Peru: Possibility of threat by Sendero Luminoso against the sons and widow of an Air Force member killed by Sendero
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 May 1989 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | PER0854 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Peru: Possibility of threat by Sendero Luminoso against the sons and widow of an Air Force member killed by Sendero, 1 May 1989, PER0854, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab748.html [accessed 21 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Sendero routinely uses force and intimidation, in particular assassination, to impose its control over certain areas. People who have been identified as "traitors" by Sendero are targets for harassment, intimidation and murder. In the cities, Sendero has committed assassinations more for propaganda purposes than strategic or ideological reasons. [Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1987, U.S. Department of State, p. 587. Since 1986, it has increased its attacks on individuals; assassinating policemen, armed forces personnel, government and ruling party officials, as well as non-supporting peasants. [Ibid.] Members of labour organizations and legal parties who have refused to collaborate with the organization have also been targeted for reprisal by Sendero [Amnesty International Report 1988, (London, Amnesty International), pp. 132-133]. Although no specific targeting of relatives of armed forces' personnel is reported among the sources available to the IRBDC at the time, what follows is a listing of some attacks attributed to Sendero Luminoso which have included relatives of the targeted victims:
-On October 21, 1988, a rebel group attacks the house of APRA secretary general in Ayacucho, injuring its occupants. [Latin America daily report, (Washington, Foreign Broadcast Information Service), 25 October 1988, p.42.]
-A judge, his wife and 13 peasants are killed by Shining Path in an Andean Province south of the Capital on Oct. 27, 1988. [ Latin America daily report, 27 October 1988, p.28.]
-On October 27, Shining Path killed a community leader in front of his relatives and local residents, in Huanta Province, Ayacucho Department. [ Latin America daily report, 28 October 1988. p.30.]
-On November 19, a day after leaving his town because of threats by Shining Path, APRA mayor of Tocctos is killed together with his daughter. [ Latin America daily report, 21 November 1988, p.42.]
-On November 21, on the road to the jungle area of Ayacucho, Shining Path blows up a bus carrying 40 passengers, including a few policemen, killing 12 instantly. [ Latin America daily report, 22 November 1988, p.42.]
-By November 28, Shining Path is reported to control over eighty areas in Peru. During the first ten and a half months of 1988, 1,574 deaths are attributed to Sendero. Violence is so widespread in the emergency zones that the threat of attack is reported to be always present. [ Latin America daily report, 1 December 1988, pp.52-53.]
-Rebels murder a town mayor, his secretary and driver on their way to Ayacucho, December 15. [Latin America daily report, 19 December 1988, p.43.]
During the first two weeks of 1989, Sendero Luminoso reportedly killed at least 38 members of the armed forces in different circumstances. By April, the group had extended its activities and increased its attacks throughout the country. Andean Newsletter, (Lima, Andean Commission of Jurists), January 16 and April 10, 1989.
