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EPAF Newsletter July 2008

The Cantuta Memorial
Update: Putis Work Continues

Dear Friends,
 
Greetings from the Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team.

We hope you enjoy our newly designed newsletter. Let us know if you have any problems viewing any of the photos and articles below.

In this issue, we revisit the La Cantuta memorials. In honor of the 16th anniversary of the massacre, EPAF pays tribute to the memory of the nine students and one professor from La Cantuta who tragically lost their lives on July 18, 1992.

We celebrate their lives and the perserverance of their relatives in their search for justice.

We also provide an update on our ongoing work in Ayacucho to identify those recently exhumed in Putis. We reaffirm our committment to the families of Putis in the hope that one day, like those of Cantuta, they can be reunited with their loved ones.
 
Sincerely,
EPAF


So This Will Never Happen Again

Relatives of Cantuta bury their loved ones as former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori stands trial for 1992 massacre

Two months after the exhumation of the largest mass grave found in Peruvian history in Putis, Ayacucho, the beginning of one journey toward justice gave way to the symbolic end of another.
 
Sixteen years after the assassination of nine university students and one professor at the hands of the clandestine Colina death squad, relatives of those kidnapped from their dormitories at dawn on July 18, 1992 reunited for three ceremonies celebrating their final burial and memory. 
 
Heroes. Martyrs. These are just a few of the words used by friends, former colleagues, and family to describe the flowers of Cantuta.

Two days before the burial of their loved ones at the cemetery of El Angel in Lima, relatives of Cantuta arrived to the EPAF office to be reunited with the remains of their loved ones. The following day, a parade of funeral cars transported their coffins back to the steps of the university from which they were taken.

Day 1: A Final Farewell

The deliberative voice of Fedor Muñoz, the brother of assassinated professor Hugo Muñoz, easily fills the small EPAF lobby. Standing in a circle of solidarity with relatives of Cantuta around six auburn-colored coffins located alongside vases of multi-colored flowers and lit candles, Muñoz pays homage to the fallen heroes of Cantuta.

"For me, they are not dead, they are alive," Muñoz said. "They beat in our hearts."

Muñoz, like other relatives of Cantuta who have stood unfailingly together, arrived to the EPAF office early Thursday morning, July 17, to be reunited with their loved ones after 16 years.

Since their exhumation in January 2007, the remains were subsequently analyzed and identified by EPAF. Only one complete body was found, and fragments of others allowed EPAF to identify four of the 10 victims and establish that bones of atleast eight individuals had been found. The evidence was used by a Peruvian court in April 2008 to sentence four members of Colina to 15-35 years in jail for their responsibility in the massacre.

Relatives silently entered one of EPAF's investigation rooms to share a final moment with the remains of their loved ones, all placed upon three separate tables.

"When I see my brother like this, I always think he is smiling at us," said Gisela Ortiz, looking at the skeleton of her late brother, Luis Enrique Ortiz. "That gives me alot of strength."

For Carmen Amaro, it was her brother's love for Sikuri, music native to the Andean highlands, that rang most vividly.

"In a few days, you will leave us," said Amaro, referring to the Saturday afternoon burial. "But we are going to say goodbye to you, with Sikuri, as you always liked."
 
Day 2: Return to Cantuta
 
While continuing her homage to her late brother, it was Carmen Amaro herself who spoke to the importance of bringing the remains of those killed at Cantuta back to where they had been violently taken from. It was the most dignified way to say goodbye, she said.
 
On early Friday morning, the 16th anniversary of the massacre, relatives reunited at the EPAF office to transport their loved ones - now in coffins - back to La Cantuta. Carrying the coffins down the stairs to the funeral cars, the relatives fulfilled their promise after they entered the university hours later, greeted by scores of students, teachers, and colleagues.
 
"Spilt blood will never be forgotten!" students
chanted. "When a student from Cantuta dies, he/she never dies!"
 
Relatives and students carried the coffins on their shoulders on a march through the university, reciting with prideful conviction the name of every victim as supporters threw white flowers. Marchers stopped at various department buildings across the university, sharing stories of how they had not forgotten their fallen comrades.
 
"We always wanted to say goodbye to our loved ones here, where they were ripped away by the criminals," said Gisela Ortiz. "So that they see that we have memory, and fresh memory. Not only do we not forget the names of the 10 victims, but we do not forget the names of their assassins."
 
Martin Amaro, brother of fallen student Armando Amaro, said he is honored to continue fighting for the rights of students at La Cantuta just as his brother had done.
 
"They died for a just cause..." Amaro said. "They died for their rights as university students, for the rights of all of us ... the same rights we as students fight for now."
 
The procession culminated at the monument constructed in honor of the fallen students and professor, the words, "Never more!" etched into the limestone. Relatives placed the coffins infront of the nameplates of their loved ones, as bouquets of red Cantuta flowers were placed next to each one.
 
Day 3: A Christian Burial
 
Like so many families in Peru who long to be reunited with their disappeared loved ones in order to give them a Christian burial, relatives of Cantuta reunited early Saturday morning in Plaza Francia in Lima to travel together to the cemetery of El Angel.
 
While the sentencing of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori remains pending, the restitution of the remains of the victims of Cantuta to their relatives represents an indispensable form of restorative justice.

"We now can bury our loved ones with the dignity of knowing who they are," said Gisela Ortiz.
 
Crossing through the gates of the cemetery, the procession of hundreds of family and friends continued their tribute to their fallen comrades, holding hands and flowers in solidarity. Arriving to the grave erected in honor of the fallen 10, bouquets of flowers were placed on top and alongside the headstone as those present began to sing, "Flower of Retama," a famous song recounting the tragic losses of life.
 
As groups of musicians played Sikuri, music involving drums and panpipes native to the Andean highlands, relatives lowered their loved ones into four separate tombs as supporters continued chanting for justice and the eternal memory of the heroes of Cantuta.
 
Once the tombs had been sealed, as supporters continued their chants, individual relatives looked on silently, clinging to white flowers. There they said their final goodbyes, punctuated by the descent of each flower into the large grave.
 
"For our memory, for our struggle, they live in our hearts forever!" Ortiz shouted.
 

EPAF Continues Work on Behalf of Putis Victims

Team forensic anthropologists attempt to identify recovered Peruvians through bone analysis and clothing inspection in Ayacucho
 
Setting up shop in the regional Office of Missing Persons in Ayacucho on July 12, EPAF staff continue their work to identify those exhumed from the largest mass grave uncovered in Peru´s history.
 
Spread across a handful of long, narrow inspection tables, the delicate remains of men, women, and young children are sifted through by EPAF forensic anthropologists. Far from just reconstructing the human skeletons of those who lost their lives in December 1984, EPAF staff handle the shirts, pants, and other garments that some family members fondly associate with their lost loved ones.
 
"The work is very difficult," said EPAF Director Jose Pablo Baraybar. "We are looking for all indications that allow us to establish who these people were and how they died."
 
EPAF staff are attempting to establish identifying characteristics including approximate age, sex, stature, and handedness.

EPAF is also trying to document all recovered clothing for a future clothing exhibition that may help family members play a role in the identification of their lost relatives. While on site in May, some family members who had traveled days to witness the exhumation in Putis recall seeing pieces of clothing that struck them as familiar.

"The relatives of those killed in Putis will play a crucial role in our work," Baraybar said. "They know their loved ones better than anyone."

 
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