Fujimori headed for Peru
Sunday, September 23, 2007
FORMER Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori flew out of Santiago yesterday for Lima after Chile's Supreme Court ordered his extradition to stand trial in Peru on human rights and corruption charges.
Escorted by Chilean police, Fujimori boarded a Peruvian police jet at the Santiago airport bound for Lima, where he will be tried for charges stemming from his 1990-2000 tenure as president.
The Antonov aircraft carrying Fujimori, together with Peru police chief David Rodriguez Segue and the Interpol chief in Lima Manuel Barraza, took off and is expected to arrive in Lima.
Once Fujimori, 69, arrives he will be sequestered in the headquarters of the Peruvian police Special Operations Directorate, which has a 50 square metre apartment with a bathroom and a small study, the Peru newspaper La Republica reported yesterday.
In an interview with Chile's El Mercurio published yesterday he said he hoped he would be treated respectfully upon his arrival and said that the "Fujimorism" movement would be revitalised.
"There is no negotiation. But clearly, I hope to be treated in my status as ex-president," he said.
"Obviously I cannot be held in a communal jail, for security reasons."
"I hope that there will be a fair trial to completely explain each of the accusations," he added.
Fujimori, who spent seven years in exile after resigning the presidency from a Tokyo hotel amid a burgeoning scandal, faces up to 40 years in prison for charges including responsibility for separate massacres by military units in 1991 and 1992, and a slew of corruption allegations.
He told El Mercurio that his political backers would rise up again following his return.
"I say that Fujimorism is going to mobilise, it is going to be strong. Fujimorism has deep popular roots. These people are going to support me," he said.
Fujimori's spokesman Carlos Raffo asked the government last Friday to take measures to ensure the former president's safety once he arrives, suggesting how divisive Fujimori remains even seven years after his fall from power.
For some Peruvians, he is the man who had the guts not only to stand up to the Shining Path but to send troops into the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima in 1997 to end a four-month hostage crisis.
Others view him as a corrupt despot who milked state funds for himself and cronies during his tenure.
People also believe that he was responsible for violence and killing of innocents.AFP
Escorted by Chilean police, Fujimori boarded a Peruvian police jet at the Santiago airport bound for Lima, where he will be tried for charges stemming from his 1990-2000 tenure as president.
The Antonov aircraft carrying Fujimori, together with Peru police chief David Rodriguez Segue and the Interpol chief in Lima Manuel Barraza, took off and is expected to arrive in Lima.
Once Fujimori, 69, arrives he will be sequestered in the headquarters of the Peruvian police Special Operations Directorate, which has a 50 square metre apartment with a bathroom and a small study, the Peru newspaper La Republica reported yesterday.
In an interview with Chile's El Mercurio published yesterday he said he hoped he would be treated respectfully upon his arrival and said that the "Fujimorism" movement would be revitalised.
"There is no negotiation. But clearly, I hope to be treated in my status as ex-president," he said.
"Obviously I cannot be held in a communal jail, for security reasons."
"I hope that there will be a fair trial to completely explain each of the accusations," he added.
Fujimori, who spent seven years in exile after resigning the presidency from a Tokyo hotel amid a burgeoning scandal, faces up to 40 years in prison for charges including responsibility for separate massacres by military units in 1991 and 1992, and a slew of corruption allegations.
He told El Mercurio that his political backers would rise up again following his return.
"I say that Fujimorism is going to mobilise, it is going to be strong. Fujimorism has deep popular roots. These people are going to support me," he said.
Fujimori's spokesman Carlos Raffo asked the government last Friday to take measures to ensure the former president's safety once he arrives, suggesting how divisive Fujimori remains even seven years after his fall from power.
For some Peruvians, he is the man who had the guts not only to stand up to the Shining Path but to send troops into the Japanese ambassador's residence in Lima in 1997 to end a four-month hostage crisis.
Others view him as a corrupt despot who milked state funds for himself and cronies during his tenure.
People also believe that he was responsible for violence and killing of innocents.AFP
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