Putis
Encyclopedia
Putis is a rural hamlet in Southern Peru
. It is located in the Santillana District
of the Huanta Province
in the Ayacucho Region
. Putis is known for being the location of mass grave
s dating back to the 1980s, where 123 men, women and children are buried.
According to a 2003 report by the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission
, the guerrilla group Shining Path
was very active in the Huanta Province since the start of the Internal conflict in Peru
in 1980. During 1983, Shining Path murdered the lieutenant governor of Putis, Santos Quispe Saavedra and carried out similar acts of violence in nearby towns; as a consequence, the inhabitants of Putis were forced to seek refuge in the nearby mountains.
To parry this threat, the Peruvian Army
established a military base in Putis in November 1984 and called on all refugees to return to the town. Upon their return, on December 1984, the military ordered the men of the community to dig a pit, then gathered the local population around it, executed all of them with gunfire and buried them in the excavated pit. It is believed that the reasons for these executions were suspicions that the inhabitants of Putis were sympathetic to Shining Path and a desire to steal and sell the cattle of the community.
The total number of victims is estimated at 123 men and women from the towns of Cayramayo, Vizcatánpata, Orccohuasi and Putis; 19 of those murdered were minors. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission identified two mass graves in Putis, one behind the church and the other inside the school. Some persons from Putis survived the massacre by staying in the mountains, where they remained until a few of them returned in 1997; as of 2002 some ten families lived in Putis.
In May 2008, a group of forensic investigators
began the exhumation of the Putis mass graves belatedly following a 2003 recommendation by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate all such massacre sites. Around 50 relatives of the persons killed joined the investigators to watch the recovery of their family members remains. Despite the exhumation procedures, no one has been indicted so far for the Putis massacre as the Peruvian Military refuses to give any explanation about the events, claiming all related documentation was destroyed in a fire.
In August 2009, a mass funeral was held for ninety-two victims of the 1984 massacre. The remains of only twenty-eight were identified through the use of DNA and many of the coffins contained only partial remains.
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. It is located in the Santillana District
Santillana District
Santillana District is one of eight districts of the province Huanta in Peru.-References:...
of the Huanta Province
Huanta Province
Huanta Province is the northern-most of the eleven provinces in the Ayacucho region in Peru. The capital of the Huanta province is the city of Huanta.-Political division:The province measures and is divided into eight districts.* Huanta...
in the Ayacucho Region
Ayacucho Region
Ayacucho is a region of Peru, located in the south-central Andes of the country. Its capital is the city of Ayacucho. The region was one of the hardest hit by terrorism during the 1980s during the guerrilla war waged by Shining Path known as the internal conflict in Peru.A referendum was held on...
. Putis is known for being the location of mass grave
Mass grave
A mass grave is a grave containing multiple number of human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. There is no strict definition of the minimum number of bodies required to constitute a mass grave, although the United Nations defines a mass grave as a burial site which...
s dating back to the 1980s, where 123 men, women and children are buried.
According to a 2003 report by the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Peru)
The Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established in 2001 after the fall of president Alberto Fujimori, to examine abuses committed during the 1980s and 1990s, when Peru was plagued by the worst political violence in the history of the republic...
, the guerrilla group Shining Path
Shining Path
Shining Path is a Maoist guerrilla terrorist organization in Peru. The group never refers to itself as "Shining Path", and as several other Peruvian groups, prefers to be called the "Communist Party of Peru" or "PCP-SL" in short...
was very active in the Huanta Province since the start of the Internal conflict in Peru
Internal conflict in Peru
It has been estimated that nearly 70,000 people died in the internal conflict in Peru that started in 1980 and, although still ongoing, had greatly wound down by 2000. The principal actors in the war were the Shining Path , the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement and the government of Peru.A great...
in 1980. During 1983, Shining Path murdered the lieutenant governor of Putis, Santos Quispe Saavedra and carried out similar acts of violence in nearby towns; as a consequence, the inhabitants of Putis were forced to seek refuge in the nearby mountains.
To parry this threat, the Peruvian Army
Peruvian Army
The Peruvian Army is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with safeguarding the independence, sovereignty and integrity of national territory on land through military force. Additional missions include assistance in safeguarding internal security, conducting disaster relief operations...
established a military base in Putis in November 1984 and called on all refugees to return to the town. Upon their return, on December 1984, the military ordered the men of the community to dig a pit, then gathered the local population around it, executed all of them with gunfire and buried them in the excavated pit. It is believed that the reasons for these executions were suspicions that the inhabitants of Putis were sympathetic to Shining Path and a desire to steal and sell the cattle of the community.
The total number of victims is estimated at 123 men and women from the towns of Cayramayo, Vizcatánpata, Orccohuasi and Putis; 19 of those murdered were minors. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission identified two mass graves in Putis, one behind the church and the other inside the school. Some persons from Putis survived the massacre by staying in the mountains, where they remained until a few of them returned in 1997; as of 2002 some ten families lived in Putis.
In May 2008, a group of forensic investigators
Forensic anthropology
Forensic anthropology is the application of the science of physical anthropology and human osteology in a legal setting, most often in criminal cases where the victim's remains are in the advanced stages of decomposition. A forensic anthropologist can assist in the identification of deceased...
began the exhumation of the Putis mass graves belatedly following a 2003 recommendation by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate all such massacre sites. Around 50 relatives of the persons killed joined the investigators to watch the recovery of their family members remains. Despite the exhumation procedures, no one has been indicted so far for the Putis massacre as the Peruvian Military refuses to give any explanation about the events, claiming all related documentation was destroyed in a fire.
In August 2009, a mass funeral was held for ninety-two victims of the 1984 massacre. The remains of only twenty-eight were identified through the use of DNA and many of the coffins contained only partial remains.