Criticism of anti-terrorism bill in Peru.
| Autor | Jana, Elsa Chanduvi |
The possible approval of a bill to criminalize denying terrorist acts or inciting others to commit such acts has received significant criticism from those who consider it ineffective as well as from those who see it as violating freedom of speech.
The executive sent the proposed Ley del Negacionismo, which would incorporate this concept into the Penal Code, to Congress in late August. On Dec. 11, a broad majority of a joint session of the congressional justice and constitution committees approved the bill.
The law would set a prison sentence of 6 to 12 years for anyone who "publicly approves of, justifies, denies, or minimizes the acts of terrorist organizations" that have received a final court judgment as well as anyone who incites others to commit terrorist acts. This second element was not included in the bill sent by the executive. If the denial is made through the media or by using information technology, the penalty would be between 8 and 15 years.
The full Congress must debate the bill, but the last plenary session ended on Dec. 14 without a debate and legislators are now in recess until March. The law will be taken up by the Comision Permanente, which the full Congress authorized to legislate until Feb. 28.
An ineffective instrument?
The bill aims to stop groups such as the Movimiento por la Amnistia y los Derechos Fundmentales (MOVADEF), created three years ago (NotiSur, March 23, 2012), which calls for amnesty for Sendero Luminoso (SL) founder Abimael Guzman, serving a life sentence for terrorism (NotiSur, Oct. 13, 1992); and the Comite Nacional de Reorientacion y Reconstitucion (CONARE)-Sindicato Unitario de Trabajadores en la Educacion del Peru (SUTEP), which considers members of SL and the Movimiento Revolucionario Tupac Amaru (MRTA) victims of political persecution.
On Jan. 20, 2012, the Registro de Organizaciones Politicas (ROP) of the Jurado Nacional de Elecciones (JNE) denied MOVADEF's application to register as a political party. And the issue of the organization's registration as a party was the topic of a letter that MOVADEF gave to Peruvian Ambassador to Argentina Nicolas Lynch Gamero, precipitating his resignation in early November (NotiSur, Nov. 30, 2012).
"We need a legal instrument like this so that democracy and the rule of law can defend itself from these kinds of movements," Jose Avila, vice minister of human rights, told a local radio station. He said the Ministerio de Justicia "is preparing a legislative...
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