Communist Party of Peru
Communist Party of Peru flag.
Active	1980 - Present
Country	Peru
Allegiance	Maoism
Branch	The People's Guerrilla Army is the official name of the armed branch of the party.
Role	Guerrilla warfare
Size	Probably a few hundred fighters
Garrison/HQ	Unknown, probably Upper Huallaga Valley
Nickname	Sendero Luminoso, Shining Path
Motto	"Long live the People's War," "It is Right to Rebel"
Colors	Red
Anniversaries	May 17, 1980
Equipment	Small arms and dynamite
Battles/wars	Internal conflict in Peru
Commanders
Current commander	Comrade Artemio
Notable commanders	Abimael Guzmán (imprisoned) Óscar Ramírez (imprisoned)
Insignia
Identification symbol	Hammer and sickle
Identification symbol	Initials "PCP"

The Communist Party of Peru (Spanish: Partido Comunista del Perú), more commonly known as the Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso), is a Maoist guerrilla organization in Peru that launched the internal conflict in Peru in 1980. The more familiar name distinguishes the group from several other Peruvian communist parties with similar names (see Communism in Peru). It originates from a maxim of José Carlos Mariátegui, founder of the original Peruvian Communist Party in the 1920s: "El Marxismo-Leninismo abrirá el sendero luminoso hacia la revolución" (“Marxism-Leninism will open the shining path to revolution”).^[1] This maxim was featured in the masthead of the newspaper of a Shining Path front group, and Peruvian communist groups are often distinguished by the names of their publications. The followers of the group are generally called senderistas. All documents, periodicals and other materials produced by the organization are signed by the Communist Party of Peru (PCP). Academics refer to them as PCP-SL. Image File history File links Flag_of_Sendero_Luminoso. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... “Guerrilla” redirects here. ... The Huallaga Valley is located in northern Peru, south of Tarapoto. ... is the 137th day of the year (138th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Small arms captured in Fallujah, Iraq by the US Marine Corps in 2004 The term small arms generally describes any number of smaller infantry weapons, such as firearms that an individual soldier can carry. ... Dynamite is an explosive based on the explosive potential of nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth (kieselguhr) as an adsorbent. ... Combatants Republic of Peru Shining Path Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement Commanders Fernando Belaúnde Terry Alan García Alberto Fujimori Abimael Guzmán Óscar Ramírez Comrade ArtemioVíctor Polay Nestor Cerpa Cartolini It has been estimated that nearly 70,000 people died in the internal conflict in Peru... Comrade Artemio is the alias of the man believed by many to be the current leader of the Shining Path, a Maoist guerrilla group in Peru. ... Guzmán as a prisoner Manuel Rubén Abimael Guzmán Reynoso, also known by his nom de guerre Presidente Gonzalo (English: President Gonzalo), a former professor of philosophy, was the leader of the Maoist insurgency often referred coloquially to as Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso in Spanish). ... Óscar Ramírez Durand, who is commonly known as Comrade Feliciano, was one of the leaders of the Shining Path, a Maoist guerrilla movement in Peru. ... For other uses, see Hammer and sickle (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... “Guerrilla” redirects here. ... Combatants Republic of Peru Shining Path Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement Commanders Fernando Belaúnde Terry Alan García Alberto Fujimori Abimael Guzmán Óscar Ramírez Comrade ArtemioVíctor Polay Nestor Cerpa Cartolini It has been estimated that nearly 70,000 people died in the internal conflict in Peru... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... José Carlos Mariátegui José Carlos Mariátegui (14 June 1894 – 16 April 1930) was a Peruvian journalist, political philosopher, and activist. ... Peruvian Communist Party (in Spanish: Partido Comunista Peruano), a communist party in Peru. ... Vladimir Lenin in 1920 Leninism is a political and economic theory which builds upon Marxism; it is a branch of Marxism (and it has been the dominant branch of Marxism in the world since the 1920s). ... A front organization, also known as a front group (if it is structured to look like a voluntary association) or a front company or simply a front (if it is structured to look like a company), is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization. ...

