Archive for the ‘Political Violence’ Category
Ollanta Humala and Human Rights Abuses in Madre Mía
A member of the armed forces, who served in Huallaga at the same time as Ollanta Humala, has gave a statement to local authorities investigating Humala in Tingo María that would implicate the presidential candidate with extra judiciary executions.
Isaac Humala and the Communiqué Requesting a Fair Sentence for Victor Polay
A communiqué asking for a fair sentence for Victor Polay and signed by several political personalities, presidential candidates, intellectuals and artists was made public on Friday, March 17th. Following this statement, Isaac Humala, father of Ollanta and Ulises, said to local media that if he were president, he would pardon Victor Polay and Abimael Guzman. Ollanta and Ulises Humala have put distance between themselves and the statement made by their father to the media. Leading presidential candidates, including Ollanta Humala, have expressed strong opposition to such a proposal. Local headlines and front pages displayed pictures of Isaac Humala and gave minor exposure to the communiqué whiel adversaries of the Humalas took the opportunity to attack the Humalas and their ideas. Santiago Pedraglio considers Isaac Humala’ statements will not have an impact on Ollanta Humala’s campaign.
Alberto Fujimori Denies Knowledge of Massacre in Barrios Altos
Alberto Fujimori declared to a Chilean judge that he learned about the massacre in Barrios Altos by listening to the radio. Fujimori claims he had no knowledge of it and insisted he is innocent of all charges.
Military Justice in the Election
Here is an interesting interview with Gral. Juan Pablo Ramos touching on issues such as the relationship between military justice and human right abuses. Vicealmirante ap. Luis A. Giampietri Rojas, vicepresidential candidate for APRA, makes the case for faceless judges in his column in La Primera.
Searching for Where the Bodies are Buried
Forensic excavations have begun in Madre Mia in search of evidence of possible victims of “Captain Carlos.” Ollanta Humala has acknowledged that he was a “Captain Carlos” and that he commanded the military base in Madre Mia but has denied violating human rights.
Meanwhile, Antauro Humala has declared his support for his brother’s campaign. Speaking through his lawyer on the television program La Ventana Indiscreta, he claimed that he has never been estranged from his brother. Antauro is running for congress from behind bars, where he is on trial for his role in an assault on a police station in Andahuaylas last year. Together with his another brother, Ulises Humala, he founded the party Avanza País.
Ulises Humala says Antauro is free to support Ollanta Humala, and says that Antauro is probably motivated by pragmatism, illness, and imprisonment. We can read between the lines here: Antauro is hoping for a pardon from his brother if elected.
A Forgotten Issue in this Election: Drugtrafficking
Shining Path Calls for Boycott of Election
Members of the Shining Path have painted walls and circulated fliers calling on the population of Huancayo to boycott the April election.
La República: Military Justice has promoted Impunity in Peru
Humala Reads his Military Service Record from 1992
In a meeting in Ate Vitarte, Ollanta Humala read from the file containing his military service record (or “efficiency report”) in 1992, the same document that has mysteriously disappeared from the Ministry of Defense. He challenged the authorities to arrest him. (The Minister of Defense has said possession of this document is a crime). Humala read words of praise for his service, which suggested he had survived battles and recovered weapons without losing soldiers and was respected by soldiers under his command and by superior officers. Humala also stated that he is “the only candidate” to embrace the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in his plans for government.
Coronel EP Luis Pereira Briceño denunciado por desaparición del legajo personal de Ollanta Humala
La Inspectoría General del Ejército denunció ante el Consejo Supremo de Justicia Militar (CSJM) al coronel EP Luis Pereira Briceño y a los que resulten responsables por los presuntos delitos de destrucción de documento militar y desobediencia en el caso del legajo personal de Ollanta Humala.
Salomón Lerner sobre los DDHH y la agenda electoral
Salomón Lerner, ex presidente de la Comisión de la Verdad y Reconciliación (CVR), conversó con el diario Perú 21 sobre el tema de los DD.HH. en la agenda electoral de los candidatos a las próximas elecciones y su poco esfuerzo por convencer a las masas con propuestas concretas sobre los problemas reales del país.
