years ago, have been uncovered and identified, human rights investigators said Wednesday, March 30. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) said its Peruvian partner Paz y Esperanza or ‘Peace and Hope’ participated in the exhumation of the remains of Guzman Castillo Roque, who was detained "by a military patrol" with two other Christians on October 25, 1989, in Atcas, 180 kilometers (112.5 miles) south east of the capital Lima.
CSW said investigators "found a bullet in the ribs, pieces of clothing, a burnt rope and a number of broken bones, indicating he was tortured before being killed. Investigators also concluded that the body was burnt before being buried in a clandestine location."
The bodies of the two other believers, identified as Evangelical Pastor Jorge Parraga Castillo and Tito Roque Huamanlazo, were not discovered but it is assumed that both men "met a similar fate", the human rights watchdog added.
CHRISTIAN BURIAL
The remains of Castillo Roque were returned to his family who gave him a Christian burial, CSW said.
Around 70,000 Peruvians, including many Christians, were killed or disappeared during years of internal strife as militant guerrilla groups the Shining Path and the Tupac Amaru revolutionary Movement (MRTA) battled government forces for control of the country, according to human rights watchers.
"While the government Truth and Reconciliation Commission found the Shining Path to be responsible for most of the deaths and disappearances, government forces have also been blamed for a significant proportion," CSW said in a statement to BosNewsLife.
The exhumation at the former military base in Manta was reportedly carried out under judicial order and was performed by Mario Gonzalez, the public prosecutor responsible for Forced Disappearances, Extrajudicial Executions and the Exhumation of Clandestine Graves.
SEARCH CONTINUES
In addition, the Legal Medicine Institute also participated alongside family members of the
victims and a team from Paz y Esperanza, CSW said.
Regional Director of Paz y Esperanza, Ruth Cespedes said that "while the organization considers this exhumation and identification to be a positive development", the "search for the bodies of Pastor Parraga and Roque Huamanlazo" must continue.
Human rights watchdogs have also demanded that the Ministry of Defence will shed details on which military personnel were responsible for the murders.
FAMILIES PRAY
"Having met with families of the disappeared I have seen their pain in not knowing what has happened to their loved ones," said CSW Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of Guzman, Pastor Parraga and Tito."
He said his organization urged the Peruvian government "to continue until the truth of what happened in the 1980s and 1990s is brought to light, not only for closure for the families of those who were disappeared and killed, but also for the healing of the nation of Peru." (With reports from Lima).
