Peru Boosts Police Powers as Hostage Crisis Wears On

President Alberto Fujimori gave his army and police special arrest and search powers by declaring a state of emergency in Lima on Friday, seeking to strengthen his position as a face-off with guerrillas holding more than 100 VIP hostages moved into its 11th day.

Fujimori’s action was the latest thrust in a diplomatic duel with Tupac Amaru rebels occupying the Japanese ambassador’s residence in Lima. Peru’s Congress voted Friday to support Fujimori’s policy of not negotiating with the rebels.

Japan made moves as well, dispatching two military advisors and supporting, along with the United States, an international strategy for resolving the standoff.

Police seemed to crack down quickly under the new state of emergency, arresting three people outside the compound for investigation as suspected rebels. All three were vendors, including a cosmetics saleswoman who had identification cards with five different aliases and maps showing the layout of a local airport and a factory, police said.

Since the takeover, police have arrested about a dozen people near the compound as suspected rebels.

Fujimori said he imposed a state of emergency for 60 days to protect the security and tranquillity of the capital. The move gives security forces greater freedom of action.

The measure suspends some constitutional guarantees, including unimpeded transit throughout the country and protection from house searches and arrests without warrants.

Late Friday, foreign news media received a statement said to have come from the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement that accused the government of human rights abuses, widespread corruption and economic policies that hurt the poor.

“The publication of this statement in the foreign press . . . is one of the conditions for the freeing of other prisoners, who are now under the custody of our comrades in arms,” the statement said.

The rebels have released other statements during the siege. Although this one spoke of conditions for release, there was no indication any releases were imminent.

Tupac guerrillas seized the residence Dec. 17, taking more than 500 hostages at a reception. They have demanded that at least 300 of their comrades jailed in Peru be released. While hundreds of hostages have been released, 103 remain inside, including the ambassadors of Japan, Malaysia, Bolivia, Honduras and the Dominican Republic.

Japan’s foreign minister, Yukihiko Ikeda, said he supported cooperation among the G-7 nations--Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States--to end the standoff.

In Washington, State Department spokesman John Dinger said the United States is willing to consider an international strategy for ending the standoff provided Peru plays the leading role.

Peru’s public position is that it will not use force to free the hostages from the rebels, who are said to be heavily armed.

However, the government was taking further steps Friday to tighten security around the compound, which is legally Japanese territory. The government would need Japanese permission to move in with force.

Japan sent two representatives of its defense forces to Lima to advise their Peruvian counterparts and gather information. It was the first time that Japan has acknowledged sending military personnel to Peru during the crisis.