Peruvian Assassination Plot Reported

L I M A, Peru, Oct. 28, 2000 -- An Argentine newspaper said onFriday Peru’s military chiefs had plotted to killPresident Alberto Fujimori a month ago, but the president’soffice in Lima declined comment on the report.

The report in Clarin was published as Fujimori hunted forthe former spy master Vladimiro Montesinos who challenged hisgrip on the powerful military.

The report by award-winning Peruvian investigative reporterAngel Paez cited government sources quoting Fujimoriwarning of a plot—intended to mirror the assassination ofEgyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1981— to havetaken place at a Sept. 24 celebration for armed forces day.

The presidential palace said it had no comment on thereport, which was also published on the Internet. No one wasimmediately available at the military command.

Fujimori had announced eight days earlier on Sept. 16 thathe would step down next July after the worst political crisisof his 10-year rule was sparked by a corruption scandalinvolving Montesinos.

Spy Chief Sparked Turmoil

Montesinos, who ran the notorious intelligence service(SIN), hand-picked the military top brass and ralliedthem behind Fujimori. The president displayed his reliance onthe military when he suspended the constitution and orderedtanks on the streets in a 1992 “self-coup.”

But a video aired on television on Sept. 14 showedMontesinos apparently bribing an opposition legislator to backthe government. The ensuing scandal led to Fujimori’s bombshelldecision to step down and call early elections.

With escalating rumors of a coup, Montesinos flew to Panamaearly on Sept. 24, hours before the ceremony at the armyheadquarters, known as the “Pentagonito” (little Pentagon).

The report, quoting cabinet sources, said that by being outof the country, Montesinos would have had an alibi.

President Learned of Plot

Fujimori got wind of the fact that military officials hadtold some of his ministers the ceremony—a major annual eventattended by commanders of the three armed forces and the media— had been cancelled, according to the report.

“He (Fujimori) called the two ministers (Prime MinisterFederico Salas and Economy Minister Carlos Bolona) ... and toldthem to accompany him because he had discovered there was aplot to assassinate him,” it quoted the sources as saying.

There was no immediate comment from the offices of Salas orBolona.

According to the report, Fujimori told them the attackwould be similar to the one against Sadat on Oct. 6, 1981.“That is, a jeep would come out of the line or a soldier wouldbreak formation and shoot the president,” it quoted Fujimori astelling the two ministers, adding he “did not hide his worry.”

Sadat was shot dead in Cairo by Moslem extremists as hewatched a military parade.

The article said Fujimori was suspicious others had beentold the parade was cancelled. “So he gave the order to find outfrom officers loyal (to him) what was really going on, and theytold him a plan had been prepared to kill him in the same wayas Sadat,” it quoted the sources as saying.

Fear of Coup

Fujimori attended the ceremony, with Salas and Bolona, andeffusively praised the military for their “professionalism andtheir indisputable loyalty to the interests of Peru.”

Fujimori’s decision to quit four years early sparked fearsof a coup, fuelled by the fact that the military took five daysto back the president’s decision publicly.

According to the report, some sections of the militaryaccused Fujimori of “treason” for deciding to step down early.Analysts say they feared exposure to potential charges of humanrights abuses and a dilution of their power after Fujimoriannounced he was also deactivating the SIN.

The report said Peru’s head of the armed forces JoseVillanueva—believed to have been close to Montesinos —looked Fujimori in the eye as they raised their glasses in atoast after the ceremony and said: “There is nothing tocelebrate, Mr President.”