Peru's foreign minister resigns after controversial remarks on terrorism

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) - Peru's foreign minister resigned Tuesday in the wake of controversial remarks he made on terrorism, leaving the government less than a month after taking office.

Hector Bejar, 85, submitted his letter of "irrevocable resignation" and President Pedro Castillo accepted it, according to a statement released by the presidency's press office.

In the brief statement, the presidency did not mention the reason for the departure and who would replace him.

The sociologist, who was a Guevarista guerrilla in the 1960s, came under harsh criticism from the opposition and some media outlets after local media published a video taken in late 2020 in which he said he believed the Shining Path terrorist group had emerged partly due to support from the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and that the Peruvian navy had been responsible for terrorist acts.

An estimated 70,000 people died in the 1980s and early 1990s as government forces battled the Shining Path.