24.04.1997

Massacre in Lima

Juan Ponce of Poder Obrero in Peru

On Tuesday April 22 at 3.17 pm, Roberto Fujimori, Peruvian president, ordered the assault on the residence of the Japanese ambassador in Lima. In approximately 35 minutes the 140-man military-police team was able to rescue all except one of the 72 hostages held since December 17. In the action all the 14 Tupac Amaru (MRTA) guerrilla fighters, as well as two soldiers and one judge, who was a hostage, were killed.

The operation was very well prepared by foreign ‘anti-terrorist’ specialists. The Israeli army, which has the most sophisticated ‘third generation’ electronic devices trained a special commando for more than four months, according to La República (Lima April 23).

The MRTA occupation of the Japanese residence divided the ruling class into two main camps. The neo-liberals wanted a military solution which would allow more privatisation and measures against the organised workers’ movement. The moderate opposition wanted a peaceful solution which would weaken Fujimori, could incorporate the guerrillas into the system and could allow the development of an internal market.

Peru has one of the worst human rights records. Political prisoners are judged by faceless military courts and could be sentenced to exist until their death in what Fujimori himself calls “living tombs”.

In his latest declarations, Fujimori had said that the MRTA had dropped its original demands for the liberation of all 400-plus political prisoners to only 20. In Easter a solution was very close to being achieved. Japan was pressing for a deal in which the MRTA commando would be able to travel to Cuba and would receive in exchange some money, the freedom of some minor prisoners (including the partner of N’estor Cerpa, the MRTA commander in chief of the occupation) and improvements in the conditions of the rest of the MRTA prisoners.

Fujimori wanted to recover his popularity by showing that he is a strong man, a way of operating that he imitates from Thatcher. There is another reason why he ordered an invasion of the residence. In recent months there has been growing discontent in the population against his most loyal collaborators and he was being undermined inside the army.

The USA was pushing him into a more intransigent solution to avoid other groups in the world following the example of the MRTA.

When the hostage crisis started Poder Obrero Peru published an international statement in which we criticised the guerrilla operation while critically defending Tupac Amaru against the repression and calling unconditionally for the liberation of all the political prisoners.

The tragic military operation against the MRTA emphasises that it is not possible to defeat the US-trained army with even a very well-armed elite. Only a mass uprising can do that.