Gisela Ortiz, former Minister of Culture, broke when she heard the ruling ordering the release of Alberto Fujimori

Gisela Ortiz, the former Minister of Culture, is also an activist and spokesperson for the families of the victims of the La Cantuta massacre, perpetrated during the Alberto Fujimori regime. Among the victims was his brother Luis Enrique Ortiz Perea, who was kidnapped and disappeared by Grupo Colina.

This Thursday, on the online channel Epicentro TV, he ruled on the ruling of the Constitutional Court ordering the release of former President Fujimori by reinstating his pardon presidential award in 2017.

“As relatives we are outraged by this decision, not at all impartial, when we heard about this hearing yesterday, we warned that there are members of the TC with links to Fujimorism. In that sense, it did not give us a guarantee that it would be a decision that conforms to the law of the domestic order itself and that it obeys other political interests,” he said.

He indicated that, as relatives of the victims, they always fight against a State that does not represent them and that does not defend them, and that it is managed according to other interests. Along these lines, he said that the path is tortuous like family members, because of the effort, energies, and emotions that they put into a process that never ends. At that moment, Ortiz breaks down as he recalls the years of fighting for justice for his relatives.

“We have been walking for 30 years, not only because justice is done, but because the dignity of our relatives is respected, the country must have an active memory, commitment and political gestures. It is not now possible to pretend that the desire for impunity that is written through the pardon of this TC ruling, will win the historical memory of the country,” said the former minister.

He added that there must be other pronouncements that point to our country's commitment to the fight against impunity and the defense of rights. “Because this is a fight for rights,” he said. He believes that it is something unfair and that is why all the voices who want to rise up against this wrongdoing said that this is the time to demonstrate the commitment we have in the fight against impunity.

At another point in the interview, Ortiz said that the victims' relatives have stated that a pardon for Alberto Fujimori would only be possible in the face of the seriousness of an illness, but with serious medical reports that have legitimacy.

IMPROPER FAILURE

The former Minister of Culture, recalled that the Supreme Court ruled two years ago on the pardon that Kuczynski granted, “in alliance with Kenji Fujimori”, noting that it was improper because it did not rely on legal or medical reasons.

“It hurts to recognize that in this country we are not all equal before the law and that these political negotiations are always imposed for the benefit of some people or some condemned,” he said.

Asked about the statements of Congressman Alejandro Aguinaga, Ortiz said that being a Fujimorist parliamentarian and private doctor of the convicted person, he did not care about his words.

He emphasized that what should be recognized are the judicial decisions that are taken on the analysis of facts, testimonies and evidence.

“In that sense, a sentence becomes a legal truth. It is shameful that we are trying to deny crimes, victims exist, we have been fighting every day to ensure that the rights of victims are respected,” he emphasized.

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