Peru military breaks silence, backs Fujimori

President Alberto Fujimori at a military parade in Lima, Peru in June

LIMA, Peru (Reuters) -- Peru's military, breaking a silence that had sparked worries of a coup in the wake of President Alberto Fujimori's shock decision to call early elections, said on Thursday it gave him its full backing.

In a joint communique, the leaders of the armed forces and the police said they were united behind the decision of Fujimori, who is supreme military commander under the constitution, and urged Peruvians to remain calm.

Government officials had sought this week to dispel fears of intervention by the armed forces. But nerves had lingered amid fears of divided loyalties since Fujimori said in an address to the nation on Saturday he was calling elections in which he would not run and that he would dismantle Peru's feared intelligence service.

Analysts said the bombshell announcement from Latin America's longest serving democratically-elected leader signaled a potentially dangerous split with Vladimiro Montesinos, his key spy chief and security adviser -- and the man diplomats believed had the military under his thumb.

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The military statement, issued in the early hours of Thursday, said the armed forces "reiterated their firm undertaking to collaborate permanently with the president to achieve the objectives laid down in the framework of the Peruvian constitution (and) exhort Peruvian citizens to remain calm and to keep a responsible attitude in transcendental moments of the country."

As the scandal reverberated on an already stuttering economy -- Economy Minister Carlos Bolona said Peru was likely to miss key growth and budget deficit goals agreed with the International Monetary Fund -- the message from the military appeared a determined effort to underline business as usual.

How the armed forces would react had been one of the biggest questions of the crisis so far. But there was still no certainty on what would happen next in an unpredictable political drama analysts said was just underway.

Endorsement from the military came a day after Fujimori, reelected in a widely criticized runoff vote in May, said there was no power vacuum and that he was under no military pressure to go in the wake of a corruption scandal involving Montesinos.

A video broadcast on television last week showed the chief of the national intelligence service (SIN), a man dogged by opposition charges of corruption and human rights abuses, allegedly paying a $15,000 bribe to a congressman.

A man wearing a mask depicting intelligence chief Vladimiro Montesinos at protest

Fujimori has pledged to deactivate the feared SIN and to investigate Montesinos. That could alienate some sections of the military, analysts said.

The president's critics were skeptical about his commitment to carry out his promise as long as there was no public sign of a probe into Montesinos, whom the president has defended and whose whereabouts remained a mystery.

Speculation reached fever pitch about what was going on behind the scenes. Some analysts believed Fujimori was cutting a deal with Montesinos, his right-hand man in his 10 years in power, and whose aura of untouchability still appears intact.

The corruption scandal has spiraled into a political crisis because of the graphic evidence the video appeared to show of the dirty dealing many Peruvians have long suspected Montesinos of employing to help underpin Fujimori's power.

The military's affirmation of their backing came a day after Fujimori scaled a pillar outside the presidential palace to cheer thousands of fans in what appeared a bid to demonstrate he could still command a loyal grassroots following.

Toledo addresses a news conference in Lima, Peru, on Wednesday

He stressed he would not step down until a new president was installed. Fujimori has not set a date for the vote but his justice minister has said it could be held in March and a new president sworn in on Peru's national day, July 28.

With Fujimori keen to show himself a still popular president in command of the military, eyes were on the opposition.

Peru's main opposition leader, Alejandro Toledo, on Wednesday threatened to call his supporters out into the streets unless President Alberto Fujimori stepped down to make way for elections in four months.

Toledo, who boycotted a May presidential runoff that he said was rigged, also demanded proof Fujimori had sacked Montesinos.

Opposition parties were due to resume stalled talks with the government sponsored by the Organization of American States on Friday at which the government said it planned to lay out proposals for the vote and the Montesinos case. The meeting was postponed from Wednesday with no explanation.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Bienvenidos al Ministerio de la Presidencia (Spanish)
Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores del Peru (Spanish/English)
Congreso de la Republica del Peru (Spanish/English)
Peru Posible

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