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Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
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October
2004
Volume 7
- Number 1 |
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Terrorism in Peru, 1992-1996 I
born in Lima, Peru in 1977, my life during 1992 was like any other 14
years old
girl, going to school, homework, sports, friends,
and the most important thing to find the dress to the
party, in Peru we celebrate the 15 years old in the same way USA
celebrate the sweet
16, but during that time in my country specially in Lima(capital), for
the
first time the terrorism target the city and life was hard and tough
for a 15
years old girl that we wanted to go out. Through
January and July of 1992, 37 car bombs exploited in Lima metropolitan
with a
total of 50 death people, that was the most offensive and intensive
attack from
the “Partido Comunista del Peru, Sendero Luminoso (PCP SL), (Shining
Path).
Former university professor Abimael Guzman formed Shining Path late
1960s, and
his teachings created the foundation of Lighting’s Path militant Maoist
doctrine. In the 1980s, SP became one of the most ruthless terrorist
groups in
the Western Hemisphere approximately 30,000 persons have died since
Shining
Path took up arms in 1980, the location and area of operation has
reported more
activity in rural areas. I
remember the afternoon (7:00 pm)of July 16, 1992 in my house, I was
watching TV
in my bedroom when my mother and I heard like a strong noise like
whisper of
air, usually in the coast area where I live ( Miraflores) because we
are at the
level of the ocean, when a earth shake is coming you hear the noise and
then
the earth start moving, but that afternoon was really long and we were
in the
living room with no idea what was going on when suddenly we heard a
terrible !boom!,
and all the windows broke down, the doors shut down and seconds later,
you hear
the car alarms, sirens, people screaming, etc. At 5 minutes from my
house the
SP made exploited a car bombin Tarata st in Miraflores in a commercial and residential area, the target was the
Banco de Credito(Credit Bank), intersection between Larco and Shell st
but
because it was a high traffic area the car bomb was left in the
posterior area
to reach the target but it exploited in the Tarata st, where the
residential
building was, and some friends of mine lived there, 25 people died (
children
playing outside, pedestrian, taxi drivers, and some residents) and 155
were
injured, what my friend told me(12 floor) is that they saw a light they
saw
through the window, then they don’t remember but they were thrown
against the
wall and all the windows were broken and there was some fire outside
the
street, but they couldn’t hear anything. A factor important to mention
is that
in Peru it is not necessary needed air condition in houses, that is why
they
are built in concrete, and usually people leave the windows opened, so
the
windows broke more because of the impact and that cause more accidents.
More
attacks took place that day, 3 police stations, another bank in just
one
district 30 minutes from there. This was the first attack to a
residential area
in the city, I did not have a normal live, in school they taught us
evacuation
plan, terrorist attack actions, all the theaters, malls, concerts were
only
open till 10:00 pm, nobody was able to be out in the streets, you were
supposed
to be at home, no parties or shoes later than 10:00 the police were
everywhere,
nobody trusted anybody, the windows of the houses were covered with
tape, less
tourism came, less international investment, the economy fell, and the
people
were scared, four years passed and the president Alberto Fujimori
administration priority was to eliminate the terrorism in Peru and life was quite normal, until December 20 of
1996 The last rebels of the “Movimiento Revolucionario Tupac Amaru (MRTA)”, Tupac Amaru Revolutionary
Movement took more than 500 hostages,
releasing most in the early days of the crisis(women) but holding 72
inside the
sweltering and increasingly dirty and rat infested mansion where
telephone,
electricity and water services were cut off. They say they want a
release of
comrades now in prison, a change in Peru's economic policies and free
passage
back into the jungle Former
President Alberto Fujimori sent in 140 troops, under the Chavin de
Huantar
operation, many of them emerging form tunnels, swarmed into the
residence to
rescue all but one of the VIP list. A captive judge, 2 soldiers and all
the 14
rebels died in battle.One of my best friend of high school lives a
block from
there, we used to go out there to see, help, just to be there,
reporters form
all over the world practically lived out in the streets for those 4
months, people
used to go to sing, light candles, show banners in order to express
their
feelings to the relatives being hosted. The
demolition of the mansion in October 17, 1997, took memories and suffer
with
it. We gain back our freedom, even though they say there is still
terrorism in
Peru, nothing compared to what I live there when I was a teenager. |