The government proposed new legislation this month which would see the denial of terrorist acts committed in the 1980s and 1990s made into a criminal offence. The draft bill was reportedly inspired by measures in other countries which provide for the punishment of holocaust deniers.

The proposal will be debated by Congress in the coming weeks, but is already proving controversial. Some lawmakers, such as Javier Diez Canseco from the AP-Frente Amplio party and Herbierto Benítez from Solidaridad Nacional, argue the measure does not go far enough as it applies only to abuses committed by the insurgent groups. They believe the legislation should also seek to penalise the denial of the numerous human rights violations perpetrated by state officials during the conflict, such as the massacre at Putis in 1984.

Others have leveled precisely the opposite charge, saying the bill is too broadly defined and potentially threatens freedom of expression. Iscra Chávez Loayza from the Association for Life and Human Dignity (Aporvidha) described the proposal as “very dangerous” and said it was not necessary given the existence of other anti-terrorist legislation in the country. Such sentiments were echoed by Carlos Tapia, a former official of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, who expressed concern that it could lead to criminal charges against academic researchers investigating the country’s conflicts.

In response to these claims Julio Galindo, the state attorney in charge of terrorist cases, stated that stricter legislation was indeed required to undermine the remaining supporters of terrorist groups. He claimed that existing measures were clearly insufficient as his office had been unable to secure a single conviction for the current crime of ‘incitement to terrorism’, despite being involved in more than 80 cases.