Shining Path's stated goal is to replace Peruvian bourgeois institutions with a communist peasant revolutionary regime, presumably passing first through the Maoist developmental stage of New Democracy. They claimed to understand the reality of the Peruvian society. The Inca society, which was destroyed by the Spanish conquistadores, contained the pre-Conquest Inca Empire of Tawantinsuyo which, according to Mariátegui, contained a kind of primitive communist society. The senderistas hoped that the future would combine revolutionary Marxism with the society of the Incas. ‘A new path of arms’ was expected to lead Peru towards a transformed society that served its people. Since the capture of its leader Abimael Guzmán in 1992, it has only been sporadically active.^[2] Shining Path's ideology and tactics have been influential on other Maoist insurgent groups, notably the Maoist Communist Party of Nepal and other Revolutionary Internationalist Movement-affiliated organizations. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the form of society and political movement. ... New Democracy is a Maoist concept based on Mao Tse-Tungs Bloc of Four Classes theory in post-revolutionary China. ... For other meanings of Inca, see Inca (disambiguation). ... A Conquistador (Spanish: []) (English: Conqueror) was a Spanish soldier, explorer and adventurer who took part in the gradual invasion and conquering of much of the Americas and Asia Pacific, bringing them under Spanish colonial rule between the 15th and 19th centuries. ... For the a general view of Inca civilisation, people and culture, see Incas. ... Capital Cusco 1197-1533 Vilcabamba 1533-1572 Language(s) Quechua Government Monarchy Sapa Inca  - 1197–1220 Manco Capac  - 1532-1533 Atahualpa  - 1570-1572 Túpac Amaru History  - Established 1197  - Spanish conquest 1532–1537  - Disestablished 1572 Area  - 1527 2,000,000 km2 772,204 sq mi Population  - 1527 est. ... Guzmán as a prisoner Manuel Rubén Abimael Guzmán Reynoso, also known by his nom de guerre Presidente Gonzalo (English: President Gonzalo), a former professor of philosophy, was the leader of the Maoist insurgency often referred coloquially to as Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso in Spanish). ... “Insurrection” redirects here. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... The Revolutionary Internationalist Movement is an international Communist organization which upholds Marxism-Leninism-Maoism. ...

Widely condemned for its brutality,^[3][4] including violence deployed against peasants, trade union organizers, popularly elected officials and the general civilian population,^[5] Shining Path is regarded by Peru as a terrorist organization. The group is on the U.S. Department of State's "Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations" list,^[6] and the European Union^[7] and Canada^[8] likewise regard them as a terrorist organization and prohibit providing funding or other financial support. In a detail of Brueghels Land of Cockaigne (1567) a soft-boiled egg has little feet to rush to the luxuriating peasant who catches drops of honey on his tongue, while roast pigs roam wild: in fact, hunger and harsh winters were realities for the average European in the... A trade union or labor union is an organization of workers. ... Terrorist redirects here. ... Department of State redirects here. ... The U.S. State Departments list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations is a list of non-US organizations that are designated as terrorist by the United States Secretary of State in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). ...

Origins

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (April 2007)

Shining Path was founded in the late 1960s by former university philosophy professor Abimael Guzmán (referred to by his followers by his nom de guerre Presidente Gonzalo), whose teachings created the foundation for its militant Maoist doctrine. It was an offshoot of the Communist Party of Peru — Bandera Roja ("red flag"), which in turn split from the original Peruvian Communist Party, a derivation of the Peruvian Socialist Party, founded by José Carlos Mariátegui in 1928. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Guzmán as a prisoner Manuel Rubén Abimael Guzmán Reynoso, also known by his nom de guerre Presidente Gonzalo (English: President Gonzalo), a former professor of philosophy, was the leader of the Maoist insurgency often referred coloquially to as Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso in Spanish). ... For other uses, see Alias. ... Peruvian Communist Party (Red Flag) (in Spanish: Partido Comunista Peruano (Bandera Roja)), was a political party in Peru founded in 1964 following a split in the Peruvian Communist Party. ... Historically, and most generally, the red flag is an international symbol for the blood of angry workers. ... Peruvian Communist Party (in Spanish: Partido Comunista Peruano), a communist party in Peru. ... José Carlos Mariátegui José Carlos Mariátegui (14 June 1894 – 16 April 1930) was a Peruvian journalist, political philosopher, and activist. ... Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Shining Path first established a foothold in San Cristóbal of Huamanga University, in Ayacucho, Peru, where Guzmán taught philosophy. The university had recently reopened after being closed for about half a century, and many students of the newly-educated class adopted Shining Path's radical ideology. Between 1973 and 1975, Shining Path gained control of the student councils in the Universities of Huancayo and La Cantuta, and developed a significant presence in the National University of Engineering in Lima and the National University of San Marcos, the oldest university in the Americas. Sometime later, it lost many student elections in the universities, including Guzmán's own San Cristóbal of Huamanga, and decided to abandon the universities and reconsolidate itself. The San Cristóbal of Huamanga National University (in Spanish, Universidad Nacional de San Cristóbal de Huamanga) is a public university located in the city of Ayacucho (formerly known as Huamanga) in southern Perú. The university was first established in 1677 by Cristóbal Castilla y Zamora, the Catholic... A students union, student government, or student council is a student organization present at many colleges and universities, often with its own building on the campus, dedicated to social and organizational activities of the student body. ... Huancayo is the capital of the Junín Region, in the central highlands of Peru. ... The National University of Education Enrique Guzmán and Valle (Spanish: Universidad Nacional de Educación Enrique Guzmán y Valle), often called La Cantuta, is a university in the Lima area of Peru. ... National University of Engineering (Spanish:Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería) (UNI) is a prestigious engineering and science university in Lima, Peru. ... For other uses, see Lima (disambiguation). ... National University of San Marcos or University of Saint Mark [1] (Spanish: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM), or simply San Marcos) is a public university in Lima, Peru. ... World map showing the Americas CIA political map of the Americas The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the continents of North America[1] and South America with their associated islands and regions. ...

