Peru- January, 9 2025

Correspondent from Juliaca

Two years after the massacre of workers and peasants at the hands of the bloody coup of Dina Boluarte, the Fujimorista Congress and the generals of the Armed Forces, commanded by the US military bases…

Words by Raúl Samillan, president of the "Association of Martyrs and Victims of January 9, 2023", reaffirming his commitment to continue fighting for justice against the Boluarte dictatorship

At the main event held at the Oval Bypass exit to Cuzco, featuring the relatives and survivors of the massacre, surrounded by the solidarity of delegations of victims from all over the country, comrade Raúl Samillan, brother of Marco Antonio, a young doctor murdered by the Boluarte police in Juliaca, said:

“…May the Peruvian people and the entire world not forget what we have experienced as Juliaqueños (Juliaca residents). That is why, brethren, on behalf of the Association of Martyrs and Victims of January 9, we welcome you to this town of Quechuas and Aymaras, to this thriving town of Juliaca, to this town of Juliaca that plays out its destiny day by day. They have wanted to silence us; they have wanted to silence us, but here we are, hundreds, thousands of people accompanying all the relatives who have lost a loved one and accompanying our wounded siblings who today have a bullet in their body, who have more than 120 pellets. They are present here…”

“… All of our brothers who were victims on a day like today are here. We are here returning to the place where we were massacred. We are here where a bullet was lodged in each of our bodies.

And from here, all of the relatives reaffirm our commitment to continue fighting for social justice, a justice that reaches all Peruvians so that no Peruvian is ever murdered again, so that no parent ever again has to cry for their children, so that no child of ours ever again has to cry for their father or mother…”

“We have the commitment to continue fighting, alongside all of you, brothers and sisters, because you are our strength, that strength that will not let us stop until we achieve justice.”

“This small group that is in power today, that oligarchy wants to silence us all, telling us that we have no voice, that we have to live submissively before them, but that is not the case, brothers and sisters. You are here to raise your voice, to say ‘enough’ to this Dina Boluarte genocidal government…”

“The unity of the Peruvian people will allow us to recover our democracy, our peace, and never again have to cry for any child, and never again have to cry for our siblings and for our parents. In my personal experience and in the experience of all my brothers and sisters, this is a pain that weighs on my soul. It is a pain that I cannot shake off. Because every day that I walk through these streets, I will not be able to forget when they threw tear gas bombs at us from the air, when they machine-gunned us from the air…”

“We have this pain with us and that is why we will continue. We, the relatives and victims of this government, will go on, and that is why we have now formed the National Organization of Relatives. Here are the relatives from Ayacucho who are also victims of this government. There are our brothers from the Apurímac region, from the city of Andahuaylas. There are the mothers who have lost their children and the mothers who have been widowed.

The National Organization of Relatives of the Murdered and Victims of this Government is made up of 7 regions: Puno, Cuzco, Apurímac, Ayacucho, Junín, La Libertad and Lima. These 7 regions are now walking hand in hand to achieve justice…”

“As family members and victims of this government, our purpose is to bring together victims of other governments. That is why we also have Inti Sotelo’s sister here, our comrade Killa from the capital. Our sister also had her brother taken away from her 4 years ago and to this day she has not achieved justice. And there are other brothers and sisters present as well. At some point we will all unite, from the north to the south, all together in search of justice…”

“Brethren, thank you infinitely for your presence. We carry you in our hearts. Never abandon us because you are our strength, that strength that will allow us to continue seeking justice…”