Peruvian government apologizes for 1992 massacre

By IANS

Lima : The Peruvian government has apologized for the 1992 La Cantuta killings of nine people by a death squad raised by the then government of president Alberto Fujimori.


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“In the name of the Peruvian state, we express public apology and (undertake) to make amends to you, who as relatives (of the victims) are seeking that such deeds are never repeated,” Justice Minister Maria Zavala said Thursday.

Zavala emphasized that the case constitutes “one of the most serious human rights violation in the last 20 years,” which occurred “in an environment of extreme violence,” Spanish news agency EFE reported.

President of the Truth Commission Salomon Lerner said Thursday’s ceremony was “a new beginning in Peruvian history” where citizens “take leading role in history”, and allows Peruvians to be “understood” among themselves.

“Without justice, development is not possible, nor economic growth, neither the dignity of a people with a noble and ancient history,” Lerner said.

In December 2006, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights found the Peruvian government responsible for La Cantuta massacre, which involved the abduction and subsequent execution of a professor and nine students from a Lima university campus on July 18, 1992.

The killings were carried out by “Colina”, a death squad created during Fujimori’s government 1990-2000 to fight the Shining Path guerrilla group.

The Costa Rica-based court ruled what happened in 1992 was a crime against humanity that could not remain unpunished.

The court directed the Peruvian government to pay $1.8 million in compensation to the victims’ relatives, in a ruling that was not subject to appeal.

The former president, who will be tried next month for rights violations after being extradited from Chile, also faces charges in the 1993 massacre of 15 people in Barrios Altos and several counts of corruption.

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