In the beginning of 1980, Shining Path held a series of clandestine meetings in Ayacucho, known as the Central Committee's second plenary. It formed a "Revolutionary Directorate" that was political and military in nature, and ordered its militias to transfer to strategic areas in the provinces to start the "armed struggle". The group also held its "First Military School" where militants were instructed in military tactics and weapons use. They also engaged in the "criticism and self-criticism," a Maoist practice intended to purge bad habits and avoid repeating mistakes. During the First Military School, members of the Central Committee came under heavy criticism. Guzmán did not, and he emerged from the First Military School as the clear leader of Shining Path. Ayacucho is the capital city of Huamanga Province, Ayacucho Region, Peru. ...

Guerrilla war

Shining Path poster supporting an electoral boycott

Main article: Internal conflict in Peru

When Peru's military government allowed elections for the first time in a dozen years in 1980, Shining Path was one of the few leftist political groups that declined to take part, and instead opted to launch a guerrilla war in the highlands of the province of Ayacucho. On May 17, 1980, the eve of the presidential elections, it burned ballot boxes in the town of Chuschi, Ayacucho. It was the first "act of war" by Shining Path. However, the perpetrators were quickly caught, additional ballots were shipped to Chuschi, the elections proceeded without further incident, and the incident received very little attention in the Peruvian press.^[9] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Combatants Republic of Peru Shining Path Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement Commanders Fernando Belaúnde Terry Alan García Alberto Fujimori Abimael Guzmán Óscar Ramírez Comrade ArtemioVíctor Polay Nestor Cerpa Cartolini It has been estimated that nearly 70,000 people died in the internal conflict in Peru... Elections in Peru provides information pertaining to the election process and the results of Peruvian presidencial elections. ... Ayacucho is a region of Peru, located in the south-central Andes of the country. ... is the 137th day of the year (138th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... Clear sided ballot boxes used in the Haitian general election in 2006. ... Chuschi is a town in the Ayacucho Region of Peru. ... For the town in France, see Ballots, Mayenne. ...

Throughout the 1980s, Shining Path grew in both the territory it controlled and the number of militants in its organization, particularly in the Andean highlands. At first, it gained support from local peasants by filling the political void left by the central government providing "popular justice" albeit in a bloody, rudimentary, and arbitrary manner. For example, Shining Path beat and killed widely disliked figures in the countryside, after conducting what it termed "popular" trials. It often killed cattle rustlers, whose crime is considered egregious in poor Peruvian villages.^[10] It also killed managers of the state-controlled farming collectives and well-to-do merchants, who were unpopular with poor rural dwellers.^[11] These actions caused the peasantry of many Peruvian villages to express some sympathy for the Shining Path, especially in the impoverished and neglected regions of Ayacucho, Apurímac, and Huancavelica. However, only a small minority of peasants were ever as enthusiastically Maoist as the Shining Path cadre.^[12] This article is about the mountain system in South America. ... Cattle rustling or cattle raiding is the act of stealing livestock. ... See other Peruvian regions President Luis Barra Capital Abancay Area 20,895. ... Huancavelica is a department in Peru. ...

Shining Path's credibility was also bolstered by the government's initially tepid response to the insurgency. For a long time, the government simply ignored Shining Path, believing it to be relatively benign or, as press said in the first years, that they were only "lunatics, " "delinquents," or even "narco-terrorists."^{[citation needed]} Additionally, the civilian president, Fernando Belaúnde Terry, who was returned to power in 1980, was reluctant to cede authority to the armed forces, as his first government had ended in a military coup. This gave the impression was the President was unconcerned about the activities of Sendero. The result was that, to the peasants in the areas where the Shining Path was active, the state gave the appearance of impotence or lack of interest in the region. When it became evident that Shining Path represented a clear threat to the state, on 29 December 1981, the government declared an "emergency zone" in the three Andean regions of Ayacucho, Huancavelica and Apurímac, and granted the military the power to arbitrarily detain any suspicious person. The military used this power extremely heavy-handedly, arresting scores of innocent people, at times subjecting them to torture^[13] and rape.^[14] In several massacres, the military wiped out entire villages. Military personnel took to wearing black ski-masks to hide their identity as they committed these crimes. Narcoterrorism is a term coined by former President Fernando Belaúnde Terry of Peru in 1983 when describing terrorist-type attacks against his nations anti-narcotics police. ... Fernando Belaúnde Terry (October 7, 1912 – June 4, 2002) was President of Peru for two terms (1963–1968 and 1980–1985). ... Coup redirects here. ... Photographs of the My Lai massacre provoked world outrage and made it an international scandal. ...

