Peru: Two Soldiers Injured by Sendero

Two members of the military have been shot in an altercation with Shining Path in the VRAE, Junin province. The men have been named as Rusbel Andrade Mozombite and Juan Daniel Tapullima Salas.

Dos militares heridos en presunto ataque de Sendero Luminoso (La Republica)
Dos soldados heridos deja ataque narcoterrorista en el VRAE (El Comercio)

Argentina: Major Trials Open in Santa Fe & Rosario

Three major cases of crimes against humanity are starting trial in Argentina this week.

In Rosario, the cases refer to the detention centres "Quinta de Funes" and "Fábrica de armas"*. For the purposes of the trial, 22 victims are identified from the former and seven from the latter. Proceedings started today. Three army officials and two civil intelligence officers are in the dock, among them retired colonel Pascual Guerriri - already serving a stretch of house imprisonment for other crimes - and Eduardo Constanzo, who in recent years has given information about dictatorship-era activities.

Tomorrow, the trial opens in Santa Fe in the "Brusa" case - so called because of the involvement of former Santa Fe governor Victor Brusa.

Sentences are due by the end of the year.

Llego la luz a la noche mas oscura (Critica Digital)
Comenzo el primer juicio a represores en Rosario (Pagina/12)
Proceso a la patota de Galtieri (Pagina/12)

*Also known as "Fábrica militar de armas" and "Fábrica militar de armas portátiles Domingo Matheu".

International Day of the Disappeared

Casting our net a little wider than Latin America today on the occasion of the International Day of the Disappeared:

Speak up for the 'disappeared' (Guardian)

Vanished by the state (Amnesty UK, Protect the Human blog)

Disappeared journalists: Mexico and Sri Lanka: the countries worst-hit by disappearances since 2000 (RSF)

Somalia: Miana's story: freed after 11 years captivity (Red Cross blog)

Desaparecidos

Colombia: Families of 'False Positives' Remember

Colombian magazine Semana has a striking photo gallery of demonstrations by the families of 'false positive' victims - innocent civilians killed by the military and dressed up to look like guerrillas. Some of the aspects of this commemorative act are very familiar to those who follow news of the disppeared, such as the placards with images of the victims, while others are rather more unusual.


Memoria de la ausencia (Semana)

Quick Link: Daniel Hernández-Salazar

An excellent post from (Notes on) Politics, Theory & Photography on the work of Daniel Hernández-Salazar and the use of his image Para que Todos lo sepan.

The Uses of Photography - Daniel Hernández-Salazar

News Round-Up 30/08/2009

Argentina
The Unfinished Story of the "Disappeared" (IPS)

Colombia
Justice for Indigenous Leader's Murder - 21 Years On (IPS)

Guatemala/Spain/Latin America
Spain Steps Down: Universal Jurisdiction and the Guatemalan Genocide Cases (Dirty Wars and Democracy)

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)