USA: WASHINGTON: PRESIDENT ALBERTO FUJIMORI WILL TALK WITH REBELS

Описание: (4 Feb 1997) Spanish/Eng/Nat

President Alberto Fujimori has declared that long-awaited talks with rebels holding hostages for seven weeks could begin as early as this week.

Fujimori is due back in Lima Tuesday following a meeting with President Clinton in Washington on Monday.

He agreed to renewed negotiations, but reiterated that he would not cede to rebel demands of releasing jailed comrades.

In the U-S on an official visit, President Fujimori addressed the Organisation of American States.

Cesar Gaviria, Secretary General of the OAS, told Fujimori that his search for a peaceful solution to the Lima hostage crisis met with unanimous approval.

SOUNDBITE: (Spanish)
"Senor Presidente in these difficult moments for your government and for the Peruvian people, the OAS welcomes you with all the respect we have for you. And all the solidarity that all the nations of the Americas have expressed so that Peru may, under your leadership, find the best possible solution to that act of terrorism, we all hope will come in a peaceful manner and without jeopardising the constitutional order."
SUPER CAPTION: Cesar Gaviria, Secretary General of the Organisation of American States

The visiting President told the assembly that he was not prepared to sacrifice the Peruvian way of life by giving in to terrorists.

SOUNDBITE:(Spanish)
"Peru has paid a high price to maintain order and law, the foundation of our tranquillity and development, to throw it all away by yielding to the extortion of a minute group of human right violators."
SUPER CAPTION: Alberto Fujimori, President of Peru

He also spoke of the need for the continent to unite in its opposition to acts of terror.

SOUNDBITE: (Spanish)
"Now! We are faced by a test of fire and today the continent joins the ranks of those opposed to terrorism."
SUPER CAPTION: Alberto Fujimori, President of Peru

Earlier President Fujimori conducted a hastily arranged meeting with President Clinton at the White House.

Peruvian officials had speculated for days that Clinton would meet with Fujimori.

But administration officials had spent last week dampening expectations for a presidential meeting, saying Clinton did not want to raise the value of the hostages.

The two men eventually met briefly in the Oval Office during the lunch hour.

Reporters were not allowed in, but White House spokesman David Johnson said Clinton wanted to meet his Peruvian counterpart to tell him he had "set exactly the right tone" in handling the crisis.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"The president told President Fujimori that he thought he was skilfully walking a very fine line - and that is between resolving this crisis peacefully without giving into terror. He told him that it was a very hard line to walk, but it was the right one, and he was handling it very carefully."
SUPERCAPTION: David Johnson, White House spokesman

The Tupac Amaru group holding 72 hostages in the Japanese Embassy since December 17, has demanded social and economic change and the liberation of comrades held in what they call harsh prison conditions.

But Fujimori remained as adamant as ever that he would not bow to that demand.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"It's very clear. The release of the prisoners is not viable, I said at the beginning unacceptable, now impossible, in English, I shall say out of the question, it's not accepted by the Peruvian government."
SUPER CAPTION: Alberto Fujimori, Peruvian President


He said he expects preliminary talks with the Tupac Amaru guerrillas to begin soon.



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