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Minister: Fujimori return to politics 'ridiculous'
SANTIAGO, Chile (Reuters) - Peru's foreign minister said on Wednesday fugitive former President Alberto Fujimori's ambitions to return to politics were "ridiculous" and that the disgraced leader should only end his self-exile in Japan to face charges of corruption and murder.
Fujimori, who ruled Peru with an iron fist from 1990 to 2000, fled the country in November 2000 amid a corruption scandal. Peru now wants to extradite him from Japan on charges of corruption as well as for murder charges linked to two notorious massacres by an army death squad in the early 1990s.
On Monday, Fujimori was quoted in a Japanese newspaper as saying he would like to run for office in Peru in the future. A former aide earlier said his sights were set on the 2006 presidential race.
The prospect of a political future for the ex-ruler is "absolutely ridiculous," Peruvian Foreign Minister Allan Wagner told Reuters on Wednesday.
"Obviously, he must face the justice system rather than a candidacy. Mr. Fujimori is a fugitive from the law," added the diplomat during a brief visit to Chile.
Wagner, formerly Peru's ambassador to the United States, was appointed last month in a cabinet overhaul that President Alejandro Toledo hopes will revitalize his shaky year-old administration.
Fujimori, who denies the charges against him, is shielded by dual Peruvian-Japanese citizenship and because the two countries have no extradition treaty.
In the newspaper interview, Fujimori joined many Peruvians in criticizing Toledo for failing to deliver on promises of jobs and less poverty in his first year in power. Toledo's popular support has dwindled to 18 percent in the polls.
Wagner said the tirade against the president was a logical process in a nation impatient for change and still struggling to rebuild its democratic institutions after a decade under Fujimori.
"We are emerging from a dictatorship of 10 years and therefore, practically everything still remains to be done," he said.
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Chullo (Andean Hat)
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Visiting the "Callejon de Huaylas"
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