During a recent march in Lima against the Conga mining project, the monument to the liberator Jose de San Marin, in the plaza bearing the same name in the historic city center, was defaced with slogans against the government and the mining project. The march had been called for [es] by the CGTP (General Confederation of Peruvian Workers) to demand dialogue and resolution of the conflict from the Executive Branch, as well as demanding sanctions against those in the government responsible for the deaths that occurred during the protests. The march was carried out simultaneously in Lima and the cities of Arequipa [es], Piura [es], Cusco [es] and Puno [es], among other locations. Soon the graffiti was described as “vandalism” [es] for undermining the nation's cultural heritage and sanctions [es] against the offenders were called for. In addition it was reported [es] that a “bottle, which could have been used as a Molotov cocktail” was found during the confrontations [es] between the protestors and the police. Since the events were broadcast live on a local cable channel, a daily newspaper later disseminated [es] the faces of the young people responsible for the grafitti, and by the end of the day, 5 protesters were arrested. [es] This video, uploaded by YouTube user periodismope matches the transmission aired by the cable channel Canal N Lima during the act of graffiting: [Translator's note: all Twitter references are in Spanish] On Twitter, Javier Fernández (@javi270270) noted: @javi270270: Ahora la gran marcha de la Plaza San Martin será reducida por medios a pintas del Monumento a San Martin…… Meanwhile, for Miguel Prialé Ugás (@miguelpriale) what happened was nonsensical: @miguelpriale: Q necesidad de hacer esto? Manifestantes hicieron pintas al monumento de San Martín en el centro de Lima Carlos Aguilar (@carlitosilich1) contrasted the reactions to the two occurrences: @carlitosilich1: Piden sanciones para los que hacen pintas en Plaza San Martin, y para los que matan campesinos en Cajamarca y Espinar piden condecoraciones. The next day, some council members from the Municipality of Lima, along with CGTP leaders, participated in the clean up of the monument. In the meantime, the young detainees were released [es] after being questioned [es] by the National Police, who noted [es] that that the real perpetrators of the graffiti had not been detained. It was also reported that the confrontations in the Plaza San Martin occurred when a group of protesters spurned [es] the presence of members of Movadef (supporters of terrorist leader Abimael Guzmán) at the protest. Human rights activist Rocío Silva Santisteban (@pavese) even tweeted that the graffiti in question had been done by Movadef people: @pavese: Infiltrados de Movadef pintan monumento, policia los intenta sacar. Later in her column [es] in a local daily she doesn't stick to that version of events, but she does talk, from her point of view as a witness at the scene, about the confrontations between the young protesters and the members of Movadef: “An outbreak of fighting came towards the monument: it was Movadef people arguing with a group of people. They were thrown out by these young people, but the police immediately came running and everything was chaotic.” But not everyone agreed with this version. Sociologist Teresa Cabrera disagrees and explains in a note [es] on her Facebook page: Me interesa señalar que el affaire con MOVADEF se resolvió sin un solo policía, como tiene que ser. Corresponde a los militantes de izquierda y activistas de DDHH marcar su distancia –o no- con organizaciones de prédica pro violencia o pro amnistía. Para hacer eso, no necesitamos a la policía, ni a inteligencia, ni a los soplones. Ni, por cierto, a las ONG’s. Es claro que ni a la fuerza pública ni al periodismo hegemónico le interesa que se haga visible esta distinción. Todo lo contrario. The YouTube video channel the Biblioteca Marquense [es] shows the young protesters chanting slogans against the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) presence: “Get out Sendero”, “Here, there, the fear is over”, “Gonzalo and Montesinos, the same murderers”, “Lucanamarca–never forgets”, “Murderers”, “Get out Sendero, this isn't your fight” and others. In spite of this exchange of views about something more important than the graffiti itself, the media attention, and even the blogosphere, was more focused on the graffiti and the young people who did it. For example, in a blog post [es] by Crónicas del Poto there's no shortage of epithets about the youngsters involved in the graffiti and towards the left in general.