12 A. Context 60. The chapter on “Armed Groups” in the CVR’s Final Report states that in May 1980 the leadership of the group that named itself the Communist Party of Peru – Shining Path embarked on a plan to overthrow the system of democratic and representative government and to impose its own form of political and social 10 organization in Peru. The annihilation of community leaders and local authorities, the personality cult surrounding its founder, Abimael Guzmán Reinoso, the extermination of rural communities that did not support it, the deliberate use of terror and other actions in violation of international humanitarian law were some of the 11 tactics chosen by Shining Path in the construction of its “new state.” According to the CVR, the acts of violence claimed by or attributed to this group caused more than 31,000 deaths (54% of the total fatalities of the armed conflict), tens of thousands of displaced persons, vast economic losses, and a lasting dejection among Peru’s 12 population. 61. After launching its “people’s revolutionary war” in 1984, the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) contributed to the insecurity that prevailed in Peru for several years and to the violations of the basic rights of the Peruvian people. The criminal actions claimed by or attributed to this group included attacks on commercial premises, police stations, and the homes of members of the government, targeted killings of ranking public officials, abductions of business owners and diplomats, executions of indigenous leaders, and some 13 deaths on account of the victims’ sexual orientation or gender identity. 62. In its Second Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Peru, the IACHR noted that the acts of violence carried out by Shining Path and the MRTA “led to the loss of life and property... in addition to the pain and 14 suffering caused by the permanent state of anxiety to which Peruvian society, in general, was subjected.” 63. In its reports on individual cases and on the general human rights situation in Peru, the IACHR noted that during the struggle against Shining Path and the MRTA, the police and the military committed illegal 15 acts that led to serious violations of human rights. In addition, it indicated that the security forces carried out arbitrary arrests, torture, rapes, extrajudicial killings, and disappearances, in many cases against people who had 16 no ties to the irregular armed groups. In turn, the Inter-American Court has established that for several years, governmental policy in Peru favored the commission of targeted killings, forced disappearances, and torture of 17 people suspected of belonging to the armed outlaw groups. 10 Final Report of the CVR, 2003, Vol. II, 1.1 The Communist Party of Peru – Shining Path, pp. 29 and 30, available at www.cverdad.org.pe/ifinal/index.php. 11 Final Report of the CVR, 2003, Vol. I, Chapter 1, The Periods of the Violence, p. 54; Chapter 3, Faces and Profiles of the Violence, pp. 168 and 169; Vol. II, 1.1 The Communist Party of Peru – Shining Path, pp. 127 to 130; and Vol. VI, 1.1 Killings and Massacres, p. 16, available at www.cverdad.org.pe/ifinal/index.php. 12 Final Report of the CVR, 2003, Vol. II, 1.1 The Communist Party of Peru – Shining Path, p. 13, available at www.cverdad.org.pe/ifinal/index.php. 13 Final Report of the CVR, 2003, Vol. II, 1.4 The Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, pp. 387, 389, 392, and 431 to 433; Vol. VII, 2.30 The Disappearance of the Ashaninka Chief Alejandro Calderón (1989), 2.39 Killing of Nine Inhabitants of Yumbatos, San Martín (1989), 2.54 Abduction and Murder of David Ballón Vera (1992), available at www.cverdad.org.pe/ifinal/index.php. 14 IACHR, Second Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Peru, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.106, doc. 59 rev., June 2, 2000, Introduction, B. Reference Framework, para. 7, available at www.cidh.oas.org/countryrep/Peru2000sp/indice.htm. 15 IACHR, Second Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Peru, OEA/Ser.L/V/II.106, doc. 59 rev., June 2, 2000, Introduction, B. Reference Framework, para. 9, available at www.cidh.oas.org/countryrep/Peru2000sp/indice.htm. 16 IACHR, Report No. 101/01, Case 10.247 and others, Extrajudicial Executions and Forced Disappearances, Peru, October 11, 2001, paras. 163 to 179; Report No. 57/99, Case 10.827, Romer Morales Zegarra and others; and Case 10.984, Carlos Vega Pizango, Peru, April 13, 1999, paras. 28 to 44; Report No. 1/96, Case 10.559, Julio Apfata Tañire Otabire and others, Peru, March 1, 1996, section I, Background; and Report No. 37/93, Case 10.563, Guadalupe Ccalloccunto Olano, Peru, October 7, 1993, section I, Background. 17 I/A Court H. R., Case of La Cantuta, Judgment of November 29, 2006, Series C No. 162, paras. 83 and 84; Gómez Palomino Case, Judgment of November 22, 2005, Series C No. 136, para. 54.1; and Case of Huilca Tecse v. Peru, Judgment of March 3, 2005, Series C No. 21, para. 60.9.