Bodies to be disinterred in Madre Mia
Forensic excavations will be undertaken in the military base in Madre Mia where Ollanta Humala was stationed in 1992. Based on witness reports, inspectors believe extrajudicial executions may have occurred on our around the base.
Meanwhile, the dispute continues over whether Humala should have copies of his own military record.
Who Vandalized the Files on Humala’s Military Record?
The Ministry of Defense, after weeks of stonewalling about Ollanta Humala’s military record, now acknowledges that its files on Humala have been vandalized. The material on the key periods of interest to the public (including 1992 when Humala was in Madre Mia) are gone. Calls for the Minister of Defense Marciano Rengifo’s resignation are intensifying.
The X-Files of Ollanta Humala
El caso de las presuntas violaciones a los DDHH por parte del comandante(r) Ollanta Humala en la base contrasubversiva de Madre Mía, ha dado un giro inesperado. Ante la denuncia formulada en el programa periodístico La Ventana Indiscreta, el Ministerio de Defensa (Mindef) confirmó la desaparición de parte de su expediente, sustrayéndose los informes de eficiencia de 1992, con una estadía de seis meses en la base de Madre Mía, Tingo María, como responsable del batallón Contrasubversivo Nº 331, asi como los de 1999 en el cuartel militar de Huancayo como miembro de la División de Infantería y del 2002 como agregado militar en Francia.
La documentación que debió ser enviada al Archivo General del Ejército debido a que Humala había pasado al retiro, estaba indebidamente en poder del coronel Luis Pereira Briceño, jefe de la Sección de Administración de la Carrera del Oficial (SACO) de Artillería. El ministro de Defensa, Marciano Rengifo, sostuvo que los “informes de eficiencia” que faltan del expediente del comandante en retiro no confirman si es que este fue el “capitán Carlos”, aunque tendrá que explicar ante el Congreso esta mutilación en el legajo de Humala.
Antauro Humala says: Ollanta is “Capitán Carlos”
El reportero Ítalo Sifuentes Alemán del diario El Comercio, conversó en el penal de Piedras Gordas con Antauro Humala, quien reconoció que su hermano Ollanta es el discutido “Capitán Carlos” que operó en Madre Mía. Mediante un manuscrito, afirmó que en la lucha antiterrorista el ahora candidato a la presidencia actuó de Unión por el Perú (UPP), “de acuerdo con las reglas del Ejército” durante el gobierno de Alberto Fujimori bajo la asesoría de Vladimiro Montesinos.
Sendero Luminoso amenaza elecciones en la zona del Alto Huallaga
El presidente del Jurado Nacional de Elecciones (JNE), Enrique Mendoza, no descartó la posibilidad de que el proceso electoral en la zona del Alto Huallaga pueda estar en riesgo por la presencia senderista, por lo que tomarán las precauciones en estos lugares calificados de riesgo para el personal de los organismos electorales y los electores.
Ollanta Humala Receiving Intelligence from the Army
According to La Republica, intelligence reports are being passed to Humala from a member of his graduating class, Fernando Ormachea Montes. Military support for the candidate is reminiscent of the support given to Alberto Fujimori by Vladimiro Montesinos during the 1990 campaign.
El Comercio: Human Rights Issues Distorted in Election Campaign
Minister of Defence Marciano Rengifo on “Captain Carlos” Identity: “Officially Captain Carlos Doesn’t Exist”
In a shocking interview with Caretas 1912, Minister of Defense Marciano Rengifo stated there is nothing to investigate regarding “Captain Carlos identity”. The armed forces do not have official records of war pseudonyms. Officers might have used these names in the localities where they were posted, however, these officers reported to their superiors with their real names. As a result, there is no information about “Captain Carlos”. For Minister Rengifo, he did not exist. Download file
APRODEH and the Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos have rejected the Minister’s comments.
Ollanta Humala will Visit Madre Mía (Huanuco) in March
Tras anunciar nuevamente que está dispuesto a someterse a la justicia, el candidato presidencial de Unión por el Perú (UPP) visitaría Madre Mía (Huánuco) para afrontar las acusaciones de quienes lo sindican de ser el “Capitán Carlos”, violador de los DDHH, hecho que ha comprometido su carrera electoral.
