Peruvians begin trek to call attention to country's violent past

Published: 2005-06-28

LIMA, Peru (CNS) -- Two years after the country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission presented its report on two decades of political violence, four Peruvians are trekking the length of the country, along ancient Incan roadways, to draw attention to the commission's recommendations and urge the government to act on them more quickly. The "Walk for Peace and Solidarity" is one of a series of events being organized to raise awareness about the commission's conclusions, including its call for reparations for the victims of the violence. The panel concluded that nearly 70,000 people died in the violence and that three-quarters of them spoke an indigenous language as their mother tongue. Two of the hikers -- Aydee Soto Quispe, 28, and Nilo Nino de Guzman Velasquez, 20 -- lost family members to the violence. Soto's father was murdered by Shining Path guerrillas, while Nino de Guzman's parents disappeared after having been detained at a military base in the central highlands. While a reparations law is working its way through Congress, church and human rights activists say the efforts are far from sufficient.

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