THE TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMISIÓN ADRESSES
THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL OPINION TO EXPRESS THE FOLLOWING:

1. It regrets that its declarations concerning the political nature of the so- called Partido Comunista del Perú - Sendero Luminoso (Comunist Party of Peru - The Shining Path) have been interpreted distortedly as an acknowledgement of equivalence or similarity of this subversive group and political organizations and parties existing under democratic rules.

2. It understands, as it has always expressed, that there is no ideological or political argument that can exempt the Shining Path of extremely grave responsibilities for the crimes committed by them.

3. These crimes and strategy make the group committing them ineligible for a democratic system. The Commission points out, that according to its mandate, and its more intimate convictions, its commitment is fundamentally ethic and is linked to the honest and unprejudiced search for truth. The Truth and Reconciliation members are fully aware that one of our most important objectives is strengthening the democratic regime.

4. At the same time, we reiterate that an unwise portray of subversive groups considering them as bands or as a handful of criminals, leads to the tragic error of only fighting them in the police and military field, leaving aside the indispensable political and ideological response from those who are called to fight them. It was precisely that type of simplification which led to the indiscriminate violence expansion the Commission investigates.

Lima, June 11th, 2003

Salomón Lerner Febres
President
Truth and Reconciliation Commission