LIMA – State-owned oil company Petroperu said Sunday protests organized by Indians in Peru’s Amazon region were causing fuel shortages in several jungle cities.

Protests by Indians in the Imaza, Cenepa, Santiago and Condorcanqui districts, as well as in Datem del Marañon province, paralyzed operations at the Norperuano pipeline, which runs from the Loreto region to the Paccific coast, Petroperu said.

The state-owned oil company’s stations 5 and 6 in Loreto have been occupied by Indians since April 23, preventing the transfer of crude to the Bayovar terminal in the Piura region.

“This situation has been generating significant economic losses for our company and the country,” Petroperu said.

The protests were sparked by the government’s refusal to give Indians decision-making power over the granting of licenses to explore and produce oil and natural gas, with the argument that the subsoil belongs to the state and to all Peruvians.

The Aidesep Indian rights organization’s president, Alberto Pizango, called earlier this month for an uprising after an earlier round of talks with the government broke down, but the group later withdrew the threat.

Pizango told RPP radio Thursday that his group would resume negotiations with the government to resolve the dispute over control of land and resources.

“We’re going to (enter into) dialogue,” Pizango said.

A day earlier, the Peruvian government had issued a decree establishing a site for negotiations.

Aidesep representatives, however, did not take part in the first session, much to the displeasure of Cabinet chief Yehude Simon.

Pizango said his organization still must appoint its representatives to the talks, after which time those individuals will have to travel from the Amazon region to Lima.

Authorities have filed criminal complaints against Pizango and other Indian leaders on rebellion charges.

A general strike organized in Yurimaguas, a city in Loreto, forced the closing of the sales outlet in the area, leaving residents without access to fuel, Petroperu said.

The distribution terminal and airport in Tarapoto, a city in the San Martin region, are without fuel because tanker trucks cannot be sent from Yurimaguas, the oil company said.

“This situation could even affect electricity generation in the city (of Tarapoto) because fuel for the power plant in Tarapoto is supplied from Yurimaguas,” Petroperu said.

The company called on Indians to engage in a dialogue to end the protests.