INDIGENOUS anti-mining protesters were set to temporarily suspend their blockades for 12 hours today as a show of good faith to people affected by the demonstrations. 

Protesters have paralysed Panama’s key roadways for weeks to push home their demand that the Panamanian government annul a contract allowing the Canadian mining company First Quantum Minerals to continue operating an open-pit copper mine in a richly biodiverse jungle.

The protesters say they are prepared to open the roads from 6am to 6pm on Monday in northern Panama, to allow people to access fuel and food, said Juan de Dios Camano, secretary general of the Association of Chiricano Educators.

“The war isn’t the people against the people. The war is against these criminals we have in the government,” he said in a video posted to the group’s Instagram account.

He said that the protest would resume in full force after the 12-hour suspension.

The protests erupted late last month over the contract allowing the mine to keep operating for the next 20 years, with the possibility of the company extending it for a further 20 years.

Last week two demonstrators were killed by a man wielding a pistol attempting to pass through a barricade. 

Police said they arrested one suspect in the incident, but did not identify him.