Rosa Maria Palacios: Does Peru’s Elite Care about Human Rights?
According to television news show host Rosa Maria Palacios, whenever she talks about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission viewers from privileged strata (the so-called A and B viewers) turn off the TV. That is, they did until the attacks on Ollanta Humala began. Now, A and B viewers can’t get enough of human rights denunciations!
Interviews with Ollanta Humala
Los periodistas Emilio Camacho del diario La República y Adán Ríos de Perú 21, conversaron en Piura con Ollanta Humala, quien se encuentra de gira por distintas ciudades del norte del país, tocando temas como los de las acusaciones en su contra por abusos a los DDHH en el Alto Huallaga, su principal rival, Lourdes Flores Nano, denominada por él como la “candidata de los ricos” y los resultados de la última encuesta realizada por la empresa Apoyo Opinión y Mercado. Tambien reproducimos una entrevista con el diario español ABC
Ollanta Humala Faces Human Rights Accusations
Ollanta Humala faces at least three serious allegations of human rights abuse from the period in which he was commander in a military base in Madre Mia in 1992. Humala was under the command of the now fugitive Eduardo Bellido Mora, former military chief of the Political Front of the Alto Huallaga. Bellido, a close ally of Vladimiro Montesinos, faces charges of drug-trafficking. Montesinos received drug money from a trafficker known as El Vaticano who operated in the Alto Huallaga area. A new report in La Primera suggests Humala may also have taken protection money from drug traffickers.
Ollanta Humala: Beginning of the End?
Jorge Bazo E.
Translated and edited by Maxwell A. Cameron
6 February 2006
Versión en Español abajo
Ollanta Humala Tasso has had a tough weekend. The candidate for the presidency of the Unión por el Perú has suffered a series of accusations, threats of impending criminal investigations, problems within his political group, and allegations that one of his vice presidential candidates has a history of sexual harassment. Most damaging, however, are allegations of human rights abuses dating to Humala’s service in the counter-insurgency war in 1992. Humala denounces these allegations as part of a smear campaign by parties and the media, but they are beginning to look credible.
For the past two weeks, people in the area of Madre Mía in Alto Huallaga have denounced one “Captain Carlos” who they say committed violations of human rights in 1992. Humala has been identified as the captain in question, but this has not yet been confirmed by the Ministry of Defense.
There were at least three military commanders known by the nom de guerre “Capitán Carlos” in Alto Huallaga. The newspaper La República cites a confidential document that shows that Ollanta Humala was ‘Capitán Carlos Gonzales’, chief of the counter-insurgency base in Madre Mía en 1992. This was a time of intense fighting between the armed forces and the Shining Path, when many human rights violations occurred. It was also a time of well-documented links between the military intelligence and drug trafficking groups.
The denunciations against Humala were reinforced with new accusations this weekend. In one case a merchant, Zonia Luis Cristóbal, accused Humala of humiliating mistreatment of her family, the looting of her shop by troops at his command. Another accusation came from Teresa Ávila, sister-in-law of Benigno Sullca Castro and sister of Natividad Ávila Rivera, who were detained, tortured, and killed by soldiers in the Madre Mía base in June 1992.
In making sense of these grave allegations, it will be vitally important to distinguish legitimate accusations from media manipulation. A program on Channel 13 called “La Hora de Tingo” aired testimony by the local population from Madre Mía who were interviewed by ‘Panorama’, and they said that they had denounced various crimes and abuses but at no point did they indicate Humala as the author of these crimes, and that their words had been manipulated with the intention of damaging the candidate.
Respected human rights advocates are taking the allegations against Humala very seriously. Sofia Macher, from the Instituto de Defensa Legal (IDL), and a secretary of the Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos, Alejandro Silva, announced yesterday night on the television program “La Ventana Indiscreta” that this week they would be bringing before a judge evidence that Ollanta Humala was involved in 5 separate cases of disappearances and three more of torture.
In Trujillo, Ollanta Humala refused to respond directly to these accusations. He has neither confirmed nor defnied that he was captain Carlos, saying this is information for the Ministry of Defense to divulge. As Macher points out, it is odd to see a so-called “outsider” candidate hiding behind a powerful government ministry.
