Thousands mass for anti-Fujimori rally in Peru

A demonstrator sets a flaming-tire barricade in front an armored car in Lima, Peru, on Thursday

LIMA, Peru (Reuters) -- Thousands of Peruvians crammed a downtown Lima square on Tuesday evening for the first in a planned nationwide series of rallies that opposition leaders hope will pressure outgoing President Alberto Fujimori to quit now.

"Clean elections -- Fujimori out!" read a huge banner at one side of the square in the first major test of Peruvian people power since the president made the surprise announcement he will quit next July -- four years early -- after new elections.

Police with riot shields and several armored vehicles gathered near the square where the rally was being held.

Memories are still raw in Peru of a July 29 protest against Fujimori's inauguration after elections that the opposition said were rigged. It turned violent -- the opposition alleges that the government engineered the trouble -- and six people died.

Main opposition leader Alejandro Toledo has called on Peruvians to take to the streets against an unpopular president who the opposition says is backsliding on election promises.

RESOURCES Alberto Fujimori pictoral timeline: a decade in power   MESSAGE BOARD Peru in transition     ALSO No longer a SIN to spy in Peru, Prime Minister tries to prove

Internationally brokered talks between the government and opposition parties collapsed in acrimony on Friday amid allegations that the government was insisting on conditions, including an amnesty for military officials accused of human rights abuses, before giving up office.

Cornered by a corruption scandal involving his spy chief, Vladimiro Montesinos -- a powerful aide widely believed to have rallied the military behind the government -- Fujimori announced early elections a month ago.

He wants to stay in office until July, but the opposition says Montesinos, who ran the notorious intelligence service (SIN) amid charges he hounded the opposition into submission, is calling the shots from Panama, where he is seeking asylum.

In a boost for the opposition, which remains divided, a new opinion poll by consultants Apoyo found 52 percent of 502 Lima residents questioned would vote for an opposition candidate in the elections, which the government wants in six months.

It found 40 percent believed Montesinos still had influence over the presidency. Yet in a sign of the political confusion gripping Peru, although Fujimori's approval rating was just 27 percent, 57 percent said he should stay in office until July.

Anti-Fujimori protestors gather in front the building of Congress in Lima, Peru

While the opposition says the government is dragging its feet on freeing the media, courts and electoral authorities from 10 years of state control -- vital steps for elections -- reporters were given a rare peek behind the scenes of the SIN.

Prime Minister Federico Salas, who heads a committee charged with "deactivating" the feared agency, visited the elegant white headquarters in southern Lima to check progress.

Reporters were allowed behind the high walls and through a gateway bearing the Latin motto "In search of knowledge" into what Peruvians dub "the factory" -- the notorious intelligence headquarters from where the shadowy Montesinos allegedly ordered wiretaps, hounding of opponents and even torture.

The visitors saw tranquil offices with administrative staff working at computers but no top military officials. They were hurried out of rooms with maps on the walls, and there was no tour of the basements -- allegedly the SIN's torture chambers.

The worsening impact of the crisis was underlined by Economy Minister Carlos Bolona, who said the 2000 budget deficit was nearing 2.7 percent to 2.8 percent of gross domestic product -- outside a goal of 2 percent to 2.1 percent set with the International Monetary Fund. The IMF has sent a mission to Peru to study the situation.

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Peruvian Congress paves way for Fujimori's early exit from power
October 5, 2000
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September 28, 2000
Panama feared coup attempt in Peru over ex-spy chief's asylum request
September 25, 2000
Peru's spy chief lands in Panama in asylum bid
September 24, 2000
All eyes on Fujimori as Peru waits for word of new elections
September 19, 2000

Organization of American States
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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