November 1, 2005 Dr. Alfonso Ricardo Cornejo Alpaca Fiscal Superior Decano Del Distrito Judicial De Ayacucho Libertad Quinta Cuadra S/N Ministerio Publico Huamanga, Ayacucho Peru Tele/Fax: 066-311920
Estimado Dr. Alfonso Ricardo Cornejo Alpaca, I write on behalf of the American Anthropological Association, a professional association of more than 12,000 members from the United States and elsewhere, with respect to an urgent situation that has come to our attention regarding death threats to the three Peruvian forensics experts who are exhuming graves in Ayacucho, an area where the Shining Path committed many atrocities. These anthropologists, Luis Alberto Rueda Curimania, Carlos Alberto Suarez Canlla, and Maximo Angel Banda Roca are affiliated with the Medical Legal Institute in Ayacucho, and are conducting the first forensic investigation into human rights violations of its kind in Peru, making their findings especially important to national reconciliation and the rule of law. The death threats came in the form of text messages to their cell phones. The first incident occurred on February 28, 2005 while they were conducting exhumations at the Cuartel Domingo Ayarza. The second set of threats came on August 9 and 11, 2005 as the team was analyzing human remains and associated evidence they had recovered from Los Cabitos. The threats demanded that the team stop working on this case or they would be killed. One message to Curimania read: "piece of s---, stop the excavations or you will die, the same goes for Carlos and Maximo.." The anthropologists did not file an official deposition with the government after the first series of threats because they were worried about the consequences of doing so. However, this week the team decided that it was necessary for their supervisors and Peruvian officials to be informed about the death threats so that protection might be arranged and their human rights work could continue unhampered. Luis Alberto Rueda Curimania, Carlos Alberto Suarez Canlla, and Maximo Angel Banda Roca are protected from threat and death under international human rights treaties, to which Peru is a States’ Party, including the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nation’s General Assembly Resolution (A/RES/53/144) Human Rights Defenders Declaration, and the Organization of American States’ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Among other rights, these instruments specify that the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by competent authorities against violence, threats, or retaliation and that individuals have the right, individually and in association with others, to the lawful exercise of occupation or profession. Given the serious nature of the death threats against our three colleagues, the American Anthropological Association urgently requests that you take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that they and other staff of the Forensics team are provided with police protection. We also encourage you to facilitate an official investigation into the death threats against the individuals concerned.
The American Anthropological Association respectfully requests that you advise us of any actions you and the Peruvian government take in this case. Thank you for your prompt attention. Sincerely,
Elizabeth Brumfiel, Ph.D. President American Anthropological Association
cc. Dr. Luis August Bromley Coloma Jefe Nacional Del Instituto De Medicina Legal Del Peru Av. Abancay S/N - Quinta Cuadra Ministerio Publico Lima, Peru Cristina Del Pilar Olazabal Ochoa Fiscal de la Fiscalia Penal Supraprovincial Con Competencia en Delitos Contra el Terrorismo y Lesa Humanidad J. Libertad Quinta Cuadra S/N Ministerio Publico Huamanga, Ayacucho Peru Tele/Fax: 066-311920 Roger F. Noriega Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs U.S. Department of State Harry S. Truman Building, Suite #4527A 2201 C Street, NW Washington, DC 20521 Senator Norm Coleman, Chairman Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps & Narcotics Affairs U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510-6225 Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Ranking Member Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps & Narcotics Affairs U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510-6225