In some areas, peasants formed anti-Shining Path patrols, called rondas. They were generally poorly-equipped despite donations of guns from the armed forces. Nevertheless, Shining Path guerrillas were militarily attacked by the rondas. The first such reported attack was in January 1983 near Huata, when some rondas killed 13 senderistas; in February in Sacsamarca, rondas stabbed and killed the Shining Path commanders of that area. In March 1983, rondas brutally killed Olegario Curitomay, one of the commanders of the town of Lucanamarca. They took him to the town square, stoned him, stabbed him, set him on fire, and finally shot him.^[15] As a response, in April, Shining Path entered the province of Huancasancos and the towns of Yanaccollpa, Ataccara, Llacchua, Muylacruz and Lucanamarca, and killed 69 people, many of whom were children, including one who was only six months old.^[15] Also killed were several women, some of them pregnant.^[15] Most of them died by machete hacks, and some were shot at close range in the head.^[15] This was the first massacre by Shining Path of the peasant community. Other incidents followed, such as the one in Hauyllo, Tambo District, La Mar Province, Ayacucho Department. In that community, Shining Path killed 47 peasants, including 14 children aged between four and fifteen.^[16] Additional massacres by Shining Path occurred, such as the one in Marcas on 29 August 1985.^[17][18] Ronda Campesina is a name given to autonomous peasant defence forces in rural Peru created in the 1980s during the insurgency by the Maoist group Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path)and by the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement. ... Huanca Sancos is a province in central Ayacucho, Peru. ... La Mar Province is a province in the north-east corner of the Ayacucho Region, Peru. ... is the 241st day of the year (242nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ...

Shining Path's attacks were not limited to the countryside. It mounted attacks against the infrastructure in Lima, killing civilians in the process. In 1983, it sabotaged several electrical transmission towers, causing a citywide blackout, and set fire to the Bayer industrial plant, destroying it completely. That same year, it set off a powerful bomb in the offices of the governing party, Popular Action. Escalating its activities in Lima, in June 1985 it again blew up electricity transmission towers in Lima, producing a blackout, and detonated car bombs near the government palace and the justice palace. It also was believed to be responsible for bombing a shopping mall.^[19] At the time, President Fernando Belaúnde Terry was receiving the Argentine president Raúl Alfonsín. In one of its last attacks in Lima, on July 16, 1992, the group detonated a powerful bomb on Tarata Street in the upscale district of Miraflores in Lima,^[20] killing more than 20 people and destroying several buildings. For other uses, see Lima (disambiguation). ... Power Outage is an episode of The WB drama series, Charmed. ... Bayer AG (IPA pronunciation //) (ISIN: DE0005752000, NYSE: BAY, TYO: 4863 ) is a German chemical and pharmaceutical company founded in Barmen, Germany in 1863. ... A lawsuit is a civil action brought before a court in order to recover a right, obtain damages for an injury, obtain an injunction to prevent an injury, or obtain a declaratory judgment to prevent future legal disputes. ... For other uses, see Car bomb (disambiguation). ... Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín (born 13 March 1927) is an Argentine politician, who was the President of Argentina from 10 December 1983 to 9 July 1989. ... is the 197th day of the year (198th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... Destruction on Tarata Street The Tarata Bombing was a terrorist attack against civilian population in Peru on July 16, 1992. ... Miraflores is a district of the Lima Province in Peru. ...

During this period, Shining Path also practiced many selective assassinations targeting specific individuals, notably leaders of other leftist groups, local political parties, labor unions, and peasant organizations, some of whom were anti-Sendero Marxists.^[5] On April 24, 1985, in the midst of presidential elections, it tried to assassinate Domingo García Rada, the president of the Peruvian National Electoral Council, severely injuring him and mortally wounding his driver. In 1988, an American citizen working for the U.S. Agency for International Development, Constantin Gregory, was assassinated; two French aid workers were killed on December 4 that same year.^[21] In August 1991, the group killed one Italian and two Polish priests in the department of Ancash.^[22] The following February, it assassinated María Elena Moyano, a well-known community organizer in Villa El Salvador, a vast shantytown in Lima.^[23] Left wing redirects here. ... A trade union or labor union is an organization of workers. ... Marxism is both the theory and the political practice (that is, the praxis) derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ... is the 114th day of the year (115th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... See other Peruvian regions President Ricardo Narváez Soto Capital Huaraz Largest city Chimbote Area 35,039. ... María Elena Moyano María Elena Moyano Delgado (29 November 1960 – February 15, 1992) was a Peruvian community organizer and activist of Afro-Peruvian descent who was assassinated by the maoist Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) insurgent movement. ... Villa El Salvador (VES) is an urban, largely residential district on the outskirts of Lima, Peru. ...

