Peru: Between Shining Path and the Military

Peru's Armed Forces face accusations of human rights violations filed by peasants, during the largest military offensive launched in August against the last armed contingents of the Maoist guerrilla Sendero Luminoso. The complaints were filed before a human rights prosecutor's office in Ayacucho (southeastern Peru) and refer to the disappearance of 11 people in the context of operations carried out by the Army in the rugged Vizcatán region, a Maoist stronghold for two decades. Media in Lima and Ayacucho published the account, which was rejected by the Ministry of Defense. In addition, radio stations in the interior and in Lima broadcast on Thursday the complaint of a person identified as "comrade Gabriel," a member of Sendero Luminoso, who said the army killed 5 peasants mistaking them for guerrillas. "It is a disinformation campaign" to discredit the armed forces before the population, said General Otto Guibovich, chief of staff of the Joint Command of the armed forces, as quoted by the newspaper El Comercio. The armed forces deny the disappearances and insisted that the five civilians killed in Vizcatán are guerrillas. (Excerpt from presentation).