Opinion: Pardoning of Peru's Alberto Fujimori hurts voter trust Whether or not the pardoning of form

Whether or not the pardoning of former dictator Alberto Fujimori was a dirty deal is hardly relevant. Either way, Peru's President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has lost the trust of voters in the country, says DW's Uta Thofern.

Date 26.12.2017
Author Uta Thofern

What a gift that was! Peru's former dictator Alberto Fujimori has been pardoned, just in time for Christmas. This is a man who was proven to have been behind the murders of 25 civilians and was sentenced accordingly, who sent death squads after his political opponents during his presidency in the 1990s, who ordered the forced sterilization of tens of thousands of indigenous women. One of Latin America's last dictators still seems to be pulling the strings in the country, thanks to influential members of his family.

It's hard to believe the beleaguered Peruvian president, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (above), would allow this criminal to be pardoned on humanitarian grounds. Under Peruvian law, pardons are only issued in cases of very serious illness. Fujimori has had a heart condition for years now, and Kuczynski has already rejected his appeal for clemency several times. The 79-year-old Fujimori was transferred from prison to a hospital on Saturday with tachycardia, but he appears to have been well enough to make phone calls and pose for photos with his son Kenji. The former dictator even managed to wish the world "Feliz Navidad" via social media, although this did seem to cost him some effort.

Kuczynski has no friends left

There are therefore many reasons to suspect that this pardon has come about as the result of some dirty deal. Last week, to everyone's great surprise, Kuczynski just managed to avoid being impeached. This only came about because some members of parliament from the party of Fujimori's daughter Keiko did not vote against him — at the urging of Kenji. Their father is said to have called the parliamentarians from prison to convince them not to vote against the hated Kuczynski.

Keiko Fujimori's party has the majority in parliament, and as other parties also lacked confidence in Kuczynski, it seemed that his political fate was sealed. So what an extraordinary coincidence it is that, three days after Kenji Fujimori was canvassing on Kuczynski's behalf, that same Kenji should be sitting at his father's sickbed, grinning broadly and thanking the president!

More:
http://www.dw.com/en/opinion-pardoning-of-perus-alberto-fujimori-hurts-voter-trust/a-41938010

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Second day of protests against release of Peru's ex-president Alberto Fujimori

Protesters have labeled Peru's current president a traitor for pardoning jailed former strongman Alberto Fujimori. The 79-year-old was serving a 25-year sentence for human rights violations.

Date 26.12.2017

- video -

Clashes erupted on Monday for a second day between protesters and Peru's police following the decision to grant a medical pardon to jailed former president Alberto Fujimori.

At one point, police in riot gear fired tear gas to disperse dozens of people gathered on a side street in the capital Lima.

TV footage showed more than a thousand people on the streets, and many of them denounced Sunday's decision by President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski to free his predecessor.


Fujimori was serving a 25-year sentence for corruption and human rights abuses — including the ordering of death squads against his political opponents.

More:
http://www.dw.com/en/second-day-of-protests-against-release-of-perus-ex-president-alberto-fujimori/a-41931488

LBN:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10141947580