Peru – Burial takes place for remains of victims

A formal burial ceremony is finally being held on Saturday for the one hundred and twenty three people who were brutally gunned down in Putis by the Peruvian military almost twenty-five years ago.

Many of the murdered men, women and children were evangelical Christians from the Assemblies of God (AOG) Church.

The victims were shot dead after members of the Peruvian Military had ordered locals to dig shallow pools, ostensibly for trout-farming purposes. Once they had finished, soldiers lined up members of the community, opened fire on them, and used the pools to bury their bodies. The motive for the murders is still unclear, although survivors say the soldiers had accused villagers of sympathizing with the Shining Path, a Maoist guerrilla group that terrorized the country throughout the 1980s and 1990s.. The Military had originally agreed to protect the indigenous people from this group.

The Peruvian Ministry of Defence is still refusing to hand over the names of the officials responsible for the Putis killings to State prosecutors seeking justice for the community.

The exhumation of the mass grave was carried out under the observation of Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s (CSW’s) Peruvian partner agency, Peace and Hope. Fifteen of the recovered remains were those of children and infants. The remains were sent to laboratories in the US for DNA analysis, and those that could be identified have been returned to their surviving relatives.

Memorial ceremonies will be held today in the regional capital of Ayacucho, and tomorrow in the district capital of Huanta.

Rev. Stuart Windsor, CSW’s National Director said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with survivors and the families of the Putis massacre victims as they remember their loved ones at this time. They are still waiting for justice and official recognition of the human rights violations that took place. We call on the Peruvian Government to bring each and every military official responsible to account for their deeds on that tragic day”.

Notes to Editors:

• For photos of the families receiving the remains, please contact the press office – all photos must be credited to ‘Peace and Hope.’