Civil Society, Headlines, Human Rights, Latin America & the Caribbean

RIGHTS-CHILE: Justice on Trial in Fujimori Case

Daniela Estrada

SANTIAGO, Apr 12 2007 (IPS) - The Chilean justice system must not condone impunity and should promptly extradite former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, say relatives of people who fell victim to abuses under his 1990-2000 administration and human rights activists who are organising a week of activities in Santiago.

“It’s not just our eyes, as the victims’ relatives, and the eyes of Peru as a nation, but the world’s eyes that are watching Chile and waiting for its decision” in this case, said Gisella Ortiz, leader of a group of family members of people who were killed and disappeared in Peru. She came to Santiago with seven other people to participate in activities calling for Fujimori’s extradition.

Fujimori is wanted by the Peruvian courts on charges of human rights violations and corruption during his administration. The former president was overseas when he resigned by fax in 2000 before he was dismissed by Congress on the grounds of moral incapacity. He took refuge in Japan, but arrived unexpectedly in Chile in November 2005, where he has been held ever since.

After six months’ detention in the School of Gendarmerie, the Chilean Supreme Court granted him conditional release on bail for the duration of the extradition procedure.

If he is not extradited, “the justice system would be putting Chile in a very awkward position, as it would reinforce what we’ve already experienced in the past: war criminals, murderers, rapists and torturers enjoying impunity in this country,” said Tomás Hirsh, president of the small Chilean Humanist Party.

“Amnesty International (AI) wants an early decision to extradite Fujimori to Peru to face justice there, or to try him in Chile, in accordance with Chile’s obligations under international law,” said Sergio Laurenti, executive director of the Chilean section of the London-based human rights organisation.

These statements were made at a press conference at the headquarters of AI Chile, in which a programme of activities to be held in Santiago from Wednesday Apr. 11 through Apr. 17, called “Fujimori: Actions Against Impunity”, was presented.

The week of activities is being organised by AI, the Lima-based Association for Human Rights (APRODEH), and Coordination Against Impunity, made up of Peruvian exiles living in Chile. A representative of the International Federation for Human Rights, former Spanish judge Antonio Doñate, will also be participating.

By means of a number of forums and protests, these institutions intend to inform the Chilean population about the human rights violations committed by the Fujimori administration, and exert pressure on the justice system to grant the extradition request or try Fujimori in Chile.

Supreme Court prosecutor Monica Maldonado is expected to submit her report on Fujimori’s extradition on Apr. 23. However, her opinion, based on the voluminous case file which has been handled since late 2005 by Supreme Court Justice Orlando Álvarez, is not binding.

After the prosecutor’s decision is announced, Judge Álvarez has between five and 10 days to announce his verdict, which may be appealed. Finally, the Supreme Court in plenary session will determine the fate of the former Peruvian president.

Peru’s request for extradition is based on 12 counts of corruption and human rights violations against Fujimori. Three of these have already been ruled on by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (CIDH), which is part of the Organisation of American States and is based in San José, Costa Rica.

“The CIDH’s ruling last November on the La Cantuta case clearly states that all states parties to the Pact of San José, which include Chile and Peru, are obliged to bring to try the human rights violators responsible for this massacre,” Ortiz pointed out.

She was referring to the Jul. 18, 1992 kidnapping and subsequent killing of nine students and one professor from La Cantuta University by the paramilitary Colina group, which also massacred 15 people in Barrios Altos on Nov. 3, 1991.

“That’s why we think that Chile has an obligation to try Fujimori here for that specific crime, if it does not extradite him,” said Ortiz, although she added that it would be easier for victims’ relatives to keep tabs on a trial in Peru than on one held in Chile.

Ortiz was also critical of the defence strategy employed by the Chilean lawyers representing Fujimori, who claimed that their client was unaware of military and intelligence decisions. “They make Fujimori out to be almost mentally retarded. But it must be remembered that it was Fujimori who named himself commander-in-chief of the armed forces,” she told IPS.

This is the second time that relatives of victims of human rights violations under the Fujimori administration have visited Chile.

As part of their planned activities, a delegation was received by Chilean Supreme Court president Enrique Tapia. Another meeting, with Supreme Court Justice Álvarez, was to take place Thursday, to add background to the crimes with which Fujimori is charged. The group has held previous meetings with both magistrates.

On Mar. 30 they sent a letter from Peru to Chilean President Michelle Bachelet requesting an appointment with her during their visit, but they have not received a reply.

Discussion forums are to be held on Gender Violence in the Fujimori Administration, Rulings of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and Fujimori’s Counterinsurgency Policy. There will also be photo exhibitions, and short films will be shown about the La Cantuta and Barrios Altos killings.

AI has asked all its country sections to organise protest rallies at Chilean embassies, and Hirsh announced that Humanist parties all over the region will join these actions. AI has also organised a petition requesting Chilean authorities to either extradite Fujimori to Peru or try him in Chile for crimes against humanity under international law, and is collecting signatures on the Internet.

“Here in Chile we know very well what human rights violations are,” said Hirsh, who is a former presidential candidate.

“Chile is one of the countries that has suffered the denial of human rights in its most violent form. And precisely because of that painful experience, this country cannot become a refuge for criminals. It should be in the vanguard of the defence of human rights on this continent,” he said.

“Chile lived through terrible times under (former dictator Augusto) Pinochet. Peru lived through terrible times under Fujimori. Our two countries must act as sisters, and Fujimori should be tried and convicted, which unfortunately and to our shame, we were never able to do with Pinochet,” he concluded.