Peru casts light on a dark chapter from the past

Unlike in South Africa, however, where perpetrators could apply for immunity from prosecution in exchange for testifying, the Peruvian hearings are focused exclusively on the testimony of victims.

Last year the Inter-American Court of Human Rights struck down a controversial amnesty law passed by Peru in 1995, which protected military, police and civilian personnel from prosecution for human rights abuses committed in the counterinsurgency war. Now, perpetrators on both sides of Peru's conflict – government forces and terrorists – are subject to prosecution.

"In Chile and Argentina, we're finally seeing opportunities for prosecution now, but only many years later," says Ms. Magarrell. "Because of amnesty laws in those countries, there was a long hiatus for justice." But in Peru, she says, the search for truth and justice can "move forward at the same time."

Officials in other countries are taking note. "There's been interchange between East Timor's commission and Peru's commission about the hearings process," Ms. Magarrell adds. "In Sierra Leone, there's also interest ... in how [Peru's] justice system and the truth commission relate to each other."

In July, representatives from the truth commissions of Sierra Leone, Ghana, East Timor, and Peru met in Mexico City to exchange their experiences. And a Mexican delegation attended the two-day hearings in Trujillo as part of a longer visit to learn from the Peruvian example.

Even without amnesty laws to shield perpetrators, Peru's search for justice won't be easy. The commission will offer its findings to judicial authorities to help them identify specific crimes, but it has no judicial power and no power to prosecute – a limitation that commissioners constantly repeated to victims in Trujillo demanding justice.

If anything became clear during these hearings, it was that ordinary citizens do not trust the country's beleaguered justice system.

"Justice in Peru is not justice," said Faustino Rodríguez, testifying about the 1993 murder of his brother Héctor. "If there is justice, it is for the rich, but not for the poor like me."

In his remarks closing the hearings, even Mr. Lerner echoed the sentiment. "It is necessary for justice in Peru to be brought before a tribunal of its own," he said in a tired, gentle voice. "Here we have a great problem."

Some observers worry that without justice for the victims, Peruvians will never be able to put the past completely behind them.

"Once we know the truth, we have to make justice. Only then will reconciliation happen," says Miguel Jugo, executive director of Aprodeh, a human rights advocacy group that has sponsored some of the victims speaking at the public hearings. "If not, we'll see pockets of resentment that will eventually explode."

Ultimately, some commission staffers say that expectations may have to be trimmed.

"We're not trying to get everyone to hug each other," says Iván Hinojosa, a research coordinator with the commission and historian at the Catholic University in Lima. "We're trying to make sure these kind of abuses don't happen again."

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