Page 34 - Only Love Can Defeat Terrorism

THE BLOODY TERROR
THE BLOODY TERROR
OF THE SHINING PATH
OF THE SHINING PATH
This Marxist-Leninist-Maoist guerrilla group operates
in Peru. Founded in the 1960s by Abimael Guzman, a
professor of philosophy, the organization was originally
regarded as just another political movement. In the 1970s,
however, the Shining Path turned into a savage guerrilla
group that is now one of the bloodiest terrorist
organizations in the world.
Guzman's statements in support of violence are
particularly striking. In an April 19, 1980 address, the
Shining Path's leader declared, "The future lies in guns and
cannons." One of his guerrilla followers praised the use of
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violence: "Blood makes us stronger ... and if it is flowing, it is
not harming us, but giving us strength." The organization
openly stated that its struggle was built on the use of
violence and debated how this could be increased in Peru.
As a result, some 30,000 Peruvians were killed in the
conflict.

The 1980s saw the end of Guzman's teaching career and
the beginning of ongoing terrorism all over Peru. Like the
Japanese kamikazes during World War II, Guzman and
the Shining Path romanticized death. They believed it was
a small price to pay for the rewards awaiting them beyond
what Guzman called the "river of blood." Many innocent
civilians were abducted, raped, tortured and killed; over
one percent of the population died brutal deaths related to
political violence. To further their cause, Guzman--then

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