reducedtoashes

II
Reduced to Ashes
The very presentation is a rebuke to the National Human Rights Commission that
has advanced so little in the course of its investigation.
The sheer mass of testimonies makes it impossible to dismiss out of hand. If
there are questions about their veracity, it is for the authorities to raise them now. If
even some of the testimonies are true, then the official story must change: it is
impossible to dismiss those who died as simply "terrorists." If the testimonies are
substantially true, then the work of the NHRC and the courts has barely begun
because there are glaring violations of rights to be addressed and responsibility to
be apportioned.
The authors of this report have benefited from the moral support of many people
over the years and the financial support of very few. They have made offices out of
beds and the corners of rooms and turned nights into work days. A good report is a
call to action. They will have succeeded if we, the readers, answer this call.
Peter Rosenblum
Clinical Director
Human Rights Program, Harvard Law School
Boston, MA, December 2002
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