Humala has demanded proof be presented against him, and alleges that all the accusations are part of a dirty electoral campaign. He has committed himself to collaborating with any investigation that might be undertaken by the Public Ministry.
Humala has other problem. His cousin Liliana Humala has turned against him, as have other rank-and-file groups. In an attempt to restore order in his group, Humala asked all candidates to place themselves at the disposition of the leadership. Last night, Jorge Doménech, president of the electoral committee of the party, announced that the national leadership had decided to ratify Carlos Torres Caro as vice presidential candidate.
Meanwhile, strange events are occurring within the television station Frecuencia Latina. Last week Cesar Hildebrandt resigned his popular show “Hoy con Hildebrandt”, which has been replaced with (get this) the X Files. It is not known why Hildebrandt resigned, but he was vocal about refusing to engage in a dog-pile on Humala or to allow his program to be part of Lourdes Flores Nano election campaign (an accusation made against some of his competitors). Daniel Abugattas, leader of the Nationalist Party claims leaders of Unidad Nacional bought witnesses to accuse Humala of human rights abuses. He further accused majority shareholder Baruch Ivcher and producer Gilberto Hume of retaining video evidence to support this. Ivcher denies the allegation and has threatened Abugattas with a law suit. The journalistic director of Panamericana Televisión, Alejandro Guerrero, also called the allegation unfounded.
Ollanta Humala as “Captain Carlos”
There is increasingly credible evidence to suggest that Ollanta Humala was Captain Carlos in 1992 when he was in charge of a military base responsible for counter-subversive activity. A growing body of testimony converges to suggest that during that time Humala was responsible for human rights abuses. Sofia Macher appeared on television in the program Ventana Indiscreta with Cecilia Valenzuela this evening and confirmed that in her view the allegations against Humala are credible.
The other major story regarding Humala is that he has asked all candidates to congress as well as vice presidential candidates to be prepared to step aside should they be asked to do so as part of a process of reorganizing the UPP-PNP alliance. The disarray within the party requires extraordinary measures to introduce a modium of cohesion and discipline. Disagreement continues to surround the candidacy of Torres Caro who is facing mounting evidence of sexual harassment during the periods in which he taught law in two academic institutions.
Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos recoge nuevas denuncias contra el “Capitán Carlos”
Foja de Servicios de Ollanta Moisés Humala Tasso
Source: La República, 31 de enero del 2006
Tras emitirse en programas dominicales de televisión más acusaciones de familiares de las víctimas del “Capitán Carlos” y Ollanta Humala negar haber “cometido delitos de lesa humanidad durante la guerra antisubversiva”, atribuyendo esto a una guerra sucia que pretende desacreditarlo; la Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos recogió la versión de cinco personas que ratifican que esta persona sería él cuando operaba en la base militar de Madre Mía en 1992 con el apellido “Gonzales”.
Continúan las acusaciones contra el “Capitán Carlos”
Programas dominicales Panorama de Panamericana Televisión y Reporte Semanal de Frecuencia Latina, presentaron más acusaciones de los familiares de las víctimas del “Capitán Carlos”, autor de violaciones a los DDHH cuando ocupó la jefatura de la base militar de Madre Mía. Sostienen que él y Ollanta Humala son la misma persona.
Carlos Tapia on Ollanta Humala’s Undemocratic Values
Carlos Tapia is a respected expert on counter-insurgency issues, and he served on the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In this essay he suggests that Humala’s conception of politics is informed by the logic of internal conflict. Accordingly, elections are battles, and competitors are enemies.
Humala Implicated in Human Rights Abuses
According to a report aired on the television program Panorama, Ollanta Humala was a military officer in charge of a base in Madre Mía, located between the departments of San Martín and Tingo María, in 1992 when human rights crimes were committed against the local population.
UPDATE: In Hoy con Hildebrandt on January 24, Humala denied any involvement in human rights abuses. Asked whether he was Capitan “Carlos,” he told Hildebrandt to speak with the Ministry of Defense.
Assassination Plot Exposed as Farse
It now appears the entire plot to assassinate the secretary general of the Union Por el Peru was a total farse. The supposed assassin has a history of offering information in exchange for money. This would explain why Yorges was released by the police so quickly, and his giddy attitude throughout the entire episode.
