Buharry, thanks for forwarding the article on Fujimori's surprise
resignation. I took the liberty of forwarding the Washington Post's take on
the whole event to highlight the role the army played in this decision.
True, the dictator was under intense pressure from all angles (both
internally and internationally), but I think the final straw was the army's
withdrawal of their support. People like Fujimori and Yaya will ignore all
types of pressures if they are assured of the support of their instruments
of terror. If they do not have the capability to terrorize people to
submission, they will leave. I join Ebrima's source and urge opposition
leaders to desist from legitimizing Yaya if there is no level playing field
for elections. If the opposition sustain the pressure against our illegal
government, the armed forces will soon realize the futility of supporting a
child killer and will eventually get rid of Yaya.
KB
______________________________________________________________________
LIMA, Peru Sept. 17 –– President Alberto Fujimori's surprise announcement
late Saturday that he would leave office followed signs in recent days that
he was losing the support of Peru's powerful military in the fallout from
two major corruption scandals involving the country's notorious intelligence
service, sources with knowledge of the situation said today.
Fujimori's decision, announced in a national address in which he called for
new elections but said he would not run, stunned the country and left Peru's
opposition scrambling to build a united front. Officials said the election
would likely be held within six months, and Vice President Francisco Tudela
said in an interview that Fujimori "has the full intention of staying in
power during that time." For their part, opposition leaders demanded that
Fujimori step down immediately to allow a transition government to steer the
country toward the elections.
Saturday's announcement was a breathtaking reversal for Fujimori, Latin
America's longest-serving elected leader, who had weathered severe criticism
since winning an unprecedented third five-year term in May elections widely
described as unfair. In recent days, international pressure had been
mounting on the president to agree to democratic reforms, including firing
Vladimiro Montesinos, the architect of Peru's ruthless and untouchable
intelligence service, who has been Fujimori's most important aide since his
rise from obscure academic to president in 1990.
Demands to deal decisively with Montesinos reached a climax after a
videotape was made public Thursday showing the intelligence chief handing a
$15,000 bribe to an opposition congressman to back Fujimori. Montesinos also
has been linked to a deal to sell 10,000 AK-47 assault rifles delivered to
Peru via Jordan to Colombia's largest rebel group. Reports of his connection
surfaced in the Peruvian media after Montesinos and Fujimori held a rare
joint news conference in which they claimed to have uncovered the arms
smuggling operation.
With pressure growing on Fujimori to act, several key regional leaders of
Peru's military refused to attend a meeting called by the president Saturday
morning to gauge his support within the armed forces, according to a source
at the presidential palace. It was unclear whether the military chiefs
withdrew their support for Fujimori out of loyalty to Montesinos or in an
effort to hasten his, and Fujimori's, departure.
In a sign that elements of the military were opposed to Montesinos, Fernando
Olivera--head of the opposition Independent Moralizing Front, who obtained
the damaging videotape--said today it had "come from a civilian source with
links to a discontented segment of the military." The source, he said, had
originally made contact with Susana Higuchi, Fujimori's ex-wife and a
congresswoman from his party.
Olivera said he has obtained other tapes from intelligence sources that show
equally damaging footage of Montesinos bribing businessmen, journalists,
politicians and even some military officers to support Fujimori.
On Saturday, when agents of Montesinos's National Intelligence Service
attempted to seize a member of the navy who allegedly had aided in handing
over the videotape, the military blocked them from making the arrest.
Said Francisco Loayza, an intelligence adviser to Fujimori in the early days
of his first administration: "The military obviously played a key role. As
far as I can tell, comparing the information I have, they began withdrawing
support as the scandal around Montesinos grew. Fujimori saw what he built
begin to come apart and decided it was not possible to continue governing."
In his address Saturday night, Fujimori said he was dismantling the National
Intelligence Service, known here by its initials in Spanish as SIN. The
organization had been instrumental in dismantling the leadership of two
leftist guerrilla groups during the early 1990s--by means that human rights
groups said included torture, executions, and intimidation and persecution
of many innocent Peruvians.
Fujimori's announcement set off spontaneous celebrations across Peru,
including in the capital's main plaza opposite the presidential palace,
where flag-waving revelers converged throughout the night. On radio programs
today, supporters of Fujimori thanked the president for leading the war
against terrorism and for economic reforms.
Fujimori's decision was hailed by the United States, which has had an uneasy
relationship with the president, supporting his hard line on drug
traffickers, but opposing his moves against democracy. During a conference
of world leaders last week in New York, Secretary of State Madeleine K.
