The Minister of the Interior of Peru offers to appear before Congress for the police intervention in the University

MADRID, 24 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Minister of the Interior of Peru, Vicente Romero, has offered to appear before the plenary session of the Congress of the Republic to explain the police intervention against protesters at the University of San Marcos, in the capital, Lima.

Although Romero has confirmed that for the moment he has not received a formal invitation from Parliament, he has acknowledged that he is "willing" to answer questions from congressmen about an operation that resulted in more than 200 arrests last weekend.

"I have not been formally notified, but I am willing to go to clarify this. (...) It is my political responsibility and I have to attend. As many times as they call me, I have to go because it is a space where I have to make all the details known political groups", said Romero before the microphones of Exitosa radio.

Congressmen from Integrity and Development and the Magisterial Bloc have requested the appearance of the minister because they consider that the police intervention made an "excessive use of force" and "the constitutional principles of proportionality" were not respected.

The police operation in the educational center to evict anti-government protesters has aroused harsh criticism from neighboring governments --such as Bolivia or Colombia--, as well as international organizations such as Amnesty International.

Around 400 police officers with tanks and the support of special forces stormed the capital's university without complying with the legal procedures for arrests. Romero has explained on previous occasions that the police intervention was carried out within the framework of the state of emergency.