Voices

“Everything that has happened seems unreal to me. But I am proud of my son as he has died giving his blood, his life for his comrades.”

-- Felicita Cartolini, mother of slain rebel leader Nestor Cerpa Cartolini

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“I was sitting there and [another hostage] came up to me and said: ‘They’re going to free us in a few minutes. Stay calm.’ So I thought it was a joke.”

-- Freed hostage Father Juan Julio Wicht

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“If the government says terrorism is over, that’s wrong. The group’s numbers have been reduced, but there are still members and we cannot afford to lower our guard.”

-- Lima taxi driver Victor Montalba

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“The Peruvians from day one of the crisis never requested assistance from us on how to handle this, and therefore no assistance was given by the United States. . . . Did we provide training for the raid, for the military assault team? No. Did we ever provide training to the military assault team? No.”

-- U.S. State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns

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“I think [Peruvian] President [Alberto] Fujimori is great. Japanese politicians try to resolve problems with money, but that would only invite more terrorism. I feel sorry for the victims, but in this case, I support his choice of using military force.”

-- Taeko Tsuneki, a 64-year-old Japanese homemaker

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“I would have acted in the same way, the same manner--wait, talk, and when the right moment comes, when there’s no more time left, strike.”

-- Argentine President Carlos Menem, speaking of Fujimori