July 18, 2002

LIMA, Peru - A former press adviser to disgraced Peruvian ex-President Alberto Fujimori said Thursday he will open an office to begin promoting a 2006 presidential bid by the exiled leader.

Carlos Raffo told Radioprogramas radio station that "Fujiprensa," or "Fujipress" in English, will open by the end of July to defend Fujimori against various accusations of wrongdoing in Peru.

"There should be no doubt: the goal is the return of Alberto Fujimori to Peru for the presidential campaign in 2006," Raffo said in remarks published Thursday in Caretas, Peru's leading news magazine.

Fujimori fled Peru in November 2000 as a mounting corruption scandal triggered the implosion of his 10-year authoritarian government.

He settled in his parents' native Japan, where he was granted citizenship. He is shielded from extradition to Peru on charges of abandoning office, embezzlement and homicide for allegedly sanctioning a paramilitary death squad.

Fujimori denies any wrongdoing and says he is a victim of political persecution in Peru.

He launched a Web site last year to defend himself. His supporters have also held occasional rallies in Lima, broadcasting videotaped messages from the ex-president.

Raffo said it has all been part of a campaign to prepare Fujimori's eventual return to Peru. He said he has visited Fujimori in Japan to begin plotting the comeback.

"Alberto Fujimori is not a criminal on the run. Alberto Fujimori is a former president in exile who is going to defend himself," Raffo told Radioprogramas.

President Alejandro Toledo began a five-year term in July 2001, taking office from an eight-month transition government.

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