The Government Condemned Shining Path's Recruitment of Children

The head of the Peruvian Council of Ministers, Yehude Simon, condemned today the recruitment of children by Sendero Luminoso, after a television channel broadcast footage on Sunday showing minors in what appeared to be camps belonging to the armed group. "You cannot put a weapon in the hands of a child. This is definitely a cowardly act; it is hatred for hatred's sake, and staining a child with blood is a terrifying and cowardly act," Simon said. A local channel showed footage the previous day of a group of approximately 17 children lined up with rifles and firearms in a suspected camp of the terrorist group. The Prime Minister told reporters that on several occasions soldiers who survived terrorist attacks mentioned that women and children had killed soldiers. Published on May 25, 2009.