Peru Enacts Security Forces Amnesty For Violations During Conflict

BUENOS AIRES, Aug 14 (Bernama-dpa) — Peruvian President Dina Boluarte on Wednesday signed into law an amnesty Bill shielding security forces from prosecution for crimes committed during the political violence and guerrilla warfare that rocked Peru between 1980 and 2000, reported German press agency (dpa).

“With this historic amnesty, Peru honours its defenders and rejects any interference, internal or external,” Boluarte said as she signed the controversial Bill, which Peru’s Congress had passed in July.

“We can’t allow for history to be distorted, for perpetrators to pose as victims, for the true defenders of the country to be branded as enemies of the state,” she said.

The Bill applies to members of the armed forces, national police, and self-defence committees who have not received a final sentence in cases related to “the fight against terrorism between 1980 and 2000”.

It doesn’t apply to those already convicted, nor to individuals accused of terrorism or public corruption charges – unless they are 70 years old or older.

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights had ordered the Peruvian government to suspend the measure pending a review of its impact on victims.

Rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticised the measure, saying it betrays the victims of the conflict and undermines efforts to bring accountability for atrocities committed in the period.

Between 1980 and 2000, almost 70,000 people died in clashes between Shining Path guerrillas and state security forces. More than 20,000 also disappeared during that period, according to the Peruvian truth commission.

— BERNAMA-dpa

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