- Title: PERU: Family members bury 92 victims killed during 1984 massacre
- Date: 31st August 2009
- Summary: PUTIS, PERU (AUGUST 29, 2009) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF FUNERAL PROCESSION, EACH FAMILY MEMBER CARRYING COFFIN OF LOVED ONE
- Embargoed: 16th September 2009 01:56
- Keywords:
- Location: Peru
- Country: Peru
- Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,History
- Reuters ID: LVA5KCWXLVRIPEPCCL9SBEUELS38
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: Family members of 92 victims of the 1984 Putis massacre in Peru buried their loved ones on Saturday (August 29) in a gorge along Peru's southern mountain range.
Authorities built 92 crypts along the narrow pass located in Rodeo, Putis' main town and the confluence of eight indigenous communities where the victims resided when they were killed in a massacre carried out by the military.
"I am happy because I can now lay to rest four of my family members despite still missing my brothers-in-law who have not been identified yet," family member of several of the victims Modesta Quispe said.
"I am still scared of the military and of the terrorists who still work in this area. I ask for justice and for those responsible of this massacre to be arrested. But at the same time, I am happy to be able to bury some of my family members," another family member of some of the victims German Fernandez said.
The villagers lit candles and cried as the non-descript white coffins were placed in the crypts built for the victims of the massacre.
The remains were exhumed from a mass grave found last year.
"We started the exhumations in 2008 here in Putis," forensic anthropologist Raul Greenwich told Reuters. "After carrying out the analysis, we established the presence of 92 individuals and we are now burying them here in Putis."
According to Peru's truth commission, the massacre in Putis was the worst of its kind during a war between the government and leftist insurgencies that took nearly 70,000 lives.
On August 19, the families received the official death certificates and the Red Cross arranged the transportation of the coffins to the funeral venue.
The brutal conflict pitted Andean country's military, police and peasant militias against two armed peasant groups -- the Shining Path and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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