Peru: Germany Happy with Museum of Memory

The German ambassador in Peru, Christoph Müller, said that his country, which is financing the museum of memory, welcomes the consensus which is developing to make the project a reality.

He emphasised the results of the recent meeting between Commander General of the Army, Otto Guibovich, and author Mario Vargas Llosa, who is heading the project. He was also pleased by the appointment between the Defense Minister Rafael Rey and Vargas Llosa. "I'm thrilled that a consensus is finally being formed within Peruvian society with regard to the museum of memory. This consensus seems to be going in the right direction," noted Müller.

"We are happy about the move towards a consensus because obviously, we were aware of the previous controversy. It's clear that to overcome such a sensitive topic there's a need for a basic consensus from all the sectors of society involved to achieve reconciliation," added the diplomat, who then said that the German government had not been involved in the initial concepts for the site; however, he remarked that "as observers we are delighted that a shared concept for the museum is now being discussed."

(Alemania contenta con Museo de la Memoria, La Primera, 15/02/2010, trans mine)