Identity of “Assassin” Revealed
The identity of the “assassin” who offered to murder José Vega in order to open the way for Dante Yorges to run for a seat in congress is now known. He is Marco Antonio Muñoz Vásquez (aka Negro Toño), and he has worked in the security detail of various candidates in the past, including Alejandro Toledo and Máximo San Roman.
After offering to kill Vega, Muñoz negotiated with two television stations to sell the compromising videotape. In recent years, the surreptitious taping or videotaping of illicit activities and the sale of such material to the media has become widespread. The most famous case is the Vladivideo which brought down the Fujimori government in 2000. Muñoz was the bodyguard of Germán Barrera (El Patriota) during the negotiations over the release of the Vladivideo.
While Vegas life was apparently never in real danger, there remains little doubt that Yorges thought he was dealing with a hired hit man. He may have been entrapped, but fall into the trap he did.
At this point is is unclear whether Muñoz was motivated only by the desire to acquire compromising material that could be used to negotiate with the media, or whether any of Humala’s political adversaries had a hand in the matter. A palpable nausia can be sensed in most of the commentaries on this affair.
Semana Movida para Ollanta Humala
Tras lograr el primer lugar en la intención de voto de diversas compañías encuestadoras, esta semana se inició lo que parece ser una telenovela electoral para el líder del PNP.
Humala denounces plot to assassinate secretary general of UPP
Maxwell A. Cameron
January 20, 2006
NOTE TO READERS: LOOK AHEAD TO JANUARY 23. THE STORY OF THE ASSASSINATION PLOT PROVES TO BE A FARSE.
Dante Yorges: “Don’t do it in the party locale or other place because people are around him like flies.”
Hit man: “You suggest the door of his house.”
Yorges: “In his house, at the door.”
Hit man: “How? With lead?”
Yorges: “Lead in the head would be best. One shot of lead, and done.”
Source: El Comercio, January 20, 2006
Is this a scene from a B-rated gangster film? No, it is part of the process of selecting candidates to run for congress.
Ollanta Humala has denounced a plot to kill secretary general of the Unión Por el Perú (UPP), José Vega Antonio. The plot was allegedly hatched by another UPP leader, Dante Yorges, the secretary of mobilization of the same party. The television program “Cuarto Poder” aired a video in which Yorges and a hit man (who remains unidentified, but was apparently the source of the video) discussed how to eliminate Vega.
Alan Garcia’s Choice of VP Questioned
Alan Garcia would like to win the support of Fujimorista voters who may feel they have nowhere else to park their votes if their preferred candidate cannot run. So he has appointed a vice presidential candidate with past involvement in Fujimori´s municipal movement, Vamos Vecinos. Luis Giampietri also shares with Garcia responsibility for one of the worst human rights crimes of the 1980s: the penal massacre in El Fronton.
Luis Giampietri on Amnesty for Armed Forces
Could Drug Money Finance Political Campaigns in Peru?
According to El Comercio, it seems likely…
Fernando Rospigliosi on Shining Path’s Resurgence
Views on “Selective Amnesty” for Military Forces Proposed by Luis Iberico
Maxwell A. Cameron
December 28, 2005
Luis Iberico, a member of congress for the Frente Independiente Moralizador (FIM), and president of the defense committee, has proposed a selective amnesty for members of the armed forces accused of human rights abuses. The president of the Constitutional Tribunal, Víctor García Toma, has warned that such an amnesty could be struck down by the courts. In his view, congress should not encroach on the administration of justice, or presume to decide who is guilty or innocent. An amnesty would be an abdication by the state of its responsibility to uphold the rule of law.
The issues raised in this interview are similar to those we noted in an earlier posting on Martha Chavez returns to congress. Some of Peru’s most distinguished legislators appear to have a poor understanding of the principles underpinning a separation of powers system. If members of congress want to uphold the rule of law, they should stop trying to act as judges. If they want to improve the judiciary, they should provide it with adequate funding.
Official Number of Released Terrorists
Según la Sala Penal Nacional de Terrorismo salieron en libertad 1,763 presos y no los casi 10,000 que mencionó el Presidente del Consejo de Ministros, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.
