Suggested Reading: Peruvian Truth Commission Report

On the blog, I have included a link to the summary of the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Final Report in English. The summary, a concise 29-page history of the country's 20-year internal armed conflict, provides a comprehensive introduction to the primary actors in the conflict (the Shining Path, MRTA, the Armed Forces, and the police), as well as a description of the successes and failures of the three governments in power from 1980 to 2000.

The report is probably the most important single document you can read to understand the context of the armed conflict, the nature of the violence in Ayacucho, and the human rights abuses involved in the Fujimori trial. You can click here to access the report or find it in the "Important Links" section on the right hand side of this blog.

(The Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission was formed in June 2001--just 7 months after Fujimori's ignominious resignation and exile in Japan--and released its final report two years later in August 2003.)

--Hayden

Unearthing Peru's Largest Mass Grave in Ayacucho

The BBC published a story last week about the unearthing of Peru's largest mass grave from the 20-year internal armed conflict. The Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team (EPAF) is carrying out the exhumation in Putis, an abandoned Andean village in the province of Ayacucho. While in Ayacucho, we will meet with EPAF to learn about their work documenting the atrocities from the armed conflict and their efforts to return the remains of the victims to their families. Click here to read the article.

--Hayden