[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 20 (Thursday, February 4, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1286-S1287]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               REMARKS ON HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN PERU

 Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I rise today to express my deep 
concern over the apparent disregard for international standards of 
fairness and openness in the legal process in Peru. President Fujimori 
is visiting Washington today and is being congratulated by the 
President on resolving Peru's border dispute with Ecuador. During his 
visit, I think it is important to point out that under his rule 
democratic principles have been threatened in Peru and the basic civil 
rights of the Peruvian people have not been properly respected.
  In his inaugural speech in July of 1990, President Fujimori stated 
that ``the unrestricted respect and promotion of human rights'' would 
be a priority of his government. His promises, though, quickly proved 
suspect as he solidified his control over what has been described as 
``an authoritarian civilian military government''.
  In April of 1992 he annulled Peru's constitution, dissolved the 
Legislature and purged most of the judiciary, most forcefully and 
notably those courts responsible for ensuring the civil rights of its 
citizens. Since this time independent monitoring groups like Amnesty 
International have documented numerous extrajudicial executions of 
peasant men, women and children, perpetrated by Peru's military and 
police forces who later attempted to conceal their actions. These 
executions have been determined by respected independent human rights 
organizations to have been orchestrated from the highest levels of the 
current Peruvian government, including two of President Fujimori's top 
advisors.
  Human rights workers and journalists in Peru have been subjected to 
intimidation, death threats, abductions, and torturous interrogation 
and imprisonment by the Peruvian government in response to their 
attempts to hold responsible those who committed these atrocities.
  President Fujimori's systematic dismantling of Peru's legislative and 
judicial systems has resulted in impunity for those who commit these 
acts of aggression. To investigate and determine accountability in 
these cases, the military has often served both as prosecutor and 
judge, keeping their identities

[[Page S1287]]

secret and under direct control of the executive branch. These 
``faceless judges'' have also punished, without proper recourse or due 
process, and in direct violation of international law, those who 
challenge or call attention to their actions. According to the State 
Department's most recent human rights report the Peruvian government 
has eliminated the use of faceless tribunals, but much damage has 
already been done and many condemned by the faceless judges remain 
incarcerated.
  I am especially concerned about the failure to respect due process in 
one case in particular. One individual who has directly suffered from 
the transgressions of Fujimori's authoritarian government is American 
journalist Lori Berenson. Her journalistic coverage of Peru's 
economically and politically disaffected was not popular with the 
Peruvian government. While working in Peru in January of 1996 she was 
arrested and charged with involvement with terrorist organizations. 
According to human rights groups, she was tried without due process, 
little evidence, and without being allowed a defense. She was convicted 
of ``treason against the fatherland'' and sentenced to imprisonment for 
life.

  The handling of this case has drawn widespread condemnation from 
human rights groups, the U.S. State Department, and even high ranking 
Peruvian officials. Many have pointed out that, by depriving Ms. 
Berenson of her right to defend herself in a fair trial by an impartial 
jury, the Peruvian government was in direct violation of numerous 
international treaties guaranteeing the legal rights of prisoners. The 
Commission of International Jurists, the Inter-American Court of Human 
Rights and the United Nations Human Rights Committee are among the many 
respected organizations who have condemned Peru's actions and have 
urged that immediate measures be taken to abolish these practices which 
undermine internationally recognized fair trial standards.
  Today, Lori Berenson remains incarcerated in a country with 
notoriously harsh prison conditions where she has been held in the 
total isolation of solitary confinement since October 7 of last year. 
According to her father she is suffering serious health problems. 
Amnesty International charges that the conditions under which she is 
imprisoned contravene the U.N. Convention against Torture and other 
Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, a Convention to 
which Peru is a party.
  I wanted to take this opportunity to urge President Fujimori to grant 
Lori Berenson a fair, open, and just trial as prescribed under 
international conventions. And I call on him to honor his pledge to all 
the Peruvian people to make the respect of basic legal, civil, and 
human rights a priority in his government.

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