Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Nation & World Peruvians celebrate, monitors relieved Peru elections going to second round by Monte Hayes The Associated Press Uma, Peru —Opposition activists were jubilant Thursday after forcing a second round in Peru’s presidential elections, but experts warned that supporters of Pres ident Alberto Fujimori would step up a campaign of dirty tricks and electoral fraud to hold on to power. Fujimori, 61, known as “The Em peror” for his bulldozer style of govern ing, fell a hair short of the majority he needed and will face upstart challenger Alejandro Toledo, 54, an international economist who once worked as a shoeshine boy to help out his impover ished family. “The decision to have a second round is good. It’s the right one because we all want a change of presidents,” said Adri an Dominguez, a waiter at the Hotel Bo livar on the Plaza San Martin where thou sands of Toledo’s supporters cheered the news Wednesday night. But experts foresee a rough road ahekl for Toledo. They anticipate a second round <even more tainted by election abuses than the controversial first round of voting. The runoff would bring “more of the same or worse,” political analyst Fer nando Tuesta said. “It’s going to be ‘us or them.’ Either you’re with Fujimori, or you’re his enemy.” With 97.08 percent ot the ballots tal lied, Fujimori had 49.84 percent com pared to 40.31 percent for his challenger. Seven other candidates split the rest. The criticism of the election’s fair ness within and outside Peru was so strong that if Fujimori had won outright a third five-year term, his government would most likely have become an international pariah and a source of instability in the region, experts said. “What the government has done yes terday is not to add up votes. It has been a political decision to accept a second round,” Rafael Roncagliolo said, director of Transparencia, a private citi zens’ group. Roncagliolo, whose organization mon itored an unofficial vote count that showed Fujimori would be forced into a runoff, said the election tally announced Wfednes day night was forced on the government by the close scrutiny front foreign gov ernments and monitors. Eduardo Stein, head of a team of mon itors from the Organization of American States, complained Thursday that Fuji mori’s government was still dragging its feet in the investigation of charges that his campaign forged more than 1 million signatures to register his candidacy. “This is only going to accumulate and augment the groundswell of mistrust we saw in the first count,” he said. But like other monitors, Stein said the announcement late Wednesday that a runoff would take place had ended the threat of social violence by anti-Fujimori activists. “The tremendous tension that had been accumulating in the last three days began to weaken last night,” he said. For three days Toledo’s supporters had demonstrated by the tens of thou sands in Peru’s major cities. The former World Bank official had warned that the mostly peaceful marches and rallies could turn violent if Fujimori claimed victo ry Peru’s ombudsman, Jorge Santiste van, a sharp critic of the government’s campaign abuses, also expressed relief that there would be a runoff. “What we would like to define now is how this second round can be bet ter and, if possible, just the opposite of the first,” he said. During the campaign, opposition can didates accused Fujimori’s military in telligence service of using rock-throw ing thugs to disrupt political rallies, sponsoring lurid tabloid newspaper at tacks and blocking access to laigely state controlled television and radio. In the weeks leading up to Sunday’s vote, Toledo was the taiget of a smear campaign that accused him of everything from shunning an illegitimate daughter to being an architect of a financial pyra mid scheme that impoverished thousands of Peruvians in the early 1990s. He has denied the charges. On Wednesday, Toledo urged Fuji mori to run a clean runoff election. “In the second round we demand sub stantially different conditions to compete than in the first round,” he said. “The in ternational community is watching. The nation is watching.” 'What we would like to define now is how this sec ond round can be better and, if possible, just the opposite of the first.’ Jorge Sant*stevan Peru’s ombudsman Elian from page 3 of the relatives’ claims. Earlier Thursday, Reno, who was roundly criticized for how the govern ment responded to the Branch Davidians in 1993, said her department would act in a “reasonable, measured way.” “We have the authority to take ac tion,” Reno said. “But responsible au thority means not only knowing when to take action, but how and when to take that action.” After failing to reach an agreement with the family Wednesday during a dra matic 2 1/2-hour meeting attended by Elian, Reno ordered them to bring him to Opa-locka airport outside Miami at 2 p.m. Thursday. Her plan called for a plane to take Elian, and any Miami relatives who want ed to come, to Washington for a retreat at a neutral site with the boy’s father. No Cuban diplomats would be present. Af ter the meeting, the government said, the father would take custody of Elian. Lazaro Gonzalez insisted he would not relinquish custody of the boy he has cared for since Elian’s mother drowned off the Florida coast nearly five months ago. “We will not turn this child over— not in Opa-locka, not in any ‘locka,’” he said. Elian was reported in good spirits. He ran in and out of the back yard near a swingset and was spotted sitting on a win dow ledge in the house, in profile, watch ing demonstrators. Actor Andy Garcia and singer Glo ria Estefan, both Cuban-Americans, spent time with demonstrators and inside the house. “We want no violence. We are a peaceful community,” Estefan said af ter the deadline passed. “We urge every Cuban-American watching to join us in the effort.” Lazaro Gonzalez addressed the grow ing crowd with a bullhorn during the day and called for peaceful demonstrations. “We’re not going to fight with anyone,” he said. Government sources have said that the Justice Department, if necessary, would be prepared to send U.S. marshals and immigration agents into the house to remove Elian. “We are trying to do this fairly, straightforwardly, without playing games with people,” Reno said. “I am trying to work through an extraordinary tragedy without having to cause further disrup tion to the little boy.” President Clinton also weighed in Thursday. “I’ve tried to do everything I can to stay out of it,” he said in Wash ington. “But it is our obligation to up hold the rule of law.” Meanwhile, Elian, speaking in Span ish on a home video, addressed his fath saying: “I don’t want to go to Cuba.. want to stay here.” The video was ob tained by the Spanish-language network Univision. Craig called on the news media to stay away from the boy because he “has been exploited enough.” In Florida Family Court, meanwhile, a judge earlier Thursday rejected — as expected—the family’s request filed this week to intercede and prevent the INS from taking the boy. Judge Jennifer Bailey said she had no jurisdiction. Elian was rescued by two fishermen while clinging to an inner tube in the Florida Straits on Thanksgiving Day. mother and 10 other people fleeing Cu ba drowned when their boat sank. His Miami relatives have been car ing for him ever since and have been fight ing in court for an asylum hearing. The Clinton administration has ordered Elian back to his father, saying only he can speak for the boy on immigration matters. AP Writer Michael J. Sniffen contributed to this report from Washington. ‘I’ve tried to do everything I can to stay out of it. 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