By 1991, Shining Path had control of much of the countryside of the center and south of Peru and had a large presence in the outskirts of Lima. As the organization grew in power, a cult of personality grew around Guzmán. The official ideology of Shining Path ceased to be Maoism (or "Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse-tung thought"), and was instead referred to as "Marxism-Leninism-Maoism-Gonzalo thought." (often referred to, in Spanish, as "Pensamiento Gonzalo" and sometimes as "M-L-M, PG"). A cult of personality or personality cult arises when a countrys leader uses mass media to create a larger-than-life public image through unquestioning flattery and praise. ...

Shining Path also engaged in armed conflicts with Peru's other major guerrilla group, the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA)^[24] and with campesino self-defense groups organized by the Peruvian armed forces. The Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement or Movimiento Revolucionario Túpac Amaru (MRTA) was an insurgent guerrilla movement active in Peru from 1984 to 1997. ... Campesino may refer to A simple farmer is referred to as a campesino in Spanish. ...

Although the extent of Shining Path atrocities and the reliability of reports remains a matter of controversy, the organizations path of violence is well documented. Shining Path frequently participated in particularly brutal methods of killing of its victims. The Shining Path explicitly rejected the very idea of human rights. A Shining Path document stated: Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ...

We start by not ascribing to either Universal Declaration of Human Rights or the Costa Rica [Convention on Human Rights], but we have used their legal devices to unmask and denounce the old Peruvian state. . . . For us, human rights are contradictory to the rights of the people, because we base rights in man as a social product, not man as an abstract with innate rights. "Human rights" don't exist except for the bourgeoisie man, a position that was at the forefront of feudalism, like liberty, equality, and fraternity were advanced for the bourgeoisie of the past. But today, since the appearance of the proletariat as an organized class in the Communist Party, with the experience of triumphant revolutions, with the construction of socialism, new democracy and the dictatorship of the proletariat, it has been proven that human rights serve the oppressor class and the exploiters who run the imperialist and landowner-bureaucratic states. Bourgeois states in general. . . . Our position is very clear. We reject and condemn human rights because they are bourgeois, reactionary, counterrevolutionary rights, and are today a weapon of revisionists and imperialists, principally Yankee imperialists.^[25]

While Shining Path quickly seized control of large areas of Peru, it soon faced serious problems. Shining Path's Maoism was never popular. It never had the support of the majority of the Peruvian people, and quickly lost almost all sympathy that it once had. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (abbreviated UDHR) is an advisory declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (A/RES/217, 10 December 1948 at Palais de Chaillot, Paris). ... American Convention on Human Rights Opened for signature 1969 at San José, Costa Rica Entered into force 18 July 1978 Conditions for entry into force 11 ratifications Parties 24 The American Convention on Human Rights (also known as the Pact of San José) is an International human rights instrument. ... Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne; from a manuscript of a chanson de geste Feudalism, a term first used in the early modern period (17th century), in its most classic sense refers to a Medieval European political system comprised of a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations among the... Liberté, égalité, fraternité, French for Liberty, equality, fraternity (brotherhood), [1] is the motto of the French Republic, and is a typical example of a tripartite motto. ... The proletariat (from Latin proles, offspring) is a term used to identify a lower social class; a member of such a class is proletarian. ... Socialism is a broad array of ideologies and political movements with the goal of a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community for the purposes of increasing social and economic equality and cooperation. ... The dictatorship of the proletariat is a term employed by Karl Marx in his 1875 Critique of the Gotha Program that refers to a transition period between capitalist and communist society in which the state can be nothing but the revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat. The term refers to a... Cecil Rhodes: Cape-Cairo railway project. ... For the Major League Baseball team, see New York Yankees. ...

Many peasants were unhappy with its rule for a variety of reasons, such as its disrespect for indigenous culture and institutions,^[26] and the brutality of its "popular trials" that sometimes included "slitting throats, strangulation, stoning, and burning."^[27][28] While punishing and even killing cattle thieves was popular in some parts of Peru, Shining Path also killed peasants and popular leaders for even minor offenses.^[10] Peasants were also offended by the rebels' injunction against burying the bodies of Shining Path victims.^[29]

Poster of Abimael Guzmán celebrating five years of war

Shining Path also became disliked for its policy of closing small and rural markets in order to end small-scale capitalism and to starve Lima.^[30][31] As a Maoist organization, it strongly opposed all forms of capitalism, and also followed Mao's dictum that guerrilla warfare should start in the countryside and gradually choke off the cities. Peasants, many of whose livelihood depended on trade in the markets, rejected such closures. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... For other uses, see Capitalism (disambiguation). ...

