Peru: Five hostages taken by Rebels

publiziert: Montag, 30. Okt 2000 / 11:05 Uhr

Lima - A small group of soldiers revolted in southern Peru, briefly seizing a mining town and reportedly taking five hostages including an army general, just as President Alberto Fujimori sought to calm political turmoil that has been wracking his nation for weeks.

Some 51 soldiers led by Lt. Col. Ollanta Humala said in a statement Sunday that they were disgusted with Fujimori and the continued influence of his feared former intelligence chief Vladimiro Montesinos.

The soldiers first took, then abandoned, the copper-mining town of Toquepala, 860 kilometers (535 miles) south of Lima, near the Chilean border, and apparently drove off in a convoy of jeeps into the Andes.

"I will lay down my arms when the chain of command is legitimate and there is a president who has been truly elected by the people,"' Humala said in the statement, also demanding that Montesinos be jailed.

The army promised to "take the necessary actions to restore discipline," and said the rebellion posed no threat to the nation's stability. The mining town's mayor, Juvenal Ordanez, said a military helicopter was pursuing the rebels.

Local media said an army general and four mine workers had been kidnapped. The army refused to confirm this. The mutiny came one day after Fujimori dismissed the nation's three top military leaders, but the revolt did not appear to be related. It also came as many Fujimori opponents had begun commending the president for dismantling the upper echelon of the military, and the country has been less tense in recent days.

Peru's turmoil began in September with the release of a video showing Montesinos apparently bribing a congressman to support Fujimori. In the ensuing scandal, the president announced he would step down in July after new elections.

The political crisis was reignited Monday, when Montesinos returned to Peru after a failed asylum bid in Panama and went underground. Montesinos has a strong following in the Peruvian military, and rumors of a coup swirled: Peruvians debated whether Montesinos would allow his former boss to loosen the vise-like control he exerted over the military, electoral institutions and courts over the last decade.

Fujimori led a charge through a posh resort community outside Lima in hopes of somehow stumbling upon the former spy chief, a man who is famed for keeping out of sight. The president then forced the resignations Saturday of the heads of the army, navy and air force _ all rumored to be protecting Montesinos _ in a move apparently aimed at placating his critics.

Also Saturday, the president dismissed army Gen. Luis Cubas, Montesinos' brother-in-law, as commander of Peru's Lima-based tank division _ key to impede any coup attempt in the capital.

On Sunday, Fujimori met with Walter Chacon, the new head of the army and chief of Peru's joint armed forces, to discuss the military uprising, the presidential palace said. The president made no public comment.

Even former opposition presidential candidate Alejandro Toledo, who has been clamoring for weeks for Fujimori's immediate resignation, told a rally of supporters late Saturday that Fujimori had taken "an important step to re-establish the credibility and the political strength of Peru."

Many contend that Montesinos' continued military influence will keep him out of the president's grasp. Others wonder whether Fujimori's manhunt is a sham. Meanwhile, the president's choice of Chacon, the interior minister who is a close associate of Montesinos, as the new head of the army drew criticism from human rights groups and political leaders.

Opposition congressman Carlos Ferrero said that despite dismissing the heads of the military, Fujimori still had a long way to go. Sunday's revolt occurred within the 3rd Regional Command, the army's most powerful post, run by Montesinos loyalist Gen. Abraham Cano. The command is headquartered in Arequipa, Peru's second-largest city.

The soldiers seized the mine around 4 a.m., and departed 9 1/2 hours later in a convoy of military jeeps, heading north along a narrow mountain highway, residents living near the mine said.

The soldiers' destination was not clear, but the route he appeared to head deep into the Andes and away from any major cities. Humala said in a radio interview that the group was seeking the support of other Peruvians angry with Fujimori and Montesinos.

Ordanez, the mining town's mayor, said one captive was Gen. Oscar Bardales, head of the Arica Barracks, which oversees the region, independent TV station Canal N reported. The general reportedly went into the mine to talk Humala out but was taken hostage. A local resident told the Radioprograms radio station: "They had a gun to his head. We are all hoping that this does not end violently."

(AP)

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