NGOs demand justice for Peru massacre victims

The Peru Europe Platform (PEP) issued a declaration on Friday in commemoration of the 24th anniversary of the Putis massacre, calling for the full implementation of recommendations made by Peru’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) on behalf of tens of thousands of victims of violence from the 1980s until 2000.

The declaration highlights the fact that victims are still waiting for official recognition that their most basic human rights were violated.

While recognising some progress, particularly in the area of reparations, the declaration criticises moves within the Peruvian government to pass legislation which would create an amnesty or pardoning process for government security forces convicted of human rights violations.

Also criticised is the continued stonewalling from the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of the Interior over their refusal to hand over any documentation to help identify military and other security personnel implicated in human rights atrocities, including in the Putis massacre.

In addition, the declaration expresses deep concern for the safety of human rights defenders in Peru amid a growing climate of hostility, particularly from high profile government officials.

The declaration was issued by the PEP, a coalition of European NGOs, in anticipation of the 24th anniversary on Saturday of the brutal massacre in Putis, Ayacucho, when 123 men, women and children were gunned down by members of the Peruvian military and buried in mass graves, according to the TRC.

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the conclusion and publication of the TRC’s final report.

CSW’s Advocacy Director, Alexa Papadouris, said: “As we remember the horrific massacre which took place 24 years ago in Putis, it is shocking that almost a quarter of a century later no one has been held to account for the deaths of those men, women and children.

"When put in the wider context of the conflict and the staggering number of victims who continue to seek justice, the intransigence of the government, which claims to serve the people, is truly deplorable.

"We repeat our call to the international community to impress upon the Peruvian government the vital importance of national reconciliation and the key role that justice must play in that process.”