Interim Report - Report No 272, June 1990

Case No 1478 (Peru) - Complaint date: 09-NOV-88 - Closed

1. 344. The Committee on Freedom of Association has examined these cases on several occasions, most recently at its meeting of February 1990, when it presented an interim report to the Governing Body. (See 270th Report of the Committee on Freedom of Association, paras. 258 to 267, approved by the Governing Body at its 245th Session (February-March 1990).) The World Federation of Trade Unions sent comments on this matter in a communication of 22 March 1990. The Government sent certain supplementary information in a communication of 27 March 1990.
2. 345. Peru has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), as well as the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. Previous examination of the cases

1. 346. When it examined these cases at its meeting in February 1990, the Committee formulated several recommendations on the outstanding allegations, namely: it requested the Government to keep it informed of the progress in the inquiry into the death of trade union leaders Saúl Cantoral and Consuelo García, and requested the complainant organisations to supply further information concerning the place and circumstances in which the alleged death of 88 peasants occurred on 9 February 1989 as a result of a meeting held on the same date which, according to the WFTU, was peaceful in nature and was brutally repressed by the police.

B. Supplementary information furnished by the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU)

1. 347. In a communication of 22 March 1990, the WFTU states that the murder of the 88 peasants on 9 February 1989 took place in Pucallpa, department of Ucayali, where the peasants in question had been on strike since 25 January. The peasants were preparing a meeting in the Plaza de Armas of Pucallpa, with a view to signing an agreement with the authorities; on the eve of the day in question (8 February 1989) a co-ordinating meeting had settled the major problems raised by the peasants; they were expecting the confirmation by the mayor Alfredo Noriega Ojeda as had been promised. A first group of some 3,000 peasants headed towards the Plaza de Armas, but was intercepted at 10.30 a.m. in Avenida Peña by national police forces which opened fire with machine-guns, murdering 88 peasants, including a boy of 16 years of age.
2. 348. Moreover, the WFTU communication denounces the disappearance, in mid-December 1989, in the department of Junín, of a national leader of the Peruvian Teachers' Federation and secretary of the Peruvian General Confederation of Workers (CGTP), Javier Antonio Alarcón Guzmán; the communication states that, to date, there has been no response by the authorities that control this area, in which a state of emergency has been declared.

C. The Government's reply

1. 349. In its communication of 27 March 1990 the Government, as regards the investigation into the death of trade union leaders Saúl Cantoral and Consuelo García, states that the Sixth Provincial Attorney-General's Office received report No. 443-DG-DIRCOTE (Anti-Terrorism Directorate) according to which it had been established that a homicide had taken place, although there was insufficient evidence to attribute the crime to terrorist elements; for this reason the investigations are being carried out by the homicide department. Nevertheless, DIRCOTE, in co-ordination with the above-mentioned department, is also investigating the matter with a view to identifying those responsible and the motives for the crime; it will communicate the results of its inquiry to the Attorney-General's Office. The Government states that the disappearance of trade union leader Saúl Cantoral is recorded in report No. 001-90-AI, dated 31 January 1990.
2. 350. As regards the alleged murder of 88 peasants on 9 February 1989, the Government states in its communication of 27 March 1990, which was received around the same time that the WFTU communication of 22 March 1990 was being sent to it for its comments, that it lacked enough information on these events to proceed with an investigation.

D. The Committee's conclusions

1. 351. The Committee takes note of information furnished by the Government to the effect that investigations are under way to determine those responsible and the motives for the murder of the trade union leaders Saúl Cantoral and Consuelo García. In this connection the Committee again expresses its concern over the seriousness of these charges and requests the Government to keep it informed of any developments in the corresponding judicial inquiries.
2. 352. The Committee expresses its profound concern at the gravity of the allegations concerning the murder of 88 striking peasants in February 1989 during a peaceful meeting which was repressed by the police. It asks the Government to provide urgently its observations on this aspect of the case and in particular on the supplementary information communicated by the WFTU.
3. 353. As regards the disappearance of the leader of the Peruvian Teachers' Federation and secretary of the CGTP, Javier Antonio Alarcón Guzmán, in December 1989, in the department of Junín, the Committee recalls the principle that a climate of violence which leads to the murder or disappearance of trade union leaders constitutes a serious obstacle to the exercise of trade union rights; such acts call for severe measures by the authorities. (See 160th Report, Case No. 844 (El Salvador), para. 464.) It requests the Government to send as soon as possible its observations concerning the disappearance of the trade unionist Alarcón Guzmán and to state whether investigations have been undertaken to determine his whereabouts.

The Committee's recommendations

1. 354. In the light of its foregoing interim conclusions, the Committee invites the Governing Body to approve the following recommendations:
   • (a) As regards the violent death of trade unionists Saúl Cantoral and Consuelo García, the Committee again expresses its deep concern over the seriousness of these allegations and requests the Government to keep it informed of any developments in the corresponding judicial inquiries.
   • (b) As regards the murder of 88 striking peasants in February 1989, the Committee expresses its profound concern at the gravity of these events and asks the Government to provide urgently its observations on this aspect of the case and in particular on the supplementary information communicated by the WFTU.
   • (c) As regards the disappearance of trade union leader Javier Antonio Alarcón Guzmán in the department of Junín in mid-December 1989, the Committee requests the Government to send, as soon as possible, its observations in this connection, and to state whether investigations have been undertaken to determine his whereabouts.