Posted on 01/20/2007 12:45:11 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Thousands of Peruvians have joined a march in Lima supporting a proposal to introduce the death penalty for members of the Shining Path rebel group. Many of the crowd waved pictures of relatives killed by the Shining Path.
Last week President Alan Garcia suggested changing the constitution to allow a referendum on the issue after parliament rejected the proposal. MPs argued that capital punishment would breach the American Convention on Human Rights, which Peru has signed. Protesters from the Association of Families of Victims of Terrorism, who joined the march to Lima's government palace, said the majority of the population supported Mr Garcia. Cries of "Peru wants the death penalty" and "justice for the victims" greeted Mr Garcia as he addressed the crowd. Mr Garcia said he could not stop the clamour in favour of capital punishment for members of the group, whom he calls terrorists. Compensation anger Polls suggest that Mr Garcia's proposal does indeed have tremendous public support, but the Peruvian congress has voted to shelve the bill indefinitely. The BBC Dan Collyns in Lima says the crowd which greeted Mr Garcia on Friday night shows that memories of the insurgencies in the 1980s and 1990s are still fresh in the minds of many Peruvians.
The issue has been inflamed by a recent ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights that $20m (£10.3m, 15.4m euros) in compensation be paid to the families of Shining Path guerrillas killed by government forces. The fact that the names of those 41 suspected and convicted guerrillas are part of a new monument to the victims of the political violence has enraged many Peruvians. Mr Garcia may have been defeated on this emotive issue in parliament, our correspondent says, but his insistence on a referendum on capital punishment is likely to boost his popularity with the general public.
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South American anti-commie ping
Maybe Proud Yank would be interested in this one as well...
I think I hear the sounds of Fujimori packing his bags for his return to Lima. Fujimori will squash the sendero luminoso like he did in the past. The shininig path will not survive a Fujimori restoration.
Is Lori Berensen up for the hangman as well?
Gotta correct ya here,FRiend.The Shining Path was a *Maoist* group and,as you know,Marx was a pussycat compared to Mao.
Correct. Mao was more Marxist than Marx with regard to the means by which to achieve revolution. Also, Maoism is a brand of Marxism for nations that lack an industrial prolotariat.
I loved that film clip of her being presented to the press just after her arrest.Her Upper East Side revolutionary fervor was absolutely hilarious.
I'll wager that her parents were as proud as could be seeing her spitting her venom on that stage.
Thanks. Good article.
It is fascinating to review the mistakes of the Shining Path. In the beginning...and for almost 20 years...they were the "Robin Hood" of Peru. The rural folks came to respect them and had mostly kind words...as the Maoists built up their support.
At some point...when alot of the corrupt politicans and police had left the rural regions and new local "fair & honest" people assumed these roles. These people were not Maoists in any nature and actually tried to perform their functional duty without corruption. Shining Path refused to halt the killing of local authorities. At that point...with the Catholic Church weighing heavily in...the local rural support ended. It only took two years for enough intelligence to drift in...to find the Shining Path leadership and arrest them.
The amusing thing throughout all of this...was that the Peru of the 1940s/50s/60s/70s/80s was extremely corrupt...throughout the entire country. Shining Path was the only organization to force radical change and bring an improved situation to Peruivans. But Shining Path failed to grasp what real Maosist tendencies involve. There is no respect for the human being...no understanding for fairness or honesty....no acceptance of law. The Mao boys are basically Borgs...nothing less.
The death penalty is certainly deserved by the thugs of Shining Path.
Pro-life ping.
Lori Berenson was not associated with the Shining Path.
Her case was due to alleged involvement with another group, not associated with the Shining Path.
Six of one.
Welocme to FR.
Kill 'em.
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