US embassy cable - 05LIMA4567

UNCLAS LIMA 004567 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, KDEM, PE 
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR AND DIPLOMATIC CORPS SHOW PUBLIC 
SUPPORT FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION 
 
REF: LIMA 446 
 
1. Summary: The Ambassador hosted a luncheon and press event 
with members of Peru's Truth and Reconciliation Commission 
(CVR) and the Diplomatic Corps.  Members of the CVR, 
including Chairman Salomon Lerner, have received an 
increasing number of death threats, which they believe are 
linked to criminal proceedings against military officers that 
are based on CVR findings.  The Ambassador's event emphasized 
the international community's support for the CVR and brought 
the diplomatic community together around this issue. End 
Summary. 
 
2.  The Ambassador hosted a luncheon and press event on 10/19 
for members of Peru's Truth and Reconciliation Commission 
(CVR): Salomon Lerner Febres, Monsignor Jose Antunez de 
Mayolo, Enrique Bernales Ballesteros, Gaston Garatea Yori, 
Alberto Morote Sanchez, Carlos Tapia Garcia, Beatriz Alva 
Hart, and Sofia Macher Batanero.  The Ambassadors of the 
United Kingdom, Canada, the European Union, the Netherlands, 
and Belgium, and the deputy representative of the United 
Nations Development Program also attended. 
 
3. The Ambassador congratulated the CVR on its landmark work 
and expressed concern over recent press accounts of death 
threats made against Lerner.  Lerner thanked the Ambassador 
and said that in recent months, as a group of military 
officials have been brought up on charges, there has been an 
increase in threats made to members of the CVR  including 
himself.  He said some of the threats were anti-Semitic and 
targeted his Jewish ancestry (Lerner is a Catholic and dean 
of the Catholic University).  Lerner and other CVR members 
said they were more concerned about the safety of the many 
witnesses that came forward than they were about themselves. 
They said critics were trying to undermine the credibility of 
the CVR  by questioning the veracity of its findings.  (Note: 
The CVR formally went out of existence in 2003, though 
initiatives inspired by its work continue under the direction 
of the Ombudsman, the UNDP, and other civil society actors. 
End Note.) 
 
4.  The CVR members defended the CVR process and told the 
Ambassador and the assembled group that the process was 
balanced and looked at all those involved in human rights 
violations, independent of political stripe or institutional 
identity. They noted some segments of the Peruvian military 
were cooperative while others were reluctant.  Macher cited 
as a positive development a request by the military to set 
aside a special prison facility in Chorillos that could 
accommodate accused military, as well as others.  The CVR 
members said that their primary criticism was of Sendero 
Luminoso as the instigator of the conflict and the principal 
violator of human rights. 
 
5.  The CVR members said a high profile statement by 
President Toledo reiterating his support for the CVR process 
could help to reduce threats to their security.  Police 
protection was previously proposed by the GOP but never 
became a reality.  Some CVR members expressed concern about 
police protection because it could lead to greater 
surveillance. 
 
6. Comment: The Ambassador's objective with the luncheon and 
press event was to show that the international community is 
concerned about the threats to the CVR members and continues 
to strongly support the work done by the CVR. Media coverage 
of the event was positive.  End Comment. 
STRUBLE