Urbes Mutantes: Latin American Photography 1944-2013

A new exhibition at the International Center of Photography in New York surveys photographic movements in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela.

One of the images shows the word "Evaporados" - evaporated - pasted in huge letters on an expressway wall in Lima, Peru. As the Lens blog writes, the artist Eduardo Villanes put them there in 1995, to protest the abduction and murder of nine university students and a professor by a military death squad (this is referring to the La Cantuta case), as well as the subsequent amnesty granted to the killers by Alberto Fujimori.

The exhibition, curated by Alexis Fabry and María Wills, runs until 7 September 2014.


Tales of Many Cities (The Wall Street Journal)
Latin America’s Mutating Cities, in Photographs (Lens blog, NY Times)

Peru: Montesinos & co. have sentences reduced; "not crimes against humanity"

In a ruling which will dismay human rights activists in the country and beyond, the Peruvian supreme court has cut the sentences of Vladimiro Montesinos and other key perpetrators of state terrorism. The decision affects the so-called "Grupo Colina" responsible for the massacres of La Cantuta and Barrios Altos.

Montesinos and the former generals Nicolás Hermoza Ríos, Julio Salazar and Juan Rivero had their sentences reduced from 25 to 20 years, death squad heads Santiago Martin Rivas and Carlos Pichilingue had theirs cut from 25 to 22 years and other members of the group had their jail terms cut from 20 to 17 years.

One reason given for the reduction was the excessive delays in the trials .

Moreover, the court ruled that the crimes of the Colina group "were against human rights, but were not crimes against humanity". It judged that the group was targeting "terrorists" and not the civilian population as a whole.

Rebajan pena a miembros del grupo Colina (Peru 21)
Poder Judicial disminuyó de 25 a 20 años condena al grupo Colina (El Comercio)
¿Por qué la Corte Suprema rebajó las condenas de Montesinos y el grupo Colina? (El Comercio)
Sala Suprema abre las puertas de la impunidad al grupo Colina (La Republica)

Peru court cuts sentence of top Fujimori aide (AFP)

In my view, the ruling is unfortunate for several reasons:
- It sends a message that the human rights abuses were not as serious as previously thought.
- It also seems to be reverting to a war/two equal enemies theory which positions the killing of civilians as "collateral damage" or crimes by a few "bad apples" among the military. This ignores the entrenched racism in Peruvian society and institutions which contributed to the extreme violence suffered by the indigenous population during the conflict.
- It may raise questions about the sentence of former president Alberto Fujimori himself, as he was convicted of crimes against humanity and the court has now cast doubt on whether there was such a thing. Supreme court judge Javier Villa Stein merely said that the case of Fujimori would have to be looked at separately.
- Finally, there are possible repercussions for other trials involving Colina group members which are still pending.

Peru: Humain Remains Found at La Cantuta

There have been fresh reports of discoveries of possible victims of Peru's internal conflict recently. At the weekend, workmen at the university of La Cantuta discovered human remains when digging on a building site. There are said to be at least eight bodies. Of course, the very name of "La Cantuta" is emblematic of memory issues in Peru, as one of the most notorious crimes of the conflict was the murder of nine students and a professor from the university by the paramilitary group Colina. Their remains were found at Cieneguilla.

Another body, this time of a middle-aged woman, was found some days ago at the beach known as La Tiza which is known to have been a training ground of the Grupo Colina.

Frecuencia Latina is reporting that the university authorities have so far not commented officially on the latest discovery, but that they will have the final word on determining the age of the remains and what to do with them. I don't honestly understand why this isn't a matter for the police to decide, but perhaps this will be cleared up soon.

Restos óseos encontrados en La Cantuta reviven el fantasma del Grupo Colina (El Comercio)

Hallan restos humanos en Universidad La Cantuta (Frecuencia Latina)

Peru Round-up

1)
U.S. State Department offers reward for Shining Path leaders (Peruvian Times)
US offers up to $5 million for Peru's "Artemio" and "Jose" (Living in Peru)
Here are the official wanted pages for Artemio (real name Florindo Eleuterio Flores Hala) and Jose (real name Victor Quispe Palomino).

2)
Guilt, repentance and innocence: Lori Berenson and her baby might be going back to prison (Peruvian Times)
The English-language media has largely moved on, but legal wranglings over Berenson's future continue.

3)
Tejen Chalina de la Solidaridad por las Victimas de la Violencia (CNDDHH)
"Ellas tejen para no olvidar a sus seres queridos" (La Republica, via APRODEH)

A group of indigenous women has been knitting a giant scarf as a visual symbol of their struggle for justice and memory of their relatives, who were lost in the political violence. I find the combination of the homely act of knitting with human rights activism quite striking, and somewhat analogous to the mothers of the Plaza de Mayo in Argentina, who have also spoken of their leaving the private space of the home to struggle in public.

4)
Finally, from Jo-Marie Burt,
Reflexiones, a 18 años de La Cantuta (Noticias Ser)

Peru: Fujimori's Sentence Upheld

Peru's Supreme Court has unanimously upheld the 25-year prison sentence awarded to former president Alberto Fujimori for his responsibility in the massacres of Barrios Altos and La Cantuta - good news.

