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C O N F I D E N T I A L LIMA 000033 
 
SIPDIS 
DRL ALSO FOR GMAGGIO 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/01/08 
TAGS: SOCI PTER PGOV PHUM PE
SUBJECT: BLOODY BAGUA PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS UNRESOLVED ISSUES 
 
REF: 09 LIMA 1010; 09 LIMA 1124; 09 LIMA 1380 AND PREVIOUS 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Alexis Ludwig, PolCouns, U.S. Department of State, 
Political; REASON: 1.4(B), (D) 
 
¶1. (C)   Summary:  A grisly photo of a missing police officer 
surrounded by his indigenous captors - widely published in Peruvian 
media -- has revived deep emotions over what happened during June 5 
violence in Peru's Amazon region (refs), and rekindled debate over 
who is to blame.  The picture appears to show enraged indigenous 
warriors clearly intending to harm Bazan (who was never accounted 
for after the violence but presumed killed).   Some observers 
believe the government conveniently "placed" the photo in the wake 
of an official report on the Bagua violence (septel) to buttress 
its contention that police were the main victims of the violence. 
We believe the graphic image suggests that there was, at the very 
least, blame on all sides.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  June 5 violence in Bagua, in which 24 police and 10 
civilians were killed, represents the single greatest crisis faced 
by the Garcia administration to date.  Immediately following the 
release of a government commission report on the violence (septel), 
practically every major Peruvian daily carried on its front page 
January 7 a sensationalist photo, taken last June, of a staggering 
but still-alive Police Major Felipe Bazan being dragged by a group 
of native Indians.   The photo has graphically revived still raw 
emotions swirling around the violence and rekindled debate about 
who was to blame. It also reinforces for some the stereotype of 
indigenous "savagery". 
 
 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The picture shows Bazan's captors in war paint and 
carrying spears, while the police officer's bloodied face shows 
signs of a severe beating.  Various headlines cried out: 
"Barbarism", "In Cold Blood" and "It was a Brutal and Savage 
Crime".  The image was reportedly taken from a video obtained by 
the Interior Ministry depicting events at the "Devil's Curve" clash 
on June 5 and, according to official accounts, released to the 
public to aid in the ongoing search for Bazan's missing body. 
Police believe that the policeman was brutally murdered and his 
body dumped in the nearby Maranon River; according to the press, 
several indigenous protestors have acknowledged his murder and 
disposing of his body. 
 
 
 
¶4. (C) Some observers suggest the GOP provided the sensationalist 
photo of Bazan to the media - seven months after the fact -- in 
order to bolster its case in the wake of a recently-published 
official report on Bagua, that police were the primary victims of 
the violence.  The Peruvian Government has been on the defensive 
ever since initial reports, provided by NGOs and others immediately 
after the violence, asserted that that the police had massacred 
numerous native people on June 5.  Feeding this perception, Aidesep 
leader Alberto Pizango also characterized the Bagua violence to the 
media as government-provoked "genocide."  Amidst the early 
confusion on the ground, these reports were then picked up by 
international media and disseminated world-wide, and included 
exaggerated accounts of "hundreds" of native people killed, buried 
in mass graves or thrown into a nearby river.  This erroneous and 
one-sided version of a confusing situation was later contradicted 
by the fact that more than twice as many police as civilians were 
killed during the violence.  The graphic depiction of Bazan also 
appears to challenge the view that Bagua was a simple case of 
heavy-handed government repression. 
 
 
 
¶5.  (C) Comment: There is sometimes more, or less, to a photo than 
meets the eye.  This is certainly the case with the wrenching photo 
of commander Bazan.  Nevertheless, we believe it shows that Bagua 
was something different than a simple clash between good vs. evil, 
 
or a repressive government facing down innocent indigenous people 
(refs).  At the very least, the photo suggests that, whatever the 
broader context, there was blame to share on all sides. 
MCKINLEY