Peru Rebels Reject Offer of Cuba Haven

Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori’s sudden visit to Havana on Monday was another dramatic episode in the 11-week Lima hostage crisis. But after the dismissive reaction Tuesday of the leftist rebels holding 72 VIPs, it was uncertain whether his meeting with Cuban President Fidel Castro amounted to a breakthrough or a sideshow.

After the Havana meeting, Castro offered to provide a haven to the Peruvian rebels who are holding ministers, diplomats, police commanders and other hostages in the Japanese ambassador’s residence in the Peruvian capital. His offer came on the day of the eighth round of negotiations in Lima between the rebels and the government, raising hopes of progress.

But Tuesday, Nestor Cerpa Cartolini, the leader of the barricaded rebels of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, did his best to shatter hopes of an imminent accord. He told journalists by two-way radio that he refuses to go anywhere other than the Peruvian jungle, where his fighters are based.

He accused Fujimori of distracting attention from the central issue: the deadlock over the rebels’ demand for the release of about 370 imprisoned comrades.

“Unfortunately, this continues to be a mechanism . . . that Mr. Fujimori is using to create false expectations,” Cerpa said. “The problem is resolving at the negotiating table our central demand.”

Cerpa warned that he might not attend further talks until he feels progress has been made. Even as Fujimori and Castro were shaking hands for the cameras in Havana, Cerpa chose not to attend the negotiations in Lima at a safe house across the street from the besieged mansion, sending his lieutenant instead.

The clash between Cerpa’s negative words and the seemingly positive meeting in Cuba was another round in a duel of symbolism and rhetoric that began Dec. 17, when the rebels invaded an elite reception at the diplomatic compound. Cerpa and Fujimori continue sending mixed signals. Most analysts offered cautious assessments Tuesday.

Although Castro’s offer was a concrete achievement, observers said, the initiative also appeared designed to pressure the rebels. It let Fujimori--a restless politician who travels tirelessly in Peru and abroad--project an image of action. He has visited half a dozen nations since the crisis began, determined to keep his government from looking paralyzed.

“Fujimori feels the need to be seen to be more active in resolving this,” said Coletta Youngers, a Peru expert at the Washington Office on Latin America, a think tank. “This issue of releasing Tupac Amaru inmates is a major stumbling block. I have no idea how they are going to resolve this.”

On the other hand, a pro-government source close to the mediating commission involved in the talks asserted that the negotiations have made progress. He said Cerpa’s defiant stance is the classic bargaining tactic of a former union leader.

“They play a lot with this kind of symbolism, trying to wear down the adversary,” the source said. “The talks have advanced a lot. Both sides are going to have to give ground, but I think we are nearing a final stage.”

Fujimori would not have gone to Cuba and the Dominican Republic without an indication that the rebels might accept a foreign haven, said columnist Manuel D’Ornellas of Expreso, a pro-government newspaper.

“The president is not a man who follows impulses that could damage his image,” D’Ornellas said Tuesday. “Something seems to be cooking.”

Diplomats monitoring the standoff offered a less optimistic view of the talks mediated by representatives of the Roman Catholic Church, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Canadian and Japanese governments. On Thursday, the negotiations ended early and Cerpa left because “they weren’t getting anywhere,” a diplomat said.

Cerpa has reportedly spent a good deal of time in the talks expounding his political ideas, said Enrique Zileri, publisher of the magazine Caretas. The rhetoric does not bode well for a speedy accord.

“The government has bet on the fact that time is in their favor, that this is torture for the Tupac Amaru,” Zileri said. “We think that’s not so clear. We think it is an ego trip for these guys and Cerpa would like it to last. It’s hard to unhook yourself and become a retired revolutionary.”

Widespread antipathy to terrorists in Peru makes it unlikely that Fujimori will release the Tupac Amaru’s convicted colleagues or give Cerpa’s 18 or so barricaded guerrillas--most of them rural youths--safe passage to the Peruvian jungle.

Cuba seems a logical spot for asylum, although Castro conditioned his offer on receiving formal requests from Japan and the other participants. Castro has a chance to play a constructive role and gain favor with his Latin American neighbors and wealthy Japan--a potential counterbalance to Cuba’s conflict with the United States.

The meeting grew out of the unlikely bond between Castro, the grand old man of Marxist movements such as the Tupac Amaru, and Fujimori, the conqueror of vicious insurgencies and champion of neoliberal economics. Despite their ideological differences, Fujimori has described Castro as a personal friend and defended him against criticism from fellow Latin American leaders.

“They share common traits,” Youngers said.

The Peruvian president respects tough leadership and has been accused of authoritarian tendencies. But his pragmatism cuts across ideological lines, analysts say. As a young man, Fujimori visited Cuba and came away impressed with the Castro regime’s work against poverty and social problems, according to a biography titled “Citizen Fujimori.”

The guerrillas and the government will return to the negotiating table today. The relevance of the Cuban escape hatch offered by Castro could become clearer after that encounter.

“It’s positive they are working out this issue of asylum,” Youngers said. “But that doesn’t resolve the central issue.”