Fujimori 25-year sentence upheld by Peru Supreme Court (BBC)
Corte Suprema ratifica historica sentencia de 25 años de prision a Fujimori por crimenes de lesa humanidad (CNDDHH)
Tribunal confirmo la condena por unanimidad (La Republica)

Peru: Two Anniversaries

(Image from CNDDHH)

This is a significant week for memory politics in Peru, marking the anniversaries of two of the emblematic events of the conflict; the Tarata bombing and the Cantuta massacre.

Consejo de Reparaciones entrega certificado de victima a sobreviviente de atentado en Tarata (CNDDHH)

Peru News

Here we go again with the next Fujimori trial! Fujimori on Trial will be doing its usual excellent work covering it; this one won't be such a marathon.

Fujimori's New Trial Started Today (Living in Peru)

Fujimori Admits Illegal Payment to Spy Chief (IPS)

Photos of the VRAE:

'Rivers of coca' by Moises Saman

Amnesty International representatives are visiting Bagua this week:

Amnistia Internacional llegara a Bagua (CNDDHH)

This week marks 17 years since the notorious La Cantuta massacre, and commemorative activites will be taking place.

La Cantuta: recuerdos y lecciones (CNDDHH)

News Round-Up

From Fujimori on Trial, a quick visual overview of the twists and turns of the case - invaluable if you haven't got the time or inclination to read through hundreds of pages of documents.

Rifle Used to Kill Chile's Victor Jara Turns Up (Latin American Herald Tribune)
Interesting - but can anyone tell me how they know that it is exactly THE rifle? According to this article, it "was standard issue for the Chilean army at the time of the putsch" and "ballistics tests enabled authorities to determine what kind of weapon fired the bullets". What kind of weapon? Or which one exactly? CSI fans want to know.

10,000 Victims of Colombia's Violence to Receive Compensation Payments (Impunity Watch)

Peru Supreme Court Ratifies Guilty Verdict Against Former Chief of National Intelligence Service for La Cantuta Massacre (Peruvian Times)
Peruvian Times headlines never leave anything to add.

Peru: FUJIMORI GUILTY

You'll have heard it already: Fujimori has been found guilty and sentenced to 25 years. Guilty of the Barrios Altos massacre, guilty of the heinous crimes at La Cantuta.

A former head of state brought to justice in his own country for severe human rights abuses is, as the Amnesty International spokesperson commented with a certain understatement, "something you don't see every day". It was a long trial, and there is already talk of an appeal; nevertheless, it's an important day for Peru and a crucial blow to impunity. International observers have described the trial as exemplary in its fairness and attention to due process, so let there be no talk of a kangaroo court. I'm not surprised at the verdict, but I am deeply satisfied.

A few small points: La Republica reports that in Ayacucho, relatives of the disappeared celebrated and cried with happiness upon hearing the verdict. They also note that if he should serve his full sentence, taking into account the time he has spent on remand, he should be released on 10 February 2032. He would be 93.

Fujimori gets lengthy jail term (BBC)

All the mainstream news sources are running stories on this. Spanish speakers could also follow the blog of the Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos, as well as the Peruvian press.

Peru: Assessing the Year

Susana Villaran has a good review of the year in Peru on her blog. Spanish speakers can read the whole thing here.

Here is my translation of her 'human rights' section, with some relevant links to my posts added:

- A year of the trial of Alberto Fujimori Fujimori for the crimes of Barrios Altos, La Cantuta and the abductions of the businessman Dyer and the journalist Gorriti
- A year in which the President and the Vice President, the Peruvian Agency of International Cooperation and Congress persecuted human rights activists and human rights organisations.
- A year in which Military Jurisdiction continued not to recognise the verdicts of the Constitutional Court and the President named military judges in an unconstitutional manner.
- A year in which the Constitutional Court did not recognise the verdict of the Interamerican Court of Human Rights in the case of El Fronton.
- A year in which the plans for reparations to the victims of political violence made some progress in some regions and in the National Register of Victims, but without financial backing and enough political will.
- Another year with the National Plan for Human Rights forgotten.

It's not really a particularly bright picture for the last post of the year is it? Again, the full post is available here, in Spanish.

Peru: Fujimori Trial Update

Fujimori on Trial presents two more important contextual pieces about the background to the case.

Chronology of the military court's criminal trial for the Cantuta Case

Public Prosecutor presents Cantuta and Amnesty laws as evidence

Peru: Military Justice and Impunity

The prosecutor in the Fujimori trial has asserted that the military justice system contributed to the impunity surrounding the Cantuta massacre in Peru in the 1990s. The military justice system and the national intelligence service (SIN) formed a "strategy of impunity" which served to protect the intellectual authors of the crime, Vladimiro Montesinos and army leader Nicolás de Bari Hermoza Ríos.

Fiscal: Justicia militar contribuyó a la impunidad de responsables de matanzas (La Republica)

Peru: Cantuta Exhibition

Micromuseo ("al fondo hay sitio")* has an exhibition about La Cantuta starting today; something to check out for those in Lima.

*Non-Spanish speaker and curious about the name? A "micro" is the name of the minibuses which are used for a lot of public transport in Peru. "Al fondo hay sitio" means "there's room at the back!" and is what the bus conductors will yell at you when you look dubious that you can possibly squeeze into their already-overloaded vehicle.