In several areas of Peru, Shining Path also launched unpopular campaigns, such as a prohibition on parties^[32] and the consumption of alcohol.^[33]

Theodore Dalrymple wrote that "The worst brutality I ever saw was that committed by Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) in Peru, in the days when it seemed possible that it might come to power. If it had, I think its massacres would have dwarfed those of the Khmer Rouge. As a doctor, I am accustomed to unpleasant sights, but nothing prepared me for what I saw in Ayacucho, where Sendero first developed under the sway of a professor of philosophy, Abimael Guzman."^[34] Anthony (A.M.) Daniels (1949-) is an English writer and retired physician (prison doctor and psychiatrist), who frequently uses the pen name Theodore Dalrymple. ... Some of the Khmer Rouge leaders during their period in power. ...

Government response and abuses

In 1991, President Alberto Fujimori issued a law^[35] that gave the rondas a legal status, and from that time they were officially called Comités de auto defensa ("Committees of Self Defence"). They were officially armed, usually with 12-gauge shotguns, and trained by the Peruvian Army. According to the government, there were approximately 7,226 comités de auto defensa as of 2005;^[36] almost 4,000 are located in the central region of Peru, the stronghold of Shining Path. Alberto Kenya Fujimori (Spanish IPA: , Japanese IPA: ) (born in Lima, Peru on July 28, 1938), also known as Kenya Fujimori ) was President of Peru from July 28, 1990 to November 17, 2000. ... For other uses, see Shotgun (disambiguation). ... The Peruvian Army (Spanish: Ejército del Perú, abbreviated EP) is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with safeguarding the independence, sovereignty and integrity of national territory on land. ...

The Peruvian government also clamped down on the Shining Path in other ways. Military personnel were dispatched to areas dominated by Shining Path, especially Ayacucho, to fight the rebels. Ayacucho itself was declared an emergency zone, and constitutional rights were suspended in the area. The government also sent forces to take back an Ayacucho prison that had recently been taken over by its own incarcerated Shining Path members. The military forces used mortars and automatic weapons, killing at least 35 as family members watched. This was caught on film and shown in a documentary entitled People of the Shining Path.^{[citation needed]}

Initial government efforts to fight Shining Path were not very effective or promising. Military units engaged in many human rights violations, which caused Shining Path to appear in the eyes of many as the lesser of two evils. They used excessive force and killed many innocent civilians. Government forces destroyed villages and killed campesinos suspected of supporting Shining Path. They eventually lessened the pace at which the armed forces committed atrocities such as massacres. Additionally, the state began the wide-spread use of intelligence agencies in its fight against Shining Path. However, atrocities were committed by the National Intelligence Service, notably the La Cantuta massacre and the Barrios Altos massacre, both of which were committed by Grupo Colina.^{[citation needed]} The La Cantuta massacre, in which a university professor and nine students from Limas La Cantuta University were abducted and disappeared by a military death squad, took place in Peru on 18 July 1992 during the presidency of Alberto Fujimori. ... The Barrios Altos massacre took place on 3 November 1991, in the Barrios Altos neighborhood of Lima, Peru. ... Grupo Colina is a paramilitary death squad created in Peru under the administration of Alberto Fujimori. ...

A Truth and Reconciliation Commission (CVR), established by interim President Valentín Paniagua, found in a 2003 report that 69,280 people had died or disappeared – 22,507 fully identified as dead and 46,773 disappearances.^[37] Shining Path was estimated to be responsible for the death of 31,331 people^[37] According to a summary of the report by Human Rights Watch, "Shining Path… killed about half the victims, and roughly one-third died at the hands of government security forces… The commission attributed some of the other slayings to a smaller guerrilla group and local militias. The rest remain unattributed."^[38] The MRTA was held responsible for 1.5% of the deaths.^[39] The Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) (in Spanish: Comisión de la Verdad y Reconciliación (CVR)) was established in June 2001 to examine atrocities commited in the 1980s and 1990s, when Peru was plagued by the worst political violence in the history of the republic. ... Valentín Paniagua Corazao (b. ... Disappear redirects here. ... Human Rights Watch Banner Human Rights Watch is a United States-based international non-government organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. ...

