Shining Path, the Madmen, the Others

The Comisión de la Verdad y Reconciliación (CVR) concluded, following its investigations, that between 1980 and 2000 Peru went through the most intense and prolonged process of violence in the entire republican history. According to these investigations, the Partido Comunista del Perú Sendero Luminoso was the one that initiated the conflict and was the principal perpetrator of crimes and human rights violations. The CVR found that Sendero Luminoso is responsible for 54% of the fatal victims. The limited knowledge of the subject in the media was, at least until very recently, accompanied by statements such as "Deranged terrorist attack" to refer to the acts committed by Sendero or other groups. Thus, on more than one occasion I had the opportunity to hear Sendero referred to with statements such as, "They are terrorists, they kill people, they are crazy, they should all be killed."