Source: La República. December 27, 2005
Óscar Ramírez Durand quiere ser el facilitador entre la justicia y los senderistas activos de la Selva Central
En entrevista exclusiva concedida al diario La Primera, el dirigente de Sendero Luminoso, Óscar Ramírez Durand “Feliciano”, se ofreció como facilitador para un diálogo entre el Gobierno y sus ex-camaradas en la selva.
Kuczynski Exaggerated Number of Released Terrorists
Pedro Pablo Kuczynski exaggerated in his interview with Cadena Peruana de Noticias when he claimed that 10,000 former terrorists had been released from prison. According to La Republica, the number of people pardoned or released from jail, who were serving time on sentences involving terrorist activities (either as part of the Shining Path or MRTA) is closer to 4,000 since 1997.
In 1997:
– 3,878 prisoners for terrorism were registered;
– 3,144 of these prisoners were sentenced;
– 3,225 pardon requests were presented.
Drugs, Politics and Violence
Increasingly analysts are calling attention to the danger of the “Colombianization” of Peru. The growth of drug cultivation and trafficking in Peru in recent years has not only provided the financial resources for a possible resurgence of the Shining Path, it has also put money into the political system that could well find its way into the election campaigns of some parties and candidates.
Shining Path Presence in Peru
Source: La Republica, December 25, 2005
Interview with Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in CPN
Shining Path Resurgence
President Alejandro Toledo declared a 60-day state of emergency in the cities of Huanuco, San Martin and Ucayali. The state of emergency was declared on the evening of December 21, 2005, following a Shining Path ambush in Aucuayacu, Huanuco, on December 20. Eight police were killed in the ambush, the second significant attack in recent weeks. An earlier ambush in Palmapampa on December 5 resulted in the death of five police officers.
The ambush in Aucuayacu is being attributed to “comrade Artermio,” one of the few Shining Path leaders who predates the capture of Abimael Guzman. The earlier attack was attributed to “comrade Alipio,” of the “Proseguir” faction of the Shining Path.
The attacks indicate that the Shining Path remains capable of inflicting casualties on the armed forces. Analysts claim the military has not received the funding necessary to contain the Shining Path in rural areas, especially the coca-producing jungle areas.
Prime Minister Pedro Pablo Kuczynski claimed that as many as 10,000 “terrorists” have been released from prison in recent years, and many are presumed to have returned to subversive activities. He also estimates that coca production has increased by as much as 15 to 20 percent.
The Shining Path took responsibility for the ambush in Aucayacu and called for a boycott of the 2006 general election.
Source: La Republica, December 21, 2005
Fujimori’s campaign strategy: a virtual candidate?
Former president Alberto Fujimori continues his “virtual campaign” from Tokyo and insists he will soon return to Peru. Meanwhile, in Peru, his supporters threaten mass protests and violence if Fujimori is not allowed to run as the presidential candidate for Si Cumple, his latest electoral vehicle. Fujimoristas are feeling emboldened by their leader’s standing in the polls. They are also vaunting a Supreme Court decision (October 19, 2005) that clears the former president of one of the more than 20 charge he faces. The charge on which he was cleared concerns favours for a Panama-based company, Mobetec, which received contracts for helicopters and jeeps in 1993.
Informe Final de la Comision de la Verdad y Reconciliacion
Informe Final de la Comision de la Verdad y Reconciliacion
Excerpt from the Final Report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Peru, vol. VIII
Luis Iberico (FIM): reorganizacion senderista en zonas cocaleras
Luis Iberico, presidente de la Comisión de Defensa del Congreso, afirmó que no existe un rebrote de Sendero Luminoso, pero sí un reagrupamiento de fuerzas que debe ser combatido de inmediato.
Fuerzas Armadas: No hay evidencias de rebrote senderista
How to respond to a potential resurgence of the Shining Path: Politically or militarily?
El Gral. (R) Jose Graham afirma que la falta de presencia militar en zonas deprimidas en el valle de Apurimac contribuye al surgimiento del narcotrafico y por ende a la subversion. De acuerdo con Marcos Ibazeta,la falta de propuestas ideologicas por parte de los partidos politicos esta ligada a un potencial resurgimiento de Sendero.