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EPAF Newsletter: August-September 2008

Dear Friends,
 
Greetings from the Peruvian Team of Forensic Anthropology.
 
We bring to you our Newsletter for the period of August - September. These have been months of intense work and many accomplishments, but also a time to reflect on the significance of a day that brings forward both the accomplishments and the persistent difficulties of a search that continues after decades of uncertainty. On August 30th, the International Day of the Disappeared was celebrated. EPAF honored the date with the exhibition of the clothes found in the mass graves of Putis, a major step towards the identification of the victims of this massacre.
 
We offer again our solidarity to the families, and our commitment to keep working to find answers to their questions.
 
Sincerely,
EPAF

August 30th: International Day of the Disappeared
The problem of the "disappeared" affects many countries in the world. There isn't an exact number, but at least 30 nations are considered to be suffering from this situation.
 
Twenty-six years ago, the Latin American Federation of Associations for Relatives of the Detained-Disappeared (FEDEFAM) was founded. In their long struggle with their governments for the search for their loved ones, they established August 30th as the Day of the Detained-Disappeared. Years later, with the inclusion of associations of relatives from Asia, Europe and Africa, the date was established as the International Day of the Disappeared.
 
The difference between kidnapping and forced disappearance is that the latter is a practice carried by government agents or groups that are somehow under the government protection and/or support. This means that it is carried on precisely by the people responsible for our protection.
 
"The objective of forced disappearance is not simply the victim's capture and subsequent maltreatment, which often occurs in the absence of legal guarantees. Because of the anonymity of the captors, and subsequent impunity, it also creates a state of uncertainty and terror both in the family of the victim and in society as a whole. Uncertainty exists because people do not know what to do or where to turn. From the first moment, relatives have doubts about the victim's actual fate and the benefits of searching for their loved one. Terror is caused by the unknown yet undoubtedly terrible fate of the victim, and the realization that anyone can be subjected to a forced disappearance and any motive may be used to justify the disappearance." (FEDEFAM)
 
"Forced disappearance paralyzes opposition activities by individuals as well as by society. The victim of forced disappearance is neither a simple political prisoner nor--as the abductors would like him/her to be considered--a dead person, although many times their corpses are later found." (FEDEFAM)
 
A person "disappeared" by the State, even if he/she is found and identified, will always be a victim of forced disappearance in judiciary terms.
 
The Work Team on Forced Disappearance for the United Nations has around 45,998 disappearances in its registry, and is working on promoting the ratification of the Convention Against Forced Disappearance by all governments. A coalition of civil society institutions and associations of relatives has also been formed, to develop conscience in the governments and promote ratification at the international level.
 
Amnesty International, one of the members of this coalition, has been working for years on campaigns related to forced disappearance in 33 countries, 11 of which are Latin American countries.
 
In Peru, this terrible practice occurred during the internal conflict (1980-2000).  Over 15,000 persons disappeared and their relatives are still waiting.
 
On August 30th, in commemoration of the International Day of the Disappeared and as part of the activities of the "Latin American Initiative for the Identification of the Missing", EPAF held an exhibition of clothing and personal effects found in the mass graves at Putis (Ayacucho, Peru) in the hope that the relatives would recognize them and assist in the identification process of near a hundred victims of the massacre.
 
The role of the relatives is crucial, but very painful. The process forces them to open their wounds with no guarantee of providing the tools to close them, trapped in a system that still doesn't pay the problem the attention it deserves, keeping the families in a legal and emotional void, waiting for answers to the questions they have been asking for over 20 years: where are their loved ones, why were they taken, are they still alive.
 
The search for the missing is a long and hard task in our countries. We don't only face the difficulties of the investigation itself (the gathering of testimonies and evidence 20 years after the events, the use of complex patterns by the perpetrators, etc.), we also face politics that hinder or slow down the investigation, ignorance about the process from some of the most important actors, a government that doesn´t understand the magnitude of the problem, the hard reality of investigating crimes whose perpetrators are still in power, even in high positions.
 
To reverse this situation, to give the victims their right place, to work to find the answers they need and allow them some closure is the only way to achieve a true reconciliation in our countries and start building  a culture of peace, to make sure events like this never happen again.
 
More information:
 
FEDEFAM

International Coalition Against Forced Disappearances 

International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance


Victims of the Chaupiorcco Massacre Identified
The identity of the five victims recovered in December 2004 in Chaupiorcco (Apurimac, Peru) has finally been confirmed through DNA testing.
 
Two decades after the kidnapping and disappearance of 17 residents of the communities of Socco, Amoca, and Checcasa, in the province of Aymaraes (Apurimac, Peru), the remains of the five victims exhumed in the area known as Chaupiorcco in December 2004 have been successfully identified. The massacre occurred on January 13, 1988, while the detained were being conducted to the "Santa Rosa" military base.
 
Three men and two women compose the five identified victims. The positive identifications resulted after DNA analyses were conducted by EPAF in collaboration with Bode Laboratories, as part of the activities of the "Latin American Initiative for the Identification of the Disappeared", supported by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) of the U.S. Department of State. The analysis confirmed and completed additional evidence gathered by EPAF in 2005.
 
