Spectacle And Suspicion In Peru

President Alberto Fujimori climbed atop the gate of the Government Palace late Tuesday and greeted a roaring throng, making his first public appearance since Peru's latest political crisis erupted.

In a flamboyant return to Lima's streets since his weekend announcement that he would call new elections but not run again, Fujimori electrified a nighttime crowd by climbing unaided up the 10-foot-high cement and wrought iron gate.

The astonishing sight appeared to be a signal to the powerful army generals who are believed loyal to Vladimiro Montesinos, the national intelligence chief engulfed in a bribery scandal that unleashed the crisis that is ending the president's decade in power.

Fujimori, forced to loosen his grip on power by a bribery scandal engulfing his shadowy intelligence chief, announced Saturday he would deactivate the National Intelligence Service and call new elections in which he would not be a candidate.

The government outlined plans Tuesday for elections in March to choose a successor to Fujimori, with the new president sworn in on July 28—the nation's traditional inauguration day.

But Peru's opposition, growing increasingly suspicious of Fujimori's announced plans to give up power, demanded a much quicker timetable for him to leave.

Alejandro Toledo, who pulled out of May's presidential runoff after charging Fujimori planned to rig the results, insisted the new vote be held within four months and an interim government formed to oversee the election.

It's not clear whether the armed forces will go along with either plan, and the military—which may hold the key to a peaceful transition—has been silent so far.

The military's silence stood in stark contrast to the swift, solid support Fujimori received from the armed forces in 1992 when he shut Congress, accusing it of blocking efforts to battle leftist insurgencies.

After the spectacle at the gate, Fujimori told reporters the military did not force him to surrender power.

"I did not act under any kind of pressure. There was some speculation that there was military pressure. I deny that completely," he said. "There's no vacuum in power. We're all going to keep working until the last day."

But in a move that confirms the military's power broker status, Fujimori made a pre-dawn visit to the "Pentagonito," the five-sided army headquarters complex in a Lima suburb.

Fujimori's armor-plated Mercedes-Benz pulled out of the Government Palace at 1 a.m. and was escorted by four security vehicles to army headquarters. The motorcade returned to the palace in only 15 minutes, raising speculation he may have stayed behind.

Retired army Gen. Jaime Salinas, who attempted a coup against Fujimori in 1992 after he shut down Congress, said there have been frequent movements of commanders between army headquarters and the offices of the intelligence service. He said the commanders were visiting Montesinos to receive instructions.

Peru's crisis erupted when an opposition leader distributed a videotape showing Montesinos, Fujimori's closest adviser, apparently bribing an opposition congressman to join government ranks. The opposition leader says Montesinos threatened a "bloody military coup" if any more tapes were released.

Montesinos, who has made no public appearance since the scandal broke, testified Monday behind closed doors before a prosecutor in Lima who is investigating the accusations against him, said Jean Franco Raffo, press spokesman for the attorney general's office.