User:Melanie Abbott

The Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established after the government of president Alberto Fujimori collapsed in November 2000. This led to the examination of abuses committed during the 1980s and 1990s, when Peru was plagued by the worst political violence in the history of the republic. The commission's mandate was to investigate human rights abuses and violations of humanitarian law, attributable to state or to “terrorist organizations” between May 1980 and November 2000. Many sectors of civil society were appointed as members by the Commission. The TRC included twelve Peruvian commissioners, chaired by Salomón Lerner Febres. With authorization from the Council of Ministers, the President appointed the members of the commission. Five regional offices were opened to carry out its work. The commission had 24 months to undertake its work and was formally concluded in August 2003, when it presented its final report to President Alejandro Toledo. The commission outlined the need for reparations, especially to the majority of the victims. National reconciliation, acknowledgment and acceptance of Peru’s multiethnic and multilingual composition was also called for. Prosecutions and Institutional reforms were also encourage, but not required .

History

The Shining Path

From 1980 to 2000 Peru experienced armed conflict between the government and armed subversive groups. On May 17, 1980 the Shining Path (PCP-SL), a Communist Party of Peru formed in the early 1960s, launched an armed revolt against the Peruvian Government by burning ballot boxes in the mountainous region of Ayacucho. This did not affect the immediate election, however the next twenty years in Peru was defined by armed conflict amongst the government and other armed insurgent groups <ref[6]</ref>.

This 20 year internal conflict was largely recognized due to the extrajudicial killings, disappearances, torture, and other violations of basic human rights. This resulted in a toll of 69,280 deaths and disappearances. The PCP-SL was deemed responsible for 54% of the killings and disappearances, while the state was deemed responsible for 37% of them according to the several studies done that reconstruct what happened in Peru during this period. Racism deep-seated the violence where Peru’s poor rural, Andean, and Jungle towns were the ones principally affected by this tragedy. Of those affected 75% lived in the poorest rural areas of Peru and spoke an indigenous language as their mother tongue, 40% were from the Ayacucho region and 12% were authorities of the state. The lack of government authority in the mountainous region along with widespread poverty made this Ayacucho region a hot spot for anti-government activity.

From 1983-1985 extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances and sexual violence against women were widely reported. The number of fatalities was at its highest between 1983 and 1984 due to serious ethnic divisions in Peru. In 1989 a new counter-subversive strategy was instituted by the armed forces. The main objective was no longer territorial control, but distinguishing between enemy, neutral, and friendly populations. This improved the relationship between the armed forces and the rural residents, but produced decisive results against the Shining Path. More deliberate and planned human rights violations occurred, making Peru the world leader in disappearance of people. Some rural communities formed self-defence committees to respond to PCP-SL aggression. In some cases these committees were documented to have carried out judicial killings and other human rights abuses.

The Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement

In 1984 A second rebellion group, the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement began its fight against the government. During the presidential elections of 1990, Peruvian voters stated their lack of confidence in political organizations by electing Alberto Fujimori during a time of economic crisis and rebellion expansion. Fujimori continued the armed force strategy with the help of Montesinos.

Anti-Terrorism Laws

In 1992 Fujimori put anti-terrorism laws into place. These laws greatly expanded the definition of terrorism and treason alongside of establishing a system that protected prosecutors and judges by placing them in “faceless” courts and in secret military tribunals. The capture of PCP-SL leader Guzman in 1992 led to a significant reduction in political violence and state-sponsored executions and disappearances.

In the 2000 elections, Fujimori made a dubious run for a third term, where short after a corruption scandal blew up causing him to flee for Japan. President Paniagua was then appointed president. His transitional government worked to restore democracy and in June 2001 he oversaw the election of President Alejandro Toledo.

Creation and Mandate

In July 2001 President Paniagua issued a decree establishing a truth commission. The commission's mandate was to investigate human rights abuses and violations of humanitarian law attributable to the state or to terrorist organizations from May 1980- November 2000. The conditions that gave rise to violence and contributed to judicial investigations were to be determined along with draft proposals, reforms and violations of the collective rights of the natives and Andean communities. There was a collaborative arrangement with the International Committee of the Red Cross, the human rights ombudsman’s office and the human rights coordinating committee of NGOs.

The first report was submitted to President Paniagua with full media coverage in a nine volume report. The truth commission was compromised of twelve Peruvian commissioners, chaired by Salomon Lerner Febres. With the approval of the Council of Ministries, the President appointed the members of the commission. .

The commission outlined the need for reparations, especially to the majority of the victims who were indigenous peasants. National reconciliation, acknowledgment and acceptance of Peru’s multiethnic and multilingual composition was also called for. Prosecutions and Institutional reforms were also encourage, but not required . .

This was the first Latin American Truth Commission to hold public hearings throughout the entire country. The TRC was the most powerful in Lima, the country’s capital, which was the least affected and saw less violence . .

The commission had two years to undertake its work, and on August 28th, 2003 a report was released to members of the government and President Alejandro Toledo.

President Toledo publicly apologized on behalf of the state to those who have suffered in November 2003. The Shining Path's leader and deputy were sentenced to life in prison by a civil anti-terrorism court. Arrest warrants were issued against military officials that were in connection with the executions or disappearances of more than 50 people at a military base.

Impacts

It has been over ten years since the truth and reconciliation commission presented its final report. In response to the massive damages left due to the internal armed conflict, the TRC designed the Program of Integral Reparations (PIR) as a way to reaffirm the dignity and status of the victims. This program offers hope for the future despite the loss of loved ones or the interruption of life projects. To date The PIR is one of the most comprehensive truth commission reparation programs. Its definition of victims and beneficiaries is also one of the most inclusive. Symbolic reparations, reparations in the form of services like health and education, restitution of citizen rights, individualized economic reparations, and collective, community-wide reparations are all included. The PIR presents the ethical, political, psychological, and juridical justifications for its proposals, linking reparations to the prevention of violence and the promotion of national reconciliation. It clarifies that the implementation of PIR should include the participation of victims, taking into special consideration issues related to culture and gender, noting that this inclusive process has its own potential symbolic and psychological benefits.

Commissioners

• Dr. Salomón Lerner Febres: Philosophy doctor and president of Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. (Chairman).
• Dr. Beatriz Alva Hart: lawyer, former member of the Congress of Peru.
• Dr. Rolando Ames Cobián: sociologist, political researcher and analyst.
• Monsignor José Antúnez de Mayolo: La Salle priest, ex apostolic administrator of the Ayacucho Archdiocese.
• Retired Air Force Lieutenant General Luis Arias Grazziani: An expert in national security issues.
• Dr. Enrique Bernales Ballesteros: Doctor at Law, constitutional authority, Executive Director of the Andean Jurists Commission.
• Dr. Carlos Iván Degregori Caso: anthropologist, professor at Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, member of the Instituto de Estudios Peruanos[2] (Peruvian Studies Institute).
• Father Gastón Garatea Yori: Sacred Hearts priest and president of the Consensus Building Table for Poverty Fighting.
• Minister Humberto Lay Sun: architect, leader of the Assemblies of God, evangelical denomination of the Evangelic National Concilium, CONEP.
• Ms. Sofía Macher Batanero: sociologist, former Executive Secretary of the Human Rights National Coordinator.
• Engineer Alberto Morote Sánchez: former President of Universidad San Cristóbal de Huamanga.
• Engineer Carlos Tapia García: Political researcher and analyst