Angry demonstrators free police hostages in Peru

AREQUIPA, Peru, July 14 (Reuters) Nine police officers were released night after being held by angry protesters for six hours in southern Peru, a police chief said.

Protesters voluntarily freed the officers yesterday night after local authorities in the Arequipa region agreed to talk with their leaders, who demand the government of President Alan Garcia invest in social projects to bring prosperity to the area.

Arequipa's police chief Hernan Tamayo told Reuters the hostages were freed after being held for six hours, adding that two officers were injured after being beaten up and pelted with stones.

''The protesters surrounded a group of nine police that were lifting a road blockage on the Arequipa-Puno road, and took them hostage,'' a police officer who asked not to be named told Reuters earlier yesterday.

According to the police, some 1,000 protesters had blocked the highway, some 690 miles (1,100 km) south of the capital Lima, to demand the government invest in the region and express support for a public teachers strike that started this week.

Meanwhile, hundreds of public teachers took to the streets of Lima yesterday to demand the government withdraw an education reform plan, which they say will leave hundreds of teachers unemployed.

Farmers, builders and people from impoverished regions have staged sometimes-violent protests this week to demand the center-left Garcia government invest more in social projects and improve working conditions.

Garcia took office for a second time a year ago, pledging to claw Peru away from a ''social catastrophe'' by creating jobs and ending growing inequality.

His first term in power ended in 1990 amid economic turmoil and widespread protests.

Reuters GT GC0916