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International Emergency Committee to
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Yanamayo Political Prisoners Issue Urgent Appeal
On November 4, 1999 political prisoners and prisoners of war charged with belonging to the Communist Party of Peru at Yanamayo maximum-security prison in Peru issued a list of urgent demands that addressed their horrendous conditions. This statement (summarized below and available in its entirety here) specifically outlined point by point the outrageous and deadly prison conditions, and demanded "the full re-establishment and respect of all rights as protected by the international norms of the General Assembly of the United Nations, the political constitution of Peru, Peru's Penal Code and Code of Penal Procedure." The prisoners described Yanamayo as: "a fascist concentration camp where a plan of isolation, annihilation and genocide...is being applied." Six prisoner delegates put their lives at even greater risk by signing this document with their names and political titles: Pavilion 4 Delegate, Pavilion 4 Sub-delegate, two Food Delegates, Education and Culture Delegate, and Sports Delegate.
Summary of Demands
"We demand that the locked-down regimen be declared ILLEGAL, and principally that the Naval Base, Yanamayo and Challapalca concentration camps be CLOSED, because they threaten the physical and moral integrity of the prisoners… The locked-down regimen and the norms that sustain it are unconstitutional and contrary to the Code of Penal Procedure and international human rights. They in fact constitute the crime of GENOCIDE." Prisoners are locked down in cold 23 to 50 degree (F) cells, without lights or electricity, and allowed out of their cells a maximum of two hours per day."We demand that we be transferred to our place of origin; to the prison of Castro Castro [Canto Grande] because we have been transferred here arbitrarily and besides our sentences have not been issued for this place, but for Lima." Prisoners are moved to different prisons around the country arbitrarily and unannounced as a form of cruel punishment. Threats are made by the prison warden, Peruvian National Police Colonel Oscar Altamirano Flores, to send prisoners to an even more isolated and frigid prison in Challapalca, or to Lima's notorious Callao Naval base where PCP Chairman Gonzalo (Dr. Abimael Guzman) and other revolutionary leaders are held in small, dark underground isolation cells.
"We demand direct visits, without any restriction whatsoever, with relatives and friends," under protection of...Peru's Political Constitution... We demand that, pursuant to national and international law, visiting days be expanded... We demand the cessation of the harassment and intimidation of our relatives by PNP soldiers who by orders of [the warden] perform humiliating reviews and blackmail our relatives." Visits are allowed only with immediate family members. They are restricted to one hour per week, even though travel to Yanamayo can take days and is an expense and sacrifice only possible once or twice a year for many families. Visits are allowed only by means of a listening booth with no direct contact.
"We demand the right to be in the yard all day long because the 22-hour confinement violates the right to health and to life...the right to moral, psychological and physical integrity, and incurs the crime of Genocide..." There are no medical specialists, no medications, no lab services, no x-rays, no surgery, etc. There are no preventative programs, TB control, nutritional support or women's health services. Dental care is sporadic and lacks the necessary materials needed for treatment.
"We demand complete respect for the information and the culture, access to media such as newspaper, magazines, radio, TV; the installation of TV sets in the halls as agreed with the pastoral team of the Vicar of Puno, who donated the equipment."
"We demand the outfitting and operation of the shops, unrestricted flow of tools and production materials, respect for the right to work and the CESSATION OF THEFTS DURING SEARCHES."
"We demand...an improvement in the daily ration quality and quantity... We demand a stop to the robbing of food by staff... We demand the serving of food under hygienic conditions according to health standards... We demand unrestricted delivery of foodstuff [much food brought by relatives is turned away or stolen by the authorities]... We demand authorization to utilize kitchenware and accessories for the preparation of food... We demand that the prisoner' representatives implement control and supervision of the preparation of food and thus prevent the stealing of food which has reached outrageous levels.
Petitions in support of these demands are available from the IEC-please circulate these on your campus and among friends, activists, legal professionals, etc.
The complete statement and demands of the Yanamayo prisoners. Signed November 4, 1999.
