<< Previous day Blog posts in this category Next day >>
<< Previous year (same day) (if any) Next year (same day) >>
October 14, 2006 [LINK / comment]
Abimael Guzman is sentenced
For the second time, Shining Path leader Abimael Guzman has been sentenced to life in prison for waging a war of terrorism against Peru. (Because his first trial was conducted in a special anti-terrorism court in which the judges' identities were hidden, human rights organizations called the proceedings unfair.) Guzman had a belated change of heart regarding the use of violence to achieve political ends after he was captured in 1992. Nevertheless, he is not sorry for all the death, destruction, and mayhem he wrought upon Peru: "I am a revolutionary combatant and totally reject being a terrorist." Because of the civil war he launched, about 70,000 people died or "disappeared" in Peru between 1980 and 2000, though some of those people were killed by government forces. See CNN.com. When I first went to Peru in 1994, people would correct me if I used the expressions "rebels" or "guerrillas" to refer to the Shining Path; they made sure I understood that the Shining Path was a terrorist group. Indeed, that group's blood lust and utter disregard for human life put it in a category totally apart from Peru's other insurgent organization, the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, or even from the vicious FARC rebel movement in Colombia. Guzman used to be a philosophy professor, and adopted an extreme Maoist attitude during the 1960s. He is a very intelligent, charismatic, and ruthless leader. He should be thankful that the death penalty has been essentially abolished in Peru, because if anyone deserves to be executed, he does.
Posted (or last updated or commented upon): 15 Oct 2006, 12: 10 AM
(unformatted URL) .
ALL blog posts today
New blog post entry
This post is over a week old, so comments are closed.
© Andrew G. Clem. All rights reserved. Your use of this material signifies your acceptance of the Terms of use.
Hits on this page (single blog post) since July 2, 2007: 
Category archives:
(all years)
Baseball
Politics
Latin America
War
Wild Birds
Culture & Travel
Science & Technology
This (or that) year's
blog highlights
January 7, 2006 ~ DeLay gives up majority leader post
January 12, 2006 ~ Alito withstands Dems' "torture"
January 16, 2006 ~ Michelle Bachelet wins in Chile
January 19, 2006 ~ Views on Iran's nuclear ambitions
January 24, 2006 ~ Fallout from Canada's election
January 31, 2006 ~ Second (& third) thoughts on Iran
February 1, 2006 ~ The State of the Union, 2006
February 8, 2006 ~ D.C. Council votes "yes," but...
February 18, 2006 ~ Checks and balances in wartime
February 22, 2006 ~
Neocons & Neolibs: chastened alike
February 28, 2006 ~
The Dubai Ports World uproar
March 14, 2006 ~ New D.C. baseball stadium unveiled
March 24, 2006 ~ In the footsteps of France?
April 7, 2006 ~ Immigration compromise fails
May 16, 2006 ~ Bush militarizes Mexican border
June 6, 2006 ~ Alan Garcia triumphs, once again
June 9, 2006 ~
Zarqawi: The death of a terrorist
July 3, 2006 ~
Election in Mexico: too close to call
July 5, 2006 ~ North Korea goes ballistic
July 28, 2006 ~ Garcia prepares to lead Peru, again
August 4, 2006 ~ Israel invades Hezbolland
September 6, 2006 ~ "Crunchy conservatives": for real?
September 25, 2006 ~ Nationalists thwart conservation
October 3, 2006 ~ Nationals: Year in review
October 29, 2006 ~ Virginia's marriage amendment
November 7, 2006 ~ The people render their verdict
November 8, 2006 ~ Republicans lose big time
November 9, 2006 ~ Allen concedes / Election post-mortem
November 13, 2006 ~ Toward consensus on Iraq?
December 1, 2006 ~ Realism and our goals in Iraq
December 6, 2006 ~ Latin America & U.S. trade policy
December 8, 2006 ~ Iraq Study Group reports
December 22, 2006 ~ Yuletide political roundup
Blog highlights have been compiled for the years 2010-2012 thus far, and eventually will be compiled for earlier years, back to 2002.
Explanation
The "home made" blog organization system that I created was instituted on November 1, 2004, followed by several functional enhancements in subsequent years. I make no more than one blog post per day on any one category, so some posts may cover multiple news items or issues. Blog posts appear in the following (reverse alphabetical) order, which may differ from the chronological order in which the posts were originally made:
- Wild birds (LAST)
- War
- Science & Technology
- Politics
- Latin America
- Culture & Travel
- Canaries ("Home birds")
- Baseball (FIRST)
Also see: My blog practices.
Blog errata (Nobody's perfect.)
