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Report: Peru willing to bend on key rebel demand
Fourth round of talks to begin
In this story:
February 24, 1997
Web posted at: 9:30 a.m. EST (1430 GMT)LIMA, Peru (CNN) -- Peru's president was reportedly ready to make a major concession to Marxist rebels holding 72 VIPs hostage in Lima as negotiators prepared Monday for a fourth round of talks aimed at finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
According to Mainichi Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper, President Alberto Fujimori is willing to entertain rebel demands for the release of prisoners. Previously, Fujimori has been resolute in his refusal to consider releasing the rebels' jailed comrades, which has been their main demand.
Also on the table for the latest talks are jail conditions for 400 Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement prisoners.
It was unclear whether rebel leader Nestor Cerpa would attend talks Monday as he did Thursday for the first time since the December 17 takeover of the Japanese ambassador's compound, where the hostages are being held.
Signs of progress
Analysts read Cerpa's presence on Thursday as an important sign of progress. Participants said the session he attended was "constructive" but gave no more details.
But Fujimori and the Tupac Amaru cautioned over the weekend that talks were still at the "preliminary stage." The meetings could prepare the groundwork for final negotiations, he said.
Rebel spokesman Isaac Velazco, in a communique issued over the Internet from the group's European headquarters in Hamburg, Germany, said talks were not yet in the negotiating stage.
He said the government "lacks the will to accept the minimum point we established, which is freedom for our imprisoned brothers."
Musical warfare
On Sunday, heavily-armed police continued their psychological war against the guerrillas, blaring an incongruous mix of songs and tunes through powerful speakers aimed at the residence. The day's musical lineup veered from Beethoven and opera sung by Placido Domingo to the theme from "Love Story" and "Take My Breath Away" from the Hollywood movie "Top Gun."
Archbishop Juan Luis Cipriani entered the residence to say a mass, and Red Cross medical staff gave the hostages -- many of whom are suffering from treatable maladies typical of middle-aged men -- a check-up.
The rebels, who freed most of their haul of captives in the early days of the crisis, have now beaten the previous record for Latin America's longest-ever hostage siege by a week.
The guerrillas have booby-trapped the building with bombs, and their hostages include the president's younger brother Pedro, as well two government ministers, the envoys of Japan and Bolivia, and two dozen Japanese businessmen and diplomats.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Peru, rebels hold face-to-face hostage talks - February 21, 1997
- Peru, Japan agree to seek peaceful end to hostage-taking - February 1, 1997
- Sound of music replaces gunfire at Peru standoff - January 28, 1997
- Shots ring out in Peru - January 27, 1997
- Rhetoric heats up on both sides of hostage dispute - January 24, 1997
- Rebels refuse to budge in Peru - January 18, 1997
- A hostage is freed in Peru as government invites talks - January 17, 1997
- Peruvian rebels release one more hostage - January 17, 1997
Related sites:
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- Human Rights Reference Site
- The MRTA Solidarity Page by Arm the Spirit
- Voz Rebelde Internacional -- the official page of the MRTA in Europe (in Spanish)
- Internet Network of Peru
- Peru Home Page (in Spanish)
- Hemisferio Sur (in Spanish) - links to "Caretas" magazine, and "La Republica" and "Expreso" newspapers
- Peru Info Internet
- International Committee of the Red Cross
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