The Terror

Document 9.1 was taken from the New York Times magazine, and focuses on the investigation on the event in the Southern Peruvian Highlands in which eight journalists were murdered. The people who killed the journalists, the Iquichanos, were accustomed to the amount of violence that was seen in the photos that were found, "That violence is the atmosphere they live in from the time they are born until the time they die" (page 304) While this obviously does not make what they did okay, it makes it more understandable. As evident form the photographs, words were exchanged between an attacker and a victim, and even though the victim was not armed, he was still killed. As the text said, this was due to the fact that they believed the journalists were enemies. The main reason for the attack is unclear, as it was suggested that the reason for the murders was the carrying of the communist flag, but there is actually no photographic proof of this actually happening. It is clearly stated that it was not the peasants who killed the eight men, it is the higher class citizens who were born in cities, who have so much support from peasants. Document 9.2 is an interview President Gonzalo where his idea  of violence is discussed. He appears to have no negative feelings towards violence, and believes it is necessary for things to run smoothly. "The need for revolutionary violence is a universal law with no exception" (page 306) and he also talks about how the two aspects of war are construction and destruction, and destruction must occur for construction to happen. Document 9.3  is the declaration of Fujimori. This begins with the opportunities that the democratic government offered, but they are being held back by other government branches. The goal is to move forward, towards "national reconstruction". This text is different from the previous two because it is much more focused on the people, and aware that they are the ones who make up the nation.