The Committee to Support the Revolution in Peru (USA) PO Box 1246, Berkeley, California 94701 415-252-5786 / fax: 415-252-7414 http://www.csrp.org

ON THE TAKEOVER OF THE JAPANESE AMBASSADOR'S RESIDENCE IN LIMA BY THE TUPAC AMARU REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT (MRTA)

This takeover is focusing world attention on Peru. There needs to be much more media attention to the primary reason why people in Peru are rising up in armed rebellion-- the social injustices suffered by the people.

Since Fujimori's 1992 military coup thousands of Peruvians accused of "terrorism" have been railroaded into prison in secret trials by hooded military judges-- cases are typically decided in minutes with no opportunity for the accused to defend themselves. There are now over 5,000 political prisoners in Peru. Suspects are locked up three to a 9-by-9 foot cell, with only a half hour a day outside their cell. Tuberculosis and other illnesses abound, food is poor and prisoners often suffer claustrophobia and depression.

In Puno's Yanamayo prison, where American Lori Berenson is being held along with hundreds of Peruvian political prisoners, they are exposed to high altitude and sub-freezing conditions described by many as "a slow death." Political detainees in Peru are generally held incommunicado for fifteen days or more, during which time they are routinely tortured. Political detentions are widespread. According to the NY Times, in the past 18 months there have been about 500,000 detentions (in a country of 23 million).

Imprisoned leaders like Abimael Guzmán (of the Communist Party of Peru) have been kept completely isolated from any of their lawyers, doctors, or relatives. Lawyers who defend political prisoners have themselves been imprisoned, or killed. Attorney Alfredo Crespo, for example, was sentenced to life imprisonment at Yanamayo for attempting to defend Dr. Guzmán in his trial by hooded military judges.

All these measures are a desperate response of the Peruvian regime to a People's War led by the Communist Party of Peru which, since 1980, has organized hundreds of thousands of peasants, workers, students and middle class allies in an armed struggle to liberate Peru from principally US domination.

Free market investments and privatizations have resulted in multinational corporations reaping millions in profits while the level of poverty has doubled since 1990. IMF imposed austerity measures have kept wages down, increased unemployment, and made it almost impossible for the poor to survive. Over 35,000 children die each year before age 5 from malnutrition and poverty. These kinds of conditions are the reasons why the People's War in Peru was initiated, and why it and other forms of protest and rebellion will continue despite the most draconian measures unleashed by the government.

The Committee to Support the Revolution in Peru (CSRP) is dedicated to organizing political support for the People's War in Peru led by the Communist Party of Peru (referred to in the media as Shining Path)-- a war of the masses to win nationwide political power and establish a "new people's democracy." The Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA), has a different political strategy and outlook, but as CSRP spokesperson Heriberto Ocasio states, "Our committee opposes the crimes of the fascist Fujimori regime, and denounces the cruel and inhuman treatment of all political prisoners in Peru. We demand an end to the secret trials and hooded judges, and call on people to support the just struggle of the people in Peru to end their oppression."