Capture of Guzmán and collapse

On September 12, 1992, Peruvian police captured Guzmán and several Shining Path leaders in an apartment above a dance studio in the Surquillo district of Lima. The police had been monitoring the apartment, as a number of suspected Shining Path militants had visited it. An inspection of the garbage of the apartment produced empty tubes of a skin cream used to treat psoriasis, a condition that Guzmán was known to have. Shortly after the raid that captured Guzmán, most of the remaining Shining Path leadership fell as well.^[40] At the same time, Shining Path suffered embarrassing military defeats to self-defense organizations comprised of rural campesinos — supposedly its social base. When Guzmán called for peace talks, the organization fractured into splinter groups, with some Shining Path members in favor of such talks and others opposed.^[41] Guzmán's role as the leader of Shining Path was taken over by Óscar Ramírez, who himself was captured by Peruvian authorities in 1999. After Ramírez's capture, the group splintered, guerrilla activity diminished sharply, and previous conditions returned to the areas where the Shining Path had been active.^[42] is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... Surquillo is a district in Lima, Peru. ... Óscar Ramírez Durand, who is commonly known as Comrade Feliciano, was one of the leaders of the Shining Path, a Maoist guerrilla movement in Peru. ...

21st century and resurgence

Although the organization's numbers had lessened by 2003,^[42] a militant faction of Shining Path called Proseguir (or "Onward") continued to be active.^[43] It is believed that the faction consists of three companies known as the North, or Pangoa, the Centre, or Pucuta, and the South, or Vizcatan. The government claims that Proseguir is operating in alliance with drug traffickers.

On June 9, 2003, a Shining Path group attacked a camp in Ayacucho, and took 68 employees of the Argentinian company Techint and three police guards as hostages. They had been working in the Camisea gas pipeline project that would take natural gas from Cusco to Lima.^[44] According to sources from Peru's Interior Ministry, the terrorists asked for a sizable ransom to free the hostages. Two days later, after a rapid military response, the terrorists abandoned the hostages. According to rumor, the company paid the ransom.^[45] June 9 is the 160th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (161st in leap years), with 205 days remaining. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Technical Intelligence (TECHINT) is intelligence about weapons and equipment used by the armed forces of foreign nations. ... The Camisea Gas Project is a controversial natural gas project originating near the Urubamba River in central Perú. The main pipeline begins at the Camisea Gas Field in formerly pristine Amazon Rainforest, traverses through steep Andes mountains, and terminates within the Paracas National Reserve near the port of Pisco. ... See other Peruvian regions President Carlos R. Cuaresma Capital Cusco Area 71,986. ...

Government forces had successfully captured three Shining Path leading members. In April 2000, Commander José Arcela Chiroque, called "Ormeño", was captured, followed by another leader, Florentino Cerrón Cardozo, called "Marcelo" in July 2003. In November of the same year, Jaime Zuñiga, called "Cirilo" or "Dalton," was arrested after a clash in which four guerrillas were killed and an officer wounded.^[46] Officials said he took part in planning the kidnapping of the Techint pipeline workers. He was also thought to have led an ambush against an army helicopter in 1999 in which five soldiers died.

In 2003, the Peruvian National Police broke up several Shining Path training camps and captured many members and leaders.^[47] It also freed about 100 indigenous people held in virtual slavery.^[48] By late October 2003 there were 96 terrorist incidents in Peru, projecting a 15% decrease from the 134 kidnappings and armed attacks in 2002.^[49] Also for the year, 8^[48] or 9^[47] people were killed by Shining Path, and 6 Senderistas were killed and 209 captured.^[47]

Video of Comrade Artemio

In January 2004, a man known as Comrade Artemio and identifying himself as one of the Shining Path leaders said in a media interview that the group would resume violent operations unless the Peruvian government granted amnesty to other top Shining Path leaders within 60 days.^[50] Peru's Interior Minister, Fernando Rospigliosi, said that the government would respond "drastically and swiftly" to any violent action. In September that same year, a comprehensive sweep by police in five cities found 17 suspected members. According to the interior minister, eight of the arrested were school teachers and another two were high-level school administrators.^{[citation needed]} Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Comrade Artemio is the alias of the man believed by many to be the current leader of the Shining Path, a Maoist guerrilla group in Peru. ... Comrade Artemio is the alias of the man believed by many to be the current leader of the Shining Path, a Maoist guerrilla group in Peru. ...

