Lima, June 6 (teleSUR-RHC)-- Hundreds of intellectuals, led by U.S. linguist Noam Chomsky, have urged Peru’s President to end the multinational Tia Maria mining project in a letter released on Friday.

Writers, artists and academics expressed their “firm rejection of the declaration of the state of emergency” in the southern province of Islay where farmers have been fighting the Mexican-American Southern Copper Corporation since mining plans were announced in 2009.

Last month Peru declared a state of emergency in the area after protests escalated resulting in four deaths and 200 injured.

The intellectuals condemned the deaths and told President Ollanta Humala the repression of protesters is “unacceptable for a democratically-elected government." Among the 300 signatories of the letter are also Venezuelan Edgardo Lander, U.S. Peter Klaren, Bolivian Silvia Rivera, and Peruvians Anibal Quijano, Victor Delfin, Oscar Ugarteche, Julio Ortega and Francesca Denegri.

The signatories expressed they are "very concerned about the indiscriminate use of firearms" by the police and the "unconditional defense of the interests of a foreign private company at the expense of the security and interests of citizens."

The Peruvian government has sent in thousands of police and military to suppress protests, which activists fear will only lead to more deaths. Local communities have slammed the initiative as damaging to the availability of water and therefore limiting the production of rice, sugar cane, and paprika in the valley of Tambo River.