Fujimori Pledges ‘Stability’ Until 2001 Elections

Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, apparently reassured of the support of the United States and the rest of the Western Hemisphere for his beleaguered government, pledged Friday to guarantee “stability and democracy” until elections are held next year.

On the second day of a hastily arranged visit to Washington, Fujimori met with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and National Security Advisor Samuel R. “Sandy” Berger to discuss his plans for a transition of power.

Albright had clashed frequently with Fujimori over his disputed election to a third term earlier this year. But she pledged unqualified support for his plan, announced Sept. 16, to schedule new elections in which he will not be a candidate. Fujimori will remain in power until the new government is installed.

“She applauded his decision to call for early elections,” said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. “She said to him, ‘You’ve done the right thing.’ ”

Boucher said the talks were “less confrontational and more conversational than the discussions they’ve had in the past,” especially a tense exchange earlier this month when Albright and Fujimori were in New York for the opening of the U.N. General Assembly.

As he left the State Department, Fujimori told waiting reporters: “I prefer at this time that you excuse me for not commenting on these subjects, but what I do want to say is that stability and democracy in Peru will be guaranteed.”

In Lima, Peru’s capital, Fujimori’s trip caused speculation and confusion. Some critics said it was risky to leave at an uncertain time when allies of ousted spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos are accused of trying to destabilize the government.

“Doesn’t a trip in these circumstances accentuate the sense of a power vacuum?” asked an editorial Friday in the Gestion financial newspaper.

The president’s supporters said it was important for Fujimori to deal face to face with U.S. diplomats and officials of the Washington-based Organization of American States, key arbiters in a delicate transition period that began last weekend when Montesinos fled to Panama.

The show of international support was seen as a warning to Montesinos and the armed forces command, which is stacked with his relatives and military school classmates, against trying to seize power.

The U.S. sent a similar message Tuesday with a hastily arranged visit to Lima by Gen. Peter Pace, the new chief of the Southern Command.

OAS Secretary-General Cesar Gaviria also expressed support for Fujimori’s plan to stay in office until a new government is in place.

“The president came because he is aware that the process is complex,” Gaviria said in an interview from Washington broadcast on Peruvian television. “He feels that obviously he does not have the same power and capacity that he had before. He is concerned about this situation, the Montesinos situation, but he is also concerned that he have the support of the international community.”

The specter of Montesinos, once the most feared and probably most powerful person in Peru, haunted Fujimori’s visit, although Boucher said the former intelligence chief’s name was seldom mentioned in Albright’s 45-minute meeting with the Peruvian leader.

Fujimori has made it clear that he hopes Montesinos won’t return to Peru until the political situation quiets down and the opportunity for the ex-spy chief to destabilize the government passes. Although Boucher and other U.S. officials say in public that the decision on asylum for Montesinos lies with the Panamanian government, one State Department official said, “I think you can read between the lines that we think [Panama] is where he should stay.”

Despite persistent rumors, a 1970s-style coup with tanks in the streets doesn’t seem likely. Peruvian leaders and foreign diplomats worry more that Montesinos allies in the National Intelligence Service, or SIN, and the military are waging a campaign that could spread disorder, violence and fear.

“This is a typical case of disinformation and manipulation by the intelligence service and the military,” said political commentator Fernando Rospigliosi. He said the coup rumors were an empty threat.

Boucher noted that the military has issued formal statements in support of Fujimori and Peru’s constitutional process.

Meanwhile, the political mood in Peru swings from day to day. Amid tension and uncertainty, the government and the opposition have achieved important advances toward democratic reform.

On Thursday, OAS-coordinated negotiations continued after an accord on direly needed judicial reforms. Pro-Fujimori representatives and opposition legislators agreed Thursday to dissolve executive committees that report directly to the president.

The committees were created ostensibly to clean up corruption. They have modernized the courts but also enabled the SIN to infiltrate and control the justice system.

And a new climate of harmony has emerged in recent days in Peru’s Congress, where legislators have previously engaged in screaming matches and hurled coins at colleagues accused of corruption. Legislators applauded one another Thursday after unanimously approving a landmark law to dismantle the SIN--one of Fujimori’s key pledges of reform.

Nonetheless, in a less heartening sign, Congress was unable to approve a resolution condemning any attempt at a coup. A dispute over the language of the statement prevented the agreement.

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Kempster reported from Washington and Rotella from Lima.