Peru: 28th anniversary of Putis massacre

 13 December marks the anniversary of one of the most notorious massacres in the Peruvian conflict, that of Putis.


The blog Genocidio Ayacucho has republished a comment piece by Nolberto Lamilla (who is, I believe, the former regional coordinator of the NGO Paz y Esperanza). It includes this reminder of the events of 1984 (my translation):

On the third day spent by the campesinos in Putis, the military and heads of the military base turned up at five in the morning, woke all the people and met them in the school yard to propose building a fish farm to alleviate the lack of food. They separated the women and children and ordered the men to start digging the pit.
At ten o'clock, when they had managed to dig a metre deep, the military surrounded the men and proceeded to shoot them point-blank. In the meantime, another group of soldiers raped the women and then murdered them. Finally, having killed both children and adults, they piled the bodies in the pit and covered them with earth and stones. The next day, the soldiers burned and buried the clothing and belongings, to leave no evidence of the slaughter.

Newspaper La Primera has published a number of photos of the area and the survivors, including the image of the cemetery at the top of this post. 

Meanwhile, La Republica reports that families of the victims were once again in Lima to call on the government for further aid. Aurelio Condoray Curo said that the reparation of 10,000 soles was risible and also noted that the area did not have adequate educational and medical facilities.


Reclaman al gobierno que inclusión social no llega a la población de Putis (La Republica)

Event in Ayacucho, Peru

The EPAF is holding a campaign in Putis, a name which long-term readers of the blog will remember (and others can click on the key word below to see related posts).

STOP OF HOPE
Opening for the development process in Putis

Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team- EPAF and non profit organization, Vecinos Peru, invite you to participate in our campaign “Paradero Esperanza” or (Stop of Hope). This campaign will begin on Sunday, August 8th in the Centro Poblado of Putis, Ayacucho. The mission of this campaign is to promote human development in the communities most affected by Peru’s internal conflict. It is intended to help break and overcome the victimization and stigmitization that has impacted those most affected. EPAF is aware of the potential that Putis has for growth and wants to strengthen this potential through sustainable development projects.

The first “Stop of Hope” will be in Putis. However, we aim to promote development projects in other communities also affected by the violence, and by doing so, will create a “route of hope” both containing visible and symbolic stops in each community where EPAF has done forensic work.

The “Stop for Hope” in Putis will open its doors on August 8th, with a symbolic ceremony that will begin with “El Pago a la Tierra” (or “Payment to the Earth”). This ceremony will pay homage to the earth in thanks for the discovery of the disappeared family members of Putis in 2008 and for the beginning of this new development stage. Later, the project will be ratified by the presence of local authorities, and finally the implementation of the first phase of the project through the establishment of a native potato seed bank. Native potatoes are highly desirable within both the national and international markets. The implementation of the native potato seed bank is extremely important in that it will improve the quality of the potatoes grown there which will increase their market value.

We hope that with your presence on Sunday, you may help us promote the circulation of this event and by doing so, also contribute to the recitizenship of the victims of Putis.

Sincerely,
Jesús Peña Romero
Proyectos Epaf
992229804
jesu_stereo@hotmail.com
pena@epafperu.org

Peru: Putis in graphic form

Although it's not new, I just stumbled across this comic strip of the Putis massacre via El otro tambor. It's taken from a book called Rupay: Historias Gráficas de la Violencia en el Perú. 1980 - 1984. I'm only pasting the first image here, but you can see the complete Putis section at the blog linked above. I had no idea that such a book had been published, and personally find it very effective.

Peru Event

Peru: Burial in Putis

The funerals in Putis have reached international attention.

No member of the Peruvian military has been prosecuted for the massacre.

Peru's Defence Minister, Rafael Rey, has said there's no way of getting the records.

But Peru's human rights ombudswoman, Beatriz Merino, has called this unacceptable and says the state has an obligation to see justice is done.