Despite these arrests, Shining Path continues to exist in Peru. On December 22, 2005, Shining Path ambushed a police patrol in the Huánuco region, killing eight.^[51] Later that day they wounded an additional two police officers. In response, then President Alejandro Toledo declared a state of emergency in Huánuco, and gave the police the power to search houses and arrest suspects without a warrant. On February 19, 2006, the Peruvian police killed Héctor Aponte, who was believed to be the commander responsible for the killing of the policemen.^[52] In December 2006, Peruvian troops were sent to counter renewed guerrilla activity and, according to high level government officials, Shining Path's strength has reached an estimated 300 members.^[53] In November 2007, police claimed to have killed Artemio's second-in-command, a guerrilla known as JL.^[54] is the 356th day of the year (357th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Huánuco is a city in central Peru. ... Alejandro Toledo (Alejandro Celestino Toledo Manrique) (born 28 March 1946) is a Peruvian politician. ... [[Media:Italic text]]{| style=float:right; |- | |- | |} is the 50th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Notes

is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece, coinciding with the anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic uprising. ... is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece, coinciding with the anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic uprising. ... is the 73rd day of the year (74th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece, coinciding with the anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic uprising. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece, coinciding with the anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic uprising. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Amnesty international Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization which defines its mission as to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience... Human Rights Watch Banner Human Rights Watch is a United States-based international non-government organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. ... is the 240th day of the year (241st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece, coinciding with the anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic uprising. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece, coinciding with the anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic uprising. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece, coinciding with the anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic uprising. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... 17 November is also the name of a Marxist group in Greece, coinciding with the anniversary of the Athens Polytechnic uprising. ... Human Rights Watch Banner Human Rights Watch is a United States-based international non-government organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. ... is the 77th day of the year (78th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 267th day of the year (268th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 285th day of the year (286th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 240th day of the year (241st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 263rd day of the year (264th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... See also August 27, 2003 - August 2003 - August 29, 2003 9/11: Nearly two years after the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center, transcripts of World Trade Center emergency calls are released. ... is the 289th day of the year (290th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 241st day of the year (242nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed internationally. ... is the 217th day of the year (218th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 302nd day of the year (303rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 119th day of the year (120th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 303rd day of the year (304th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 284th day of the year (285th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base (TKB) is an online portal containing information on terrorist incidents, leaders, groups, and related court cases. ... is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The New York Times is a daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed internationally. ... ABC News logo ABC News Special Report ident, circa 2006 ABC News is a division of American television and radio network ABC, owned by The Walt Disney Company. ... The Washington Times is a daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C.. It was founded in 1982 as a conservative alternative to the Washington Post by members of the controversial Unification Church. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ...

References

• The Monkey's Paw: New Chronicles from Peru, Kirk, Robin, The University of Massachusetts Press: Amherst, MA, 1997 (ISBN 1-55849-108-2)
• "Terrorist Group Profiles", Dudley Knox Library, Naval Postgraduate School.
• "Coup against Shining Path", La República (Lima), November 13, 2003.

La República is a center-left newspaper published in Lima, Peru. ... is the 317th day of the year (318th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Fiction

• The Dancer Upstairs: A Novel by Nicholas Shakespeare, ISBN 0-385-72107-2.
• The Dancer Upstairs movie listing from the Internet Movie Database
• Strange Tunnels Disappearing by Gary Ley, ISBN 1-85411-302-X.
• The Evening News, by Arthur Hailey, ISBN 0-385-50424-1.
• Death in the Andes, by Mario Vargas Llosa, ISBN 0-14-026215-6.
• Paper Dove (Paloma de Papel) movie listing from the Internet Movie Database
• La Trinchera Luminosa del Presidente Gonzalo
• "War Cries" a first season episode of JAG.

Born in 1957 to a diplomat Shakespeare grew up in the far east and in South America. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ... Arthur Hailey (April 5, 1920 – November 24, 2004) was a British/Canadian novelist. ... Mario Vargas Llosa in his youth. ... The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is an online database of information about movies, actors, television shows, production crew personnel, and video games. ... For other uses, see JAG (disambiguation). ...

External links

• (Spanish) A claimant to being an official site; other pages of the site are accessed by clicking on the hammer-and-sickle element near lower left.
• The People's War in Perú Archive - Information about the Communist Party of Perú (PCP) 'Shining Path' Official Site until 1998
• Article by Caretas comparing Tarata to the 9/11 attack by Al Qaeda
• Article in PDF about the Tarata Car Bomb by Shining Path
• New 'Shining Path' threat in Peru, on the April, 2004 interview with Artemio
• (Spanish) Shining Path communiqués on the web site of the "Partido Comunista de España [Maoista]" (this party is not the well-known Communist Party of Spain).
• (Spanish) Report of the (CVR) Truth and Reconciliation Commission (PDF)
• (Spanish) Report of the (CVR) Truth and Reconciliation Commission (HTML)
• Terrorism Research Center list of Terrorist Organizations.
• The assassination of Maria Elena Moyano
• Peru: The killings of Lucanamarca BBC, 09-14-06
• Human Rights Watch report on SL
• Committee to Support the Revolution in Peru
• Peru and the Capture of Abimael Guzman , Congressional Record, (Senate - October 02, 1992)