Uncertainty After Fujimori’s Stepping Down

Sept. 18, 2000 -- Peru was launched into an uncertain future after President Alberto Fujimori’s stunning decision to call new elections and end his 10-year authoritarian reign.

The main question is how the Latin American country’s powerful military will react.

Rumors swept through Lima that Fujimori decided to call new elections because of resistance from top military officers when he announced on Saturday he would “deactivate” the National Intelligence Service, run by Vladimiro Montesinos, his shadowy aide at the center of a bribery scandal.

Montesinos has been detained by the military, Peru’s independent CPN radio reported today.

The radio station, citing an unidentified military source, said the order for the arrest was issued by Montesinos’ close associate, Gen. Jose Villanueva Ruestra, commander of Peru’s armed forces.

A Defense Ministry spokesman declined to confirm the report.

But Miguel Gutierrez, a reporter for opposition newspaper LaRepublica said he had confirmed the arrest with high rankingmilitary sources.

Bribery Scandal

Montesinos has been at the center of a bribery scandal since a videotape emerged last week allegedly showing the shadowy intelligence man bribing an opposition lawmaker to defect to thepresident’s congressional bloc.

Soon after the revelation, Fujimori announced that he would callnew elections — and not run as a candidate himself. It was ashocking announcement from the man who has led Peru for more than adecade, and who recently won a disputed election for anunprecedented third term.

The radio station said Montesinos was being held on the secondfloor of a building at a Lima air force base, where the NationalIntelligence Service has its headquarters.

Lima Mayor Alberto Andrade has alleged that Montesinos spent Sunday in the National Intelligence Service headquarters destroying documents.

The radio station said Montesinos’ sister had already filed arequest asking a court to order the military to free the54-year-old security chief.

‘Fujimori’s Rasputin’

Montesinos — once dubbed Fujimori’s “Rasputin” — had built awide base of support inside the military during his years at thehelm of the feared intelligence service. He was widely believed tocontrol the judicial system, the attorney general’s office and themilitary.

He was suspended from his position on Saturday when Fujimoriannounced he was “deactivating” the intelligence agency.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Federico Salas said Montesinos was being investigated by the attorney general’s office.

Fujimori’s foes accuse Montesinos of spearheading smearcampaigns against the president’s opponents in the recentpresidential elections. His intelligence service also has beenlinked to death squad killings and torture.

Military experts said Fujimori’s decision to oust Montesinos waslikely supported by discontented midlevel officers, fed up withMontesinos’ meddling in the armed forces.

Before the reported arrest today, Fujimori appeared to be in control of the armed forces, and military barracks were reported to be calm.

Salas said Fujimori was fully in charge of the armed forces, amid unconfirmed reports that some regional military commanders loyal to Montesinos planned to oppose his ouster.

Some Peruvians view Montesinos as the more powerful of the two and fear he will resist leaving power along with Fujimori.

But retired army Gen. Daniel Mora said before the reported arrest that he doubted Montesinos had enough pull in the military to launch a barracks revolt. He said opponents in the armed forces hadenough power to “dissuade any action Montesinos may want todevelop,” he said.

Toledo Prepared to Govern

Legal experts say the only thing that is certain is that Peru isheading into uncharted political territory.

“It’s a political bombshell,” said an American official with the U.S. Embassy in Limawho asked to remain anonymous.

Fujimori, who has said he will not run in the election, has notgroomed an obvious successor, nor has he elaborated on how or whenhe plans to vacate office.

The elections to replace Fujimori will likely be held in six toseven months, Health Minister Alejandro Aguinaga said Sunday. Salassaid Fujimori would remain in power until the elections took place.

Many in Peru’s opposition want Fujimori out now.

Martin Belaunde, president of Peru’s Bar Association, said nothing short of a transitional government and the formation of aconstitutional assembly to rewrite the constitution and to reformPeru’s discredited electoral system would suffice.

White House spokesman Joe Lockhart today called on all parties involved in Peruvian society to work toward a peaceful transition of power. Speaking at a news briefing in Washington today, Lockhart said the United States was not sure of the army’s role in the forthcoming elections.

“I think what’s important for us is that we continue to work through the context of the OAS toward full democratization,” he said. “This issomething we’ve been working for now for months.and work toward ademocratic election.”

Meanwhile, opposition leader Alejandro Toledo, who headed backto Peru from Washington on Sunday, says he is prepared to govern.

“I want to be president. I will be president. I am prepared togovern,” Toledo told reporters during a layover at Miami’sinternational airport. Arriving at Lima’s Jorge ChavezInternational Airport, he told hundreds of cheering supporters thathe planned to meet with other opposition leaders to discuss aunified candidacy.

Toledo, who had been Fujimori’s main challenger, boycotted May’spresidential runoff vote, charging the vote would be rigged.Fujimori won.

Videotape Causes Rift

Analysts said the video, released Thursday, had caused anirreparable rift between Fujimori and his spy chief, who Fujimorihad relied on to help maintain an overwhelming grip on power.

Fujimori lost his majority control of congress in this year’selection. But he regained it before his July 28 inauguration amidallegations that Montesinos and his agents bribed and blackmailedopposition lawmakers to defect to Fujimori.

The video was the clearest evidence to date backing upwidespread accusations that Montesinos’ main function in Fujimori’sgovernment was to subvert Peru’s democracy.

The video appeared to be the decisive blow to Fujimori’s regimesince his highly questioned re-election to an unprecedented thirdfive-year term. International observers had refused to monitor thevote, saying it could not be considered “free or fair.”

Fujimori came to power in 1990, and later teamed up withMontesinos to co-opt Peru’s military, eliminating a time-honoredpromotion system based on seniority and merit.

Today, Peru’s top military commands are filled with former armycadets from Montesinos’ 1966 graduating class at the Chorrillosmilitary college.

ABCNEWS’ Andrew Chang contributed to this report.