Twenty-four Year Wait for Justice in Peru

Emily Syrjala

South America: Peru

Christen Today Australia

from: http://au.christiantoday.com/article/twenty-four-year-wait-for-justice-in-peru/5215.htm

On December 13th 1984 in Putis, Peru there was a killing massacre; 123 people were killed.  The person who is accused of this killing spree was a former general named Wilfredo Mori Orzo. Orzo was ordered to court on January 29^th and 30^th for his trial of the massacre.

            The massacre took place in a rural part of Putis called the Andean highlands. The people of the village that were targeted were people who spoke Quechua and who were indigenous.  A Maoist terrorist group called The Shining Path was very strong so the village asked of the Peruvian military to set up camp close by to protect the village from The Shining Path.  They agreed to protect the village.  Then after setting up the base they gathered the men to dig holes to be used as trout-farming. After the men were done digging the holes, the soldiers had men, women, and children line up in front of the holes and then opened fire.  The soldiers later used those holes to bury the dead bodies. There are thought to have been 123 people killed. So far there have been 60 body remains found.

            Orzo was charged for the killings and violating human rights but didn’t show up to court.