It would seem logical to assume that political organizations
trying to replace the political vacuum left behind as the so called Shining
Path guerrillas (actually called the Communist Party of Peru) after they were
defeated militarely, would be welcome news.
That’s because it would signal that Maoists are now trying
to organize peacefully through the political system. But that is not what is
happening in Peru. Their elected president Ollanta Humala seems to have strong
fascist tendencies and the US government has encouraged those tendencies. He
has relentlessly attacked a group called the Movimiento por Amnistía y Derechos
Fundamentales (MOVADEF - The Movement for Amnesty and Fundamental Rights) as if
they are a terrorist organizations. The group has been trying to organize as a
legal political party, but so far Humala has block that. Last year
Humala had more than 30 members of this group arrested on everything from
terrorist activity to drug trafficking. The US government has supported these
efforts.
Alfredo Crespo Chairman Gonzalo’s (Abimael Guzmán's) lawyer
has been arrested once again. He has been arrested before for defending members
of the Sendero movement. It appears that defending a client in court is a
criminal offense in Peru. That the US is supporting this is no surprise. The US
presently assassinates accused leaders of terrorism, without due process or
fair trial, through the drone program.
Humala’s government likes to brag that they have defeated
the Shining path. But if that is true, why not allow supporters of this group to
organize peacefully. That is a logical step after a country has been through a
civil war. Humala like to refer to a truth commission appointed by former
president Alejandro Toledo blamed the Shining Path for most of the nearly
70,000 deaths the panel ascribed to politically motivated violence during the
two decades following the group`s 1980 uprising. It doesn’t take long to see
that such a commission could never really be unbaised in such a country as
Peru. Peru has been run, as most of South America has been run by a bunch
military leaders and dictators. The rule of law has never really followed the
ideals of a truly liberal government with actual human rights. The peasants in
the country side have suffered mass neglect over the last century and apparently
none of that mattered.
According to the Jamestown
Foundation website, the government is concerned that young Maoist are
actually joining the group. The site said:
“On the
ideological front, especially among the young for whom the Shining Path armed
struggle is mostly history, MOVADEF’s growing presence on college campuses is
rapidly becoming as big a concern as the drug trade.”
In any civilized democracy it would not be illegal to
discuss ideas or to work for the release of prisoners whose crimes were
politically related. Peru today is
nothing more than a crappy Banana type republic. And we can see that political
change against the sacred free market is just not tolerated.
Also there have been many Maoist groups condemning MOVADEF for a variety of reasons. I think we should hold off and give them a chance before we just condemn them. If the Peruvian government fears them so much, maybe MOVADEF is a good thing.
Also there have been many Maoist groups condemning MOVADEF for a variety of reasons. I think we should hold off and give them a chance before we just condemn them. If the Peruvian government fears them so much, maybe MOVADEF is a good thing.
-សតិវអតុ
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