Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

Fujimori's judicial trial is a positive milestone and an important step forward towards justice in Peru, said Amnesty International in a public statement released in the Andean country.

Fujimori's presidential coup on April 5, 1992 began one of Peru's darkest eras in history, said the international NGO, stating that persecution of opponents, the dissolution of congress as well as interference in the country's judicial system had ended guarantees of justice.

According to AI, it can prove that during this time human rights were violated as the government carried out an anti-insurgency plan, assuring that the Peruvian military had committed widespread human rights abuses.

As Peru's government held a campaign against the Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (Movimiento Revolucionario Tupac Amaru), violations such as enforced disappearances, extrajudicial executions and torture took place, said the London-based organization.

Furthermore, the NGO affirmed that this time of armed conflict had created the necessary environment for the harassment of human rights activists and the sexual violation of women such as the forced sterilization of women in the Andean country, especially in small villages.

Sixteen years after the coup, Peru has taken important steps in the reestablishment of democracy, said AI, affirming that the trial against Alberto Fujimori and two other alleged participants were proof of that.