PERU REJECTS A $2 MILLION DONATION

Peruvians rejected a donation from Germany to build a museum commemorating the guerilla war with a Maoist group. Perhaps, because the government is also responsible for some human rights violations during the conflict.The Peruvian government has recently rejected a $2 million donation from Germany. The donation was meant for the construction of a museum that would commemorate the victims of a conflict between the Maoist Shining Path and the Peruvian government that has begun in 1980. The Maoists wanted to replace the bourgeois democracy with their New Democracy. The rejection of the donation has caused an outrage between the academics and human rights activists. They appeal to the government to reconsider its decision and they have reportedly started a petition criticizing the government’s position. The museum was intended to house the Yuyanapaq photographical documentary of the conflict. The local state officials suggest there are more important things to attend to like tackling poverty and hunger. For example Yehude Simon suggested the money could be used as reparations for victims instead of new museum. There may, however, be other reasons why the Peruvian state officials do not want such a museum to be constructed. During the conflict the Shining Path was responsible “only” for 46 per cent of all the 69,280 deaths and disappearances. For all the atrocities and violent acts the still existing group committed, it received the label as a terrorist organization in the US and the EU. Nevertheless, it was not only the Maoists who violated the human rights. The state armed forces were, according to the Human Rights Watch, responsible for one-third of the deaths. The current Peruvian president served his first term in 1985 and during his administration the human rights were harshly violated. Related:“New” Pyramid Found in PeruIdeal Vacation for the UFO Tourists?