Date: Mon,  3 Mar 97 15:38:14    
Subject: M-G: Fujimori in London



Good picket against Fujimori in London
(Article published in Weekly Worker)

By HELENA TORRES

Alberto Fujimori, the President of Peru, was in London between Sunday, 9 
February, and Tuesday, 11 Feb. He came to Britain to attract foreign 
investments and to receive support for his hard policy towards the MRTA 
guerrilla forces still holding 72 VIP hostages at the Japanese Embassy in 
Lima. 

He decided to make only one public appearance. He choose to do it at the 
London School of Economics. However, the LSE's authorities didn't want to 
give information about it until some minutes before. Nearly all the people 
who attended the LSE's Old Theatre were diplomats and businessmen. Most LSE 
students were not allowed to enter in the place in which they normally hold 
their Union General Meetings. 

Despite the semi-secret character of the meeting and only a few hours of 
preparation a very successful picket was organised. Between 70 to 100 people 
come to it. Most of them were LSE students and Latin American exiles such as 
members of the Colombian Refugee Association (CORAS), Poder Obrero 
supporters and friends, as well as many Peruvian activists. However 
supporters of the Peruvian armed groups didn't come. 

It is quite remarkable that the PCP-Sendero Luminoso supporters didn't do 
any single protest against Fujimori and neither did they come to the LSE 
picket. The most active British groups were the Workers Internationalist 
League and LCMRCI supported by the Spartacists, Socialist Workers Student 
Society and the LSE Labour Club, who sent sizeable delegations while members 
of Socialist Outlook, Revolutionary Internationalist League, Socialist 
Labour Party, Revolutionary Communist Group and Workers Power also attended 
the picket. There were some clashes with the police and they tried to arrest 
one comrade for possession of a drumstick.

The main demands were against the terrible conditions of the 5,000 political 
prisoners (who could be imprisoned until the end of their lives in "living 
tombs" without access to the Radio, TV or literature and with only one half 
an hour visit per month) and for their unconditional release; for the 
cancellation of the foreign debt and the re-nationalisation of the 
privatised companies; etc.

Nearly no oppositionists managed to enter the Fujimori conference. In his 
speech the Peruvian President showed how a demagogue can be so cynical. He 
said that the "terrorists" and not the army killed 25,000 Peruvians. Every 
single human right organisations would say that the overwhelmingly majority 
of political assassinations in Peru were committed by the army and the 
para-military. 

He said that he was one of the best democrats and feminists of the world 
despite the fact that Peru had the world's record in political disappears, 
that he dissolved the congress and his constant macho expressions which 
included the expulsion of every homosexual from the Peruvian diplomatic 
service.

The conference was so anti-democratic that nobody was allowed to speak and 
make questions. One student constantly denounced the amnesty of the Colina 
para-military group and the strong links between the narco-traffic and the 
government.

The very good thing is that Fujimori didn't leave London without a protest 
reception. The BBC and the Peruvian and Japanese TV filmed the picket. A 
very solid and combative action was organised in less than 48 hours. We 
congratulate the Latin American exiles, the LSE students and Poder Obrero 
friends for that good initiative.


Ps.- No PCP-SL supporter or Mr. Olaechea come to the demo or made any single 
protest action against Fujimori visit. They were informed about the picket. 


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