MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Peruvian Congressional Committee declares Petro persona non grata

The Foreign Affairs Committee document would ban Petro from entering Peruvian territory if passed by the Congressional plenum

Peru's Congressional Foreign Affairs Committee Tuesday approved a motion to declare Colombian President Gustavo Petro a persona non grata for likening the local police to the Nazis.

 ”The Foreign Relations Committee approved the agenda motion that expresses its rejection of the statements made by the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, against Peru's National Police (PNP) and, in addition, declares him persona non grata,“ the one-house Parliament said through Twitter.

Since December, several citizen protests have taken place nationwide, especially in the south, and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement have left at least 60 civilians dead and 1,300 injured, as well as 580 police officers injured and one casualty.

”In Peru they march like Nazis against their own people, breaking the American Convention on Human Rights,“ said Petro during a speech last week, although he did not mention Peru's police. However, his statements came after images of thousands of police marching in downtown Lima were released.

Peru's Foreign Ministry had sent a note of protest to the Colombian ambassador last month after Petro's statements after the PNP stormed the University of San Marcos to displace a large group of demonstrators who had seized the campus.

Tuesday's document expresses its rejection of Gustavo Petro's ”unacceptable“ statements that ”constitute an offense to our National Police of Peru, to the Republic of Peru and, by trivializing the Holocaust, also constitutes an offense to the entire Jewish people, many of whose members are Peruvian nationals.“

It also urges the Ministries of the Interior and Foreign Affairs to ”take the necessary steps to ensure that Mr. Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego, President of the Republic of Colombia, does not enter the national territory.”

The draft is now to be submitted to the plenum for final approval.