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The role of the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Evidence of Fujimori's corrupt government surfaced and led him to flee to Japan in 2000. Due to the massive amount of corruption during Alberto Fujimori's presidential terms that included blackmail, bribes, and vote-rigging, an investigation into his administration began in 2000 that was led by Alejandro Toledo. The Peruvian government was then urged by human rights organizations to form the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (CVR) which would investigate the political violence, human rights violations, and government corruption that had afflicted Peru since the 1980's and during Fujimori's presidential terms. When the CVR finished its final report in August of 2003, it recommended that to help aid the process of reconciliation, memorials need to be created to pay tribute to the many victims of political violence in Peru. In 2004, Jesus Maria,a district in Lima, was designated as the location for the project Alameda de La Memoria which would give an actual place to the many marginalized voices that were silenced and victimized during the decades of Peruvian conflict. Alameda de la Memoria would provide a space to contemplate and remember, not only for the victims and their families, but also for the Peruvian population. This project would be located in the park Campo de Marte, and would include the memorial The Eye that Cries.

When Lika Mutal began to work on creating The Eye that Cries, she was given a list of names of individuals who were considered to be victims of violence. This list of names was supplied by the CVR, and she would later incorporate the nearly 32,000 names into the monument. Unknown to her, the list of names she was given included not only the thousands of victims who were killed during decades of Peru's armed conflict, but also the names of 41 victims who were killed in Castro Castro Prison during a prison raid in May of 1992 (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/11/world/americas/11peru.html). The victims killed during the Castro Castro Prison raid were "organizers and militants of the Shining Path, Peru's notorious guerrilla movement (Hite 110). A large number of the Peruvian population views the members of the Shining Path as terrorists responsible for a majority of the deaths of victims of armed conflict in Peru during the 1980's and 1990's. The inclusion of the names of those murdered due to political unrest, guerrilla attacks, and prison raids creates a clash when at times both victims and perpetrators are included side by side and deemed as victims. This conflict leads to the question of what constitutes a victim, who has the right to judge whether an individual is a victim, and whether a criminal can be considered a victim. From the perspective of International Human Rights Laws "those killed extra judicially, including convicted criminals" are considered victims (Hite 112). Yet, from the perspective of a majority of the Peruvian population, the members of Shining Path were considered to be terrorists responsible for mass murders and destruction.

When Like Mutal completed The Eye That Cries in 2005, it did not create any major controversies, as both the artist, and the Peruvian Population were unaware that the names of 41 Senderistas were included among the 32,000 names of victims written in stones. In November of 2006, a ruling by the Inter-American Court on Human Rights based on investigations of the prison raid in Castro Castro and the deaths of the 41 inmates, stated that these deaths were a violation of human rights. After being accused of human rights violations, Peru was instructed to give reparations to the families of the Castro Castro victims and give a public acknowledgment and ceremony that paid honor to the victims and the families of those whose human rights were violated in the Castro Castro raid. In addition, the ruling of the Inter-American Court stated that the names of these victims be included in The Eye that Cries monument within the coming year (ruling article).