Peru says U.S. rights report may contain some errors

LIMA, Peru, March 18 (Reuters) - Peru said on Monday a U.S. human rights report that found, among other things, torture in Peru rose in 2001 compared with 2000 may contain errors and needs careful study. 

"We have to analyze this report more carefully because there may be some facts which are presented as violations which do not exactly correspond to the truth," Foreign Minister Diego Garcia Sayan told reporters. He gave no examples. 

The U.S. report found Peru, which fired hard-line President Alberto Fujimori amid a corruption scandal in November 2000, had made significant strides to improve its tarnished rights record. 

But it said the Andean nation still had a way to go, reporting that Peruvian police and prison officers unlawfully killed seven prisoners in 2001 and that there were 36 reported cases of torture by security forces, up from 35 in 2000. 

Fujimori quelled opposition to his 1990-2000 rule and used tough tactics, including military courts, to crush leftist rebel groups. He was replaced by an eight-month transitional government, which ended when President Alejandro Toledo was elected in July. 

"No one can expect a country coming out of authoritarian rule and oppression in which ... democratic institutions were weakened or destroyed, to turn overnight into a country where there are no human rights violations," Garcia Sayan said. 

The annual U.S. report also found prison conditions to be poor in Peru and cited reports of arbitrary arrest and "inordinate delays" before trial. 

Peru hosts a whistle-stop visit by U.S. President George W. Bush to Lima next weekend. 

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