Archive for July, 2007
Fujimori Did not Win a Diet Seat
Aberto Fujimori was defeated in his attempt to win a seat on July 29 upper house election for the People’s New Democratic Party (PNP). According to Petroleum News, Fujimori was fourth on the PNP list with 51,430 votes.
Kyodo News Special Coverage of 2007 House of Councillors Election here
Cobertura de la prensa peruana a la postulación de Alberto Fuimori en Japón
Source: La República, 30 de julio del 2007
Judicial Independence or Politicization in Chile?
A very interesting piece on the independence of the Chilean judiciary in the latest Caretas (1985).
Very interesting analysis piece by Julio Arbizu González for Chile’s El Mostrador on Judge Alvarez’s ruling.
Ignorant Justice
Maxwell A. Cameron
Comment is free The Guardian.
Reprinted as “Blind Justice” in The Guardian Weekly, Vol. 177, No. 5, July 20-26, 2007, p. 20.
The decision of Chilean judge Orlando Alvarez to dismiss Peru’s request to extradite former President Alberto Fujimori betrays remarkable ignorance about the nature of the civil-military regime that operated in Peru between 1990 and 2000. The ruling sparked outrage in Peru and around the world, leading to criticism by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Washington Office on Latin America, and Peruvian human rights umbrella group APRODEH. Disgust was also expressed by Peruvian bloggers, many of whom can be found here.
Alvarez found no evidence that Fujimori gave direct orders, or even had first-hand knowledge of human rights abuses that occurred during his tenure in office. In his ruling, the judge implied that the Colina paramilitary group, which carried out black operations against suspected Shining Path Maoists, predated Fujimori’s election. The human rights abuses it committed were not part of a systematic policy by the government–they were excesses for which the army, not the President, was responsible.
The judge accepted at face value Fujimori’s defence that he expressly instructed the military to respect human rights. Alvarez added that the crimes for which Fujimori is accused were covered by an amnesty in 1995–a law passed not by Fujimori, but by the Peruvian congress.
All of this flies in the face of reason and evidence. The very idea that the army carried out human rights abuses in defiance of Fujimori is utterly absurd. The Colina group was created by Fujimori’s closest ally, Vladimiro Montesinos, who was placed in charge of Peru’s intelligence operations shortly after the 1990 election. Montesinos worked assiduously to control the armed forces, and Fujimori provided political cover for his spymaster in return.
It is possible that some abuses by Colina operatives, such as the massacre at Barrios Altos, were ordered by Montesinos to enhance his blackmail power over Fujimori. But it takes two to tango. By closing congress, suspending the constitution, and purging the courts in April 1992, Fujimori removed himself and Montesinos from the reach of the law. He neutralized the judiciary, prevented investigations into higher levels of the military command or the executive, and created an obsequious congress that he could, in the words of Peruvian prosecutor Jose Ugaz, manage “with his beeper”. That the amnesty law was passed by congress was a mere formality; the law came from Fujimori, Montesinos and the high command of the armed forces.
It takes astonishing naïveté, or worse, to believe that Fujimori was not directly involved in human rights abuses. The ruling is a paean to impunity. One can only hope that the ignorance and biases in the thinking of this Pinochetista judge will carry little weight when the case is ultimately appealed to more competent authorities.
El Mercurio (Chile): Entrevista a Keiko Fujimori
En <a href="http://diario.elmercurio.com/2007/07/15/reportajes/_portada/noticias/121A2770-4385-4597-99A0-34E271925951.htm?id=”>entrevista con el diario chileno El Mercurio, la congresista Keiko Fujimori afirmó que su padre, Alberto Fujimori, volverá a Japón si sale elegido senador por el Nuevo Partido del Pueblo y el juez ratifique en última instancia el rechazo al pedido de extradición, porque “aún no existen las garantías de un debido proceso” en el Perú.
Encuesta PUCP Lima, 6 y 8 Julio 2007: 74% piensa que candidatura de Alberto Fujimori es “una burla a la justicia”
La última encuesta a nivel nacional del Instituto de Opinión Pública (IOP) de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP) entre el 6 y 8 de julio, dió como resultado el rechazo mayoritario de la población a la candidatura de Alberto Fujimori al senado japonés.
Nota: la encuesta se realizo antes de conocerse el fallo del juez Alvarez en Chile.
Descargar encuesta
Estado peruano apela fallo del juez chileno Orlando Álvarez
Los abogados que representan al Perú en Chile, Alfredo Etcheberry y René García, presentaron a la Corte Suprema de Justicia un pedido de apelación al fallo emitido el miércoles 11 por el juez Orlando Álvarez pidiendo se revoque la decision porque no se ajusta al derecho internacional.
Update: Chilean Court Rules in Favour of Ex-President Alberto Fujimori
The announcement has provoked strong reactions in Peru. The decision is not final, the Chilean Supreme Court has to review the judge decision and potential appeals.
Copia del fallo del Juez
Up to the minute coverage at: Minuto a minuto, Chronology, APRODEH, RPP, Ideele Radio
Commentary: Fernando Tuesta, El Utero, Juan Sheput, La Nuez, Reportaje al Peru, Manuel Bernúdez Tapia, Carlos Rivera, Desde el Tercer Piso, Cesar Hildebrandt, Caretas, Jose Ugaz, Antonio Maldonado
Press Releases: APRODEH, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, WOLA, Amnistía Internacional
International Coverage
Interview with Gustavo Gorriti with As it Happens (CBC Radio), July 12, 2007. Duration: 00:08:25
Read also Jurist from University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
Japanese Media Coverage
Fujimori inicia campaña al Senado en Japón
Photo: Perú 21, 12 de julio del 2007. Fuente: EFE.
El ex-presidente Alberto Fujimori inició su campaña de postulación al senado japones como candidato del Nuevo Partido de los Ciudadanos (NPC) presentando un vídeo en el que promete “jugarse la vida por el país de los samuráis”. ¿Los peruanos no han escuchado eso antes?