Peru coca farmers warn government By Dan Collyns BBC News, LimaThings have the potential to get real messy if Garcia doesn't follow through. Posted by Kyer at April 19, 2007 07:13 AM | TrackBackPeru's striking coca farmers have given the government a 24-hour ultimatum to negotiate with them, threatening to continue their roadblocks indefinitely.
Thousands of farmers are protesting against a toughening of the government's coca eradication drive.
President Alan Garcia has recently announced an open war against the production of cocaine, of which the coca leaf is the basic ingredient.
Peru is the second largest producer of cocaine, after Colombia.
"Coca or death" is the mantra of the striking protesters, as the stakes have been raised on all sides.