, in a joint communiqué, the embassies of the United States, the European Union and 14 other nations stated that "democracies are most inclusive, equitable, stable and prosperous when civil society is fully empowered to protect human rights and respond to the needs of citizens."
The communiqué adds that the proposed changes "would restrict civil society’s ability to operate in an enabling environment."
The embassies that signed the joint communiqué in Lima are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union.
AP video shot by Cesar Barreto
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