Martha-Cecilia Dietrich. All rights reserved.
Fifteen years have passed since the internal armed conflict in Peru (1980-2000) was declared over, and 12 years have passed since the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) presented a report on the atrocities committed during those twenty years of violence. Researchers recorded around 17,000 interviews and testimonies of victim-survivors, witnesses, politicians, members of insurgent movements in prison and military personnel from 2001to 2003. Today most of these documents are publically accessible and stored in the TRC’s archive in downtown Lima.
Transitional justice mechanisms have progressed since the TRC, and so have civil and human rights movements in claiming accountability and justice. Those made responsible on the side of the state forces are facing trials in national and international courts, in some instances for crimes against humanity. In these court cases the testimonies once given to the TRC by witnesses to and survivors of violence have become key reference points, not only for the prosecutors, but also for the defenders of the accused. In an era of increasing judicial responses to the call of justice, testimonies given to the TRC have received another raison d’être, namely as a means to examine witnesses’ credibility. This article examines the shifting role of these testimonies and the consequences for those who once committed to sharing their experiences with the nation.
