| Established by former atomic scientists in 1945, the Federation of American |
| Scientists (FAS) is a non-profit civic organization concerned with issues of science |
| and society, and international security issues. The Project on Peru seeks greater |
| understanding of Sendero Luminoso's threat to Peru and other countries. FAS |
| President Jeremy J. Stone directs the FAS Fund's Project on Peru. Michael L. Smith |
| edits The Sendero File. |
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| EDITORIAL: |
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| Focusing on Sendero |
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| Although many serious problems bedevil the State and society of Peru, none |
| is more serious than the threat of Sendero Luminoso. Sendero openly |
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| strives to destroy the state and its institutions as part of its revolution. |
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| Indeed, it requires for its revolution that the Peruvian people shed rivers of |
| blood. |
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| Were Sendero's revolution, led by Chairman Gonzalo, a.k.a. Abimael |
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| Guzmán, to succeed in overthrowing the Government, the resulting pariahhermit |
| state would have to meet demands for food, health, shelter and |
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| employment that, in the modern age, cannot be met in such isolation. As a |
| consequence, millions more could die and others become refugees with |
| enormous suffering over an extended period. We have already seen, in |
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| Cambodia, from 1975 to 1978, what chaos results when an extremely |
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| radical Maoist group, steeped in ideology but inexperienced in government, |
| somehow finds itself in power. |
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| Whether one focuses, as various existing groups do, on maintaining |
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| democracy in the hemisphere, or on human rights, or on stemming the flow |
| of cocaine into U.S. cities, Sendero's onslaught threatens to make difficult |
| problems insoluble while raising human and economic costs. The Sendero |
| File will help to focus on the impact and implications of Sendero in all these |
| areas and others |
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