"These identifications represent a crucial step forward in our attempt to establish what happened that day," said EPAF Executive Director Jose Pablo Baraybar. "We hope this information helps to move forward the judicial process as these families continue their search for justice."
 
"The identification of these victims is an important moment for the families because one of their principal demands is the restitution of the remains of their loved ones so they can be given a burial in accordance with their customs and traditions," said APRODEH Attorney Gloria Cano. "Their identification is in itself an act of justice given justice is not only the sanctioning of those responsible - it must also include the return of their loved ones, who remained Missing for more than two decades."


Exhibition of clothes of the victims of Putis
For 5 days, the clothes and personal effects of almost a hundred victims of the massacre of Putis were shown for recognition, in an event that confirms the persistence of memory over time.
 
From August 30th to September 3rd, a week after closing the last stage of analysis of the remains found in the largest mass grave exhumed in Peru so far, EPAF held an exhibition of the clothing and personal effects of almost a hundred victims of the massacre at Putis, in order for the families to attempt to identify them.
 
Wednesday September 3rd in Mashuacancha, Putis, in the highlands of Ayacucho (Peru), the exhibition closed in an open area next to the river, where the clothing and personal effects were laid over two long blue plastic tarpaulins. Early that morning, dozens of villagers from the eight annexes of the community of Putis descended to the river accompanied by their children. EPAF's personnel had not yet finished laying out the items, when some relatives immediately recognized clothing bringing tears and pain.
 
Relatives of the victims and members of EPAF at the exhibition of clothes. Mashuacancha, Putis. Picture: Domingo Giribaldi.
 
The clothing exhibition was held in 3 locations: Huanta, San Jose de Secce (Santillana) and Putis. The outcome is very positive: over 500 visitors attended, 19 identifications of clothing and/or personal effects were made, and 80 ante-mortem forms of victims of the Putis massacre and other events were collected.
 
This event not only shows that clothing exhibitions are an effective tool in the identification process, but also demonstrates the persistence of memory over time. The exhibition was cathartic for the families of the victims and allowed them to grieve and come to terms with the events that define their past, an essential step in healing the wounds of Peru's troubled history.
 
More information on Putis:

Peruvians seek relatives in mass grave – BBC News
 
Years after slaughter, Peru opens giant burial pit – Reuters


Memory of the Missing
The systematic recovery of Antemortem information continues in the regions most affected by violence.
 
The Project "Memory of the Missing" is dedicated to the systematic recovery of antemortem information in Peru since 2002. A new campaign for information recovery started last August in the province of Huanta (Ayacucho), thanks to the collaboration of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
 
By means of a signed agreement between EPAF and the National Council of Reparations - CNR, EPAF will collaborate in the gathering of information for the elaboration of the Official Registry of Victims at the national level. The elaboration of this registry is the CNR's most important assignment, and the first step for the government to acknowledge the victims and their needs.
 
EPAF's collaboration will consist in the collection of Antemortem Forms, which will constitute a valid document to add to the verification process of victims of forced disappearance. Antemortem Forms are documents that hold very detailed information about the events and the social and biological profile of the victim.
 
Even though the province of Huanta (one of the most affected by violence) has been visited by EPAF's interviewers in previous campaigns, it is still considered an important starting point, both for the amount of reported victims and the difficult access to some communities that will be covered in this campaign.


Other news
 
Presentation of forensic evidence for the case of "Cantuta" at the trial of Fujimori
 
Wednesday September 10th EPAF's experts, Jose Pablo Baraybar, Carmen Rosa Cardoza and Mellisa Lund, appeared in court at the trial of ex President Alberto Fujimori to present the results of the forensic analysis in the case known as "Cantuta". This case, which refers to the disappearance and murder of nine students and a professor of the Universidad Nacional de Educación Enrique Guzmán y Valle "La Cantuta" by members of the denominated Colina Group, is one of the two cases related to Human Rights violations for which the ex President is facing charges. Some members of the Colina Group have already been found guilty and convicted for these crimes.
 
More information on the trial:

The Trial of Fujimori

11 missing in Ayacucho
EPAF wants to express its concern for the reported disappearance of 11 persons from the community of Pichis Rio Seco (Ayacucho, Peru), and its solidarity to the families.

More information (Spanish):

Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos

Threats to the Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala

Since 2006, the members of the Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala - FAFG have been receiving systematic death threats in the form of written messages, posters and text messages on cell phones. The worst part of it is that the threats don't involve only the members of the FAFG, but implicate their direct relatives, creating an environment of uncertainty and fear in the team as a whole. It is known that the FAFG cases involve the investigation of serious violations of Human Rights, and many of he authors of these crimes are in a position of political power in Guatemala today.
 
More information (Spanish):

FAFG

Threats to Human Rights defenders in Colombia
 
In the past two months, personnel of the Commission of Peace and Justice (Comisión Justicia y Paz) in Colombia have been suffering threats in the name of a group denominated "Black Eagles". These constant threats have forced the commission to withdraw from important regions of intervention. As part of the international community, we support our Colombian colleagues and unite our voices to get the authorities to address the problem.
 
More information (Spanish):

Commission of Peace and Justice