The former president of Peru, Alberto Fujimori, has been the source of much controversy for many years now. Here’s the short version of the story… when Fujimori, the son of Japonese immigrants, was elected president, Peru was in a state of turmoil. The country was being ravaged by the terrorist group known as The Shining Path. By the time their days of terror were curbed, they were responsible for the deaths of more than 70,000 Peruvians.
President Fujimori and his government were the very ones that put an end to the Shining Paths reign of terror. And he is revered by many for saving Peru from that group as well as being credited with turning around the nation’s economy. Only one minor problem… he’s been wanted for years and was finally sent to trial last year for the cruel and deadly methods of bringing about that reform. Today the 70 year old Fujimori was found guilty for sanctioning the two massacres and 2 kidnappings in the 1990’s and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Here is the latest release from the Associated Press:
LIMA, Peru (AP) — Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori has been found guilty of murder and kidnapping for death squad activities during his 10-year rule during the 1990s.
Presiding Judge Cesar San Martin says the three-judge panel determined there was no doubt that the 70-year-old Fujimori authorized the creation of a military death squad that killed some 50 people.
Fujimori faces a maximum of 30 years in prison and the court was expected to issue a sentence later Tuesday.
The ex-president apparently anticipated a guilty verdict. He sat alone taking notes as the verdict was read after a 15-month televised trial.
He is the first democratically elected former president to be tried for rights violations in his own country.
The general population of Peru is quite divided over Fujimori. I recently saw a survey that claimed that 64% of the population felt he was guilty. However, many people don’t care. They know that he ended the reign of the Shining Path and they don’t care about the methods.
Already today the police have been called in to break up fighting between Fujimori supporters and opponents in the district of Lima where the trial took place.
Another interesting note is that Alberto’s daughter, Keiko Fujimori (a member of Peruvian Congress) is planning on running for the presidency of Peru in the next election and has stated that she will not hesitate to pardon her father if elected.
For more information check out what wikipedia has to say about Alberto Fujimori, The Shining Path and Keiko Fujimori… because if Wikipedia says it, it must be true :)
Also, all the major news groups are running current stories… check out the latest from the BBC or CNN and Google News. Also, the expat website livinginperu.com has a lot of information.