Peru: Flores Wants Soldiers' Exhibition

I didn't need any more evidence that Peruvian Defense Minister Ántero Flores Aráoz is a staunch opponent of human rights. But then I noticed this:

Just over a week after Peru’s government came under fire for rejecting a $2 million donation to build a memorial museum, Defense Minister Ántero Flores Aráoz said that the Armed Forces will put together a photo exhibit to honor the memory of soldiers who died during Peru’s bloody 1980-2000 internal war.

I got the idea for this project after visiting the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s photo exhibit, said Flores, “and I felt that it had to be complemented by (the expression of) what our Armed Forces suffered.”

Oh, really? Was he actually paying attention when he visited Yuyanapaq? Because the exhibition shows victims of Shining Path AND of the armed forces. The widows of murdered policemen feature too. It's not a witchhunt against the security forces, but merely reflects the fact that they did commit almost half the killings of the conflict.

Another reason his suggestion is strange: two minutes ago he was arguing against the Museum of Memory because Peru couldn't be bothering with fancy cultural stuff while it still had poverty to deal with. How would that not apply to his idea too?

Peru Defense Minister to put together photo exhibit to honor memory of fallen soldiers during civil war (Peruvian Times)