Rebel Leader, Negotiator Set Rules for Talks on the Fate of 72 Hostages

A Peruvian government negotiator and a leader of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement held their first official talks on neutral turf in Lima on Tuesday, taking a long-awaited step toward resolving the siege at a Japanese diplomatic compound where the rebels hold 72 hostages.

The talks were held before a neutral mediatory commission in a house across the street from the residence of the Japanese ambassador and lasted about four hours. Afterward, Bishop Juan Luis Cipriani read a brief communique to journalists on behalf of fellow members of the mediatory commission.

“The preliminary conversations have been initiated,” Cipriani said. “The procedure to be followed in future conversations has been agreed upon. It was agreed to continue on a date that has yet to be set.”

Neither side provided further information on the substance of the talks.

The face-to-face meeting was a hopeful development after seven weeks of virtual silence, stern rhetoric from both sides and several near-confrontations during which the rebels have fired shots.

But it was a small step. The talks are expected to move slowly because the Tupac Amaru rebels insist that the government release more than 300 imprisoned comrades. Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori refuses to consider that demand. Both sides described the talks as “preliminary,” seemingly emphasizing that an accord remains a long way off.

The negotiations began about 3:25 p.m. Tuesday with a scene that capped weeks of preparation and planning: A white sedan belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross pulled up in front of the besieged residence of the Japanese ambassador.

Roli Rojas, the No. 2 commander of the estimated 18 rebels, emerged from a side door and was transported by the sedan across the street to a house set up for talks with Education Minister Domingo Palermo, the government’s official negotiator.

Palermo met with the rebels once before on Dec. 28, in the ambassador’s residence.

For Tuesday’s talks, Rojas was accompanied in the car by two members of the mediating commission, Red Cross chief Michel Minnig and Canadian Ambassador Anthony Vincent. They were watched by scores of police sharpshooters and commandos deployed on roofs and sidewalks around the mansion.

Waiting at the negotiating table inside were Palermo and the other members of the commission: Cipriani and Terusuku Terada, the Japanese ambassador to Mexico. The site of the negotiations has been outfitted with a metal detector, swept by explosives experts and fortified with sandbags--the third measure reportedly at the rebels’ request.

The Red Cross declared the rented two-story house neutral turf in the battlefield superimposed onto the San Isidro neighborhood by the guerrilla takeover of the Japanese envoy’s residence Dec. 17.

While the Red Cross has played a central mediating role, Rojas is a new voice in the rebels’ talks with the government. Until now, the visible spokesman and commander had been Nestor Cerpa Cartolini, 48, a former union leader and reputed veteran of numerous terrorist operations whose wife is an imprisoned Tupac Amaru member.

Rojas, who is said to be 34, is reportedly a trusted lieutenant of Cerpa. Rojas once admitted during questioning by police to participating in 20 terrorist attacks, including bombings of the U.S. ambassador’s residence and a Sears department store, police records and press reports say. He was convicted of terrorism but fled from prison in 1990 in a daring tunnel escape.

It remains to be seen whether Cerpa will join the talks if there is progress.

In an ominous message that increased tensions Monday, rebels hurled a grenade into the mansion’s backyard and fired shots. It was another warning to police who have waged a campaign of psychological warfare from the streets outside the compound, Cerpa later told reporters.

The 72 hostages include Japanese diplomats, Peruvian ministers, police commanders and Congress members and the ambassador of Bolivia to Peru.

Times special correspondent Mariana Sanchez Aizcorbe in Lima contributed to this report.