Peruvian Justice on Trial in Berenson Verdict
“No Patience for Terrorists” (Commentary, June 25) is a masterpiece of deception by association. What was Sergio Munoz’s motivation for associating Lori Berenson with Timothy McVeigh? The two have nothing in common. Peruvian military officials made it clear that they erred in claiming that Berenson was a leader or even a member of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement.
What was Munoz’s motivation for deciding that the second trial of Berenson was “fair”? U.S. State Department human rights reports on Peru do not consider such trials to be fair. A majority of members of the U.S. House of Representatives have already intervened on behalf of Berenson. They did not consider this a “temptation,” as he calls it. How hypocritically judgmental is the reference to Berenson as “seemingly sweet.”
Says Munoz: “Americans, like Peruvians, have lost all patience with bombers.” I do hope that applies to the bombers of Iraq, Panama and Serbia.
Berenson has never been accused of being a bomber either by the military tribunal of Peru, the Peruvian terrorism court or any other court.
Blase Bonpane
Director, Office of the Americas
Los Angeles
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