Peruvians bury mass grave victims (BBC)

"I lost nearly 15 relatives in the massacre," Putis Mayor Gerardo Fernandez told The Associated Press during an interview Thursday. "We have two feelings. On the one hand, we are in pain for the dead. But on the other, we're happy that we can finally bury them."

Families bury dead from military massacre in Peru (AP)

Peru News

Commemoration of 6 Years since the CVR Final Report

6 años después del Informe Final de la CVR en Yahoo! Vídeo

CVR en Ayacucho (PeruFotoLibre)

I don't know why I give him the attention, but Defense Minister Flores-Araoz is at it again, using the opportunity to lament the lack of progress made towards the CVR recommendations. And can you get what he claims is the cause of the problem? Yes, it's people being unfair to the poor armed forces again. If they would only recognise that these Peruvian heroes were saving the country from terrorism and deserve public adulation, reconciliation would follow immediately. Hm.
Flores-Araoz senala que informe de la CVR no la logrado la reconciliacion (El Comercio)

Putis



Huanta recibe 92 feretros de la matanza de Putis (El Comercio)

Commemorating the Disappeared

Recalaman restos de mas de 15 mil desaparecidos (La Republica)

Peru: Putis Witness Testimony

Spanish-language media and blogs have been turning their attention to Putis again in the past week as the devastated community prepares to bury its dead, finally. Now, English speaking readers have access to a heartbreakingly moving account of the horror of the massacre and its aftermath.

Aside from Bertha Fernandez's story, I was also struck by her mention of being reunited with her cousin through the National Victims' Registry - a perfect example of why this is an important service which deserves consistent, adequate funding.

It was 25 years ago but we can never forget what happened there. Sometimes I try to forget it but I can’t. I relive it in my dreams. We can never really live a normal life because the memory is always with us.

Almost all my family were killed. Only we three sisters survived – my younger siblings together with my parents all died. My uncles and aunts and their families were all killed, all of our family. Only we survived and here we still are, just three....

'Almost all my family were killed' (Guardian Weekly)

Peru News

On 29 August, 92 bodies of those who died at Putis will be buried. Only 28 of them have been definitively identified. This is an important symbolic step, but there is a long way to go in achieving reparations for the families of Putis and elsewhere.
An excellent post on the subject, in Spanish, here and further articles here.

Meanwhile, there is an exhibition from Arte por la Memoria in Ayacucho. Information and lots of photos here.

News Round-Up 12/08/2009

Colombia
Half Century of US Military Presence (IPS)

Guatemala
Survivors of Sexual Violence Speak Out (Latin America News Review)

Mexico
Legal Shield for Military Holding Strong (IPS)

Peru
Familiares de Putis piden justicia (CNDDHH)

Afectados por la violencia llegan a Lima para exigir Justicia y Reparacion (CNDDHH)

Shining Path Leader's Bodyguard Captured in Peru (Impunity Watch)

Uruguay
Shining light on US actions in Uruguay (Small State)

News Round-Up

And, in other news (yes, other things are happening in the world apart from Fujimori's sentence):

There are apparently more bodies in the Putis area which have not yet been exhumed. In addition, the major has complained that the community is still lacking basic facilities such as medical posts and schools.

Plus,

Manu Chao could have got into hot water after describing the actions of the Mexican state in Atenco as 'state terrorism'.

Chao was referring to the events of May 2006, particularly a demonstration by Atenco flower-sellers against a commercial development. Mexican police intervened, sparking riots. Over 200 people were injured, two killed and 27 women sexually assaulted in the ensuing conflict, according to Mexico's National Human Rights Committee.

The problem is,

Article 33 of the Mexican constitution states that "foreigners cannot in any manner interfere in internal political affairs" and the government carries "the executive power to force them to leave national territory".

However, he seems to have got away with it.

Peru: DNA identifies Putis victims

Investigators in Peru say they have for the first time successfully used DNA to identify victims of the country's civil conflict in the 1980s and 1990s.

The technique identified 23 victims, who were buried in Peru's largest mass grave in 1984.