Albright met with Fujimori and told him the United States would watch very
closely his "next step" toward democracy, according to U.S. officials.
A White House statement issued today said: "We welcome the bold step taken
by President Fujimori. The actions announced last night are clearly aimed at
resolving the political polarization facing Peru [and]. . . represent a good
beginning to such an endeavor."
For Fujimori's adversaries, his decision was an unexpected windfall.
Alejandro Toledo, who pulled out of the second round of balloting for the
presidency in May, was in Washington on Saturday. Today, he said that he
still does not believe Fujimori will give up power so easily; nevertheless,
he called the decision "a great step toward democracy for Peru."
Toledo also officially declared his candidacy to succeed Fujimori. "I plan
to be president; I am ready to be president; I will be president," he said.
Toledo is unlikely to be alone in the dash for the presidency. Although
several other opposition leaders talked about the need for unifying against
any candidate fielded by Fujimori's party, several of them, including
Alberto Andrade, the mayor of Lima and also a candidate in last spring's
presidential election, appeared today on television shows delivering
commentary that sounded more like a stump speech. A poll taken last week in
Lima by the Apoyo firm showed Fujimori with a 44 percent approval rating,
Andrade with 42 percent and Toledo with 25 percent.
Yet almost everyone in leadership circles agreed that the current electoral
system must be overhauled first. Vice President Tudela, who dismissed
speculation he may run with Fujimori's backing, said the government is
willing to negotiate the terms of the new elections with opposition leaders
in Congress.
Tudela also dismissed reports that Montesinos had been arrested by the
military, saying he would face prosecution in the courts--although
speculation rages that he may soon flee the country. "Montesinos is now just
another person and not an official of the Peruvian government," Tudela said.
"Now, he will be treated just like anyone else."
Staff writer Karen DeYoung in Washington and special correspondent Lucien
Chauvin in Lima contributed to this report.
>From: MOMODOU BUHARRY GASSAMA <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: BBC Fwd: Shock election call in Peru
>Date: Sun, 17 Sep 2000 21:09:30 +0200
>
>Hi!
> I thought this might be of interest. For hot headlines like this,
>visit Musa Ngum's homepage. Thanks.
>
> Buharry.
>____________________________________________________________________
>Shock election call in Peru
>Embattled Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori has called surprise new
>elections and has indicated that he plans to step down, saying he will not
>seek re-election.
>Mr Fujimori, who has been in power since 1990, was elected to a third term
>in May amid widespread allegations of fraud.
>
>His decision to call elections as soon as possible comes shortly after the
>release of a videotape which allegedly shows his security chief Vladimiro
>Montesinos trying to bribe a member of the opposition.
>
>A series of opposition defections since May have restored the president's
>majority in congress.
>
>In a televised address Mr Fujimori also decided to "deactivate" the
>intelligence service. Former presidential candidate Alejandro Toledo called
>for a transitional government to be formed immediately, and for the
>opposition to rally around a single candidate. He says he plans to run for
>president again.
>
>Mr Toledo pulled out of the May presidential runoff after alleging that Mr
>Fujimori planned to rig the results.
>
>Correspondents say the announcement has stunned the country, prompting
>spontaneous scenes of celebration.
>
>People poured onto the streets shouting freedom and calling the decision a
>great victory for democracy.
>
>Our correspondent Claire Marshall said the mood in the capital, Lima, was
>one of jubilation, with hundreds of people emptying out from bars and cafes
>to carry banners, beat drums and wave flags.
>
>Marching down the street, people shouted out "we are free now", and passing
>cars, taxis and buses honked their horns in unison.
>
>Leading a crowd of about 200 down one of Lima's main streets, Cezar Ramiro,
>from one of the main pro-democracy movements, said: "We are very happy
>because we have been asking him to go since April, and now he's gone".
>
>Another opposition supporter, Mani Dammat, said that the president's
>surprise announcement was finally the end of a 10-year-long fight for
>liberty.
>
>Opposition demands for new elections have increased since the scandal about
>the video broke.
>
>Mr Montesinos, long considered the power behind the government, was seen
>apparently handing over $15,000 to Luis Alberto Kouri, who recently
>defected from the opposition to the governing party.
>
>An Organisation of American States statement on Saturday said the
>accusations were "of the utmost seriousness and require rapid, radical
>action from the government".
>
>The United States also expressed its concern, and there were demonstrations
>in the Peruvian capital, Lima, calling for Mr Montesinos' arrest.
>
>The opposition saw the video as proof that Mr Fujimori used bribes to win
>opposition party defectors over to his side after the April elections,
>which left his party with fewer than half the seats in Congress.
>
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