Police throughout the nation worked to clear stretches of roadway locked by scattered boulders and burning tires since Monday by striking teachers and farmers.

The farmers are seeking protection from imports and lower sales taxes on certain crops, while the other protesters are demanding higher wages.

"We just want justice," said Luis Caceres, a leader of the government health workers.

Interior Minister Alberto Sanabria threatened to declare a state of emergency to clear the highways.

Sanabria told reporters that parts of 35 highways had been blocked and that 15 arrests had been made, mostly near the town of Huarmey, 155 miles northwest of Lima on the Pan-American Highway.

"We have to put order in each of these places," Sanabria said.

Law enforcement could get complicated, however, if retired police join the protests.

"The pay is miserable. I don't know how police can live on this amount," retired police Col. Dino Baca told reporters, noting that police earn about US$200 a month.

President Alejandro Toledo has faced a stream of protests in recent months, including coca farmers seeking an end to government efforts to eradicate their cocaine-producing crop and transportation companies pushing for minimum cargo and passenger rates.

An Interior Ministry intelligence report quoted in La Republica newspaper's Sunday magazine said that in the coming two weeks some 30 protests, marches, strikes and roadblocks have been planned by various groups in major cities across Peru.

Of the current group of protesters, the teachers have been at it the longest, opening their strike on May 12 in their demand for higher pay.

Teachers currently earn about US$190 a month. The government has offered to raise their salaries by about US$30 a month, but the teachers have said it is not enough.

(China Daily May 28, 2003)