The director of the Peruvian forensic anthropology team, Jose Pablo Baraybar, said they expected to identify several more victims in the next few weeks.

This is obviously good news in the midst of the pain connected to places like Putis: some families will get definite answers about their fate of their loved one. It's also a sign of the painstaking forensic work going on in remote areas of rural Peru.

DNA identifies Peruvian victims (BBC)

Information in Spanish can also be found at the blog Justicia para Putis.

Peru Events in London

For those in Britain, there are events taking place organised by the Peru Support Group in the next couple of weeks. "If I don't come back, look for me in Putis" is a photography exhibition by Domingo Garibaldi. It opens on Wednesday 18th February, when there will be a documentary screening and Q&A at Amnesty International's offices. Then on Friday 20th February Professor Jo-Marie Burt of George Mason University will be speaking about the Fujimori Trial at the Institute for the Study of the Americas. For more info or to register, contact the Peru Support Group at info AT perusupportgroup.org.uk.

Peru: Putis Update

I wrote several posts about the exhumations at Putis a while back (they can be seen here). Now I've found a new source for updates (in Spanish). Unfortunately, the latest report claims that the reparations work promised to the families of the victims hasn't even started.

Peru: Round-Up

Lots of notesworthy stuff being written about Peru this week:

At the start of the APEC summit in Lima, Otto reflects on South America's most charming capital city... ok, so that's not exactly how he puts it. He's right though. Lima has some good things going for it but it is an acquired taste, and if you want to see blue skies every now and then - well, I'd just give up and go to Quito instead. Also, a man has been apprehended with 36 grenades in his backpack...oh dear. Let's hope the Shining Path don't manage to make a grand entrance among all the international visitors.

Because, three police officers were killed in an ambush in Ayacucho on Sunday. The perpetrators are described as "narcoterrorists", which seems to be the new form of Sendero in many areas.

Fujimori on Trial comments on the proposed amnesty bill.

And Upside Down World reports on the exhumation work in Putis.

"Things have not changed…people feel that all they get from the state is repression," he said. "Putis is not one place. There are many Putis in Peru."

Peru: Putis

Upside Down World has an excellent article on Putis, with photos, which gives more details about the continuing process to identify the exhumed bodies:

Peru: Buried But Not Forgotten on International Day of the Disappeared

In addition, IPS reports on the continuing obstruction of the Peruvian military regarding the case. The army has refused to provide information about their personnel who were working in the area at the time of the massacre, has refused to apologise for the killings, and continues to insist that it 'saved' Peru from terrorism.

Military Wants to Keep Massacres Buried

Peru: Exhibition of Clothes in Putis

The authorities in Putis have displayed around 500 items of clothing in the local civic centre, in an attempt to identify some of the over 100 bodies recently exhumed from a mass grave there. Local people can go and attempt to recognise some of the garments their loved ones may have been wearing when they were shot by the armed forces 24 years ago.

Buscan a sus familiares desaparecidos a través de singular exposición de ropa (La Republica)

No Justice for Putis?

A moving piece by Beatrice Merino, Peru's Ombudswoman (Defensora del Pueblo)...

Imagine that one day you answer the military’s offer for protection from terrorist attacks. Imagine that because you were convinced that you were protected beside the military base, you headed back to your town to bring other campesinos, including your wife and children, along with you.

Imagine that after a few days tragedy strikes, that the military from whom you expected protection turned into criminals. The women are raped before being killed, the men are deceived into digging their own graves and 19 children under the age of seven are killed to make sure there will be no trace in the future. Can you imagine something like this? Well, this is how it happened...

Full translation in the Peruvian Times

And the original, No hay justicia para Putis? (La Republica)

Peru: Putis

Just a brief note that La Republica has assembled its articles on the exhumations at Putis into a special section.

Putis, 24 años despues.

Peru: Quick Link Time

I came across this blog by Ash Kosiewicz who has been working with the Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team on exhumations in Putis; although this has been widely covered by the international media, it's interesting to read the perspective of someone involved in the work.