Comrade Artemio
| Comrade Artemio | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Comrade Artemio giving an interview | |
| Preceded by | Óscar Ramírez |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Shining Path (Communist Party of Peru) |
Comrade Artemio is the alias of the man believed by many to be the current leader of the Shining Path, a Maoist guerrilla group in Peru. While Artemio's real name is unknown, former Peruvian Minister of the Interior, Fernando Rospigliosi, claims Artemio has an identification card under the false name of José Flórez León, which would provide a mugshot of Artemio. The United States CIA World Factbook lists his true identity as Gabriel Macario. Along with Comrade Alipio, he is one of the highest-ranking members of the Shining Path who have not been imprisoned or killed.
Very little is known about Comrade Artemio. He has appeared on video tapes, but always wearing a ski mask, often with an extra piece of cloth sewed on to hide his eyes. Messages supposed to have been written by him make the claim that he is only the regional commander of the Shining Path for the Huallaga Valley, implying that he is not the leader of the entire movement. This might be because he takes the imprisoned former leaders (Abimael Guzmán and Óscar Ramírez Durand) to be the true leaders and doesn't believe their orders for the Shining Path to lay down its arms.
On September 26, 2006, a news crew from the television show Panorama interviewed Artemio in a jungle base established by Shining Path. They also filmed about 50 Shining Path militants, all of whom were masked. Artemio demanded that the Peruvian government grant amnesty to imprisoned Shining Path members and open a peace dialogue with the remaining Shining Path members. Days after the report, the National Police raided the site where Artemio gave the interview. Some Shining Path members were arrested, but Artemio was not. In November, 2007, police claimed to have killed Artemio's second-in-command, a guerrilla known as JL.[1]
In September, 2008, Artemio gave his first recorded interview since 2006. In it he stated that the Shining Path would continue to fight despite escalating military pressure.[2]
On December 7th 2011, it was reported that 'Comrade Artemio' had admitted that the Shining Path were defeated. He is said to have offered 'dialogue' with the government regarding disarmament. [3]
The next day, the BBC released an interview with "Comrade Artemio," identified as Florindo Eleuterio Flores-Hala. Flores-Hala admitted "mistakes" in prosecuting the Shining Path's war effort, and said he was ready to negotiate terms with the Peruvian government. The full interview can be found at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/08/artemio-peru-shining-path-commander
[edit] References
- ^ BBC "Peru police 'kill leading rebel'" Available online. Accessed January 13, 2008.
- ^ AP "Peru rebel leader refuses to lay down arms" Available online. Accessed October 10, 2008.
- ^ BBC "Peru's Shining Path defeated, rebel leader admits" Available on-line.
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