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Some ambassadors freed as Peru standoff continues
Eight hostages freed
December 18, 1996
Web posted at: 11:45 p.m. EST (0445 GMT)LIMA, Peru (CNN) -- Marxist rebels holding nearly 500 diplomats, business leaders and others captive in the Japanese ambassador's residence threatened Wednesday to slaughter the hostages if their demands were not met.
Members of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement made no immediate move to carry out their threat, and five hostages -- the ambassadors of Germany, Greece, Canada, the French cultural attache and a Peruvian official -- were freed.
A L S O : Family wants daughter home from Peru prison One of the ambassadors read a statement saying they had been selected by the rebels to act as mediators in talks with the Peruvian government. Four of the freed hostages formed a commission to speak directly with President Alberto Fujimori on the crisis.
Officials said one of the freed hostages had been shot in the leg, but it was not clear who was wounded.
The rebels had issued an ultimatum Wednesday at noon EST, saying they would begin killing hostages in 20 minutes if the government did not move to meet their demands.
"We can't wait any longer," said rebel commander Emilio Heurtos.
He said the rebels' first victim would be Peruvian Foreign Minister Francisco Tudela.
The Peruvian government said the minister of education would negotiate with the rebels, but a TV cameraman allowed in the residence at 1:30 p.m. said the rebels -- who were demanding economic changes and the release of jailed comrades -- refused to bargain until medicine was brought in.
About an hour after the five officials were freed, a Red Cross official delivered supplies, including several carts loaded with large bottles of water, to the entrance of the residence.
In Washington, a senior Clinton administration official said the situation was "very fluid" and that Peruvian authorities and the rebels "appear to be talking to each other through the press." The official said authorities apparently have not determined whether they can negotiate directly with the rebels.
The United States was taking "all appropriate measures," the official said.
The standoff began Tuesday night. Members of the Cuban-inspired guerrilla group posed as waiters, carrying hors d'oeuvres and champagne, to gain access to the Lima home of the Japanese ambassador during a reception to celebrate the birthday of Japan's emperor.
Around 8 p.m. the rebels attacked, setting off explosions and exchanging gunfire with police for almost an hour. Two hostages and a rebel were reported wounded.
The rebels said Wednesday they were holding 490 people after releasing about 170 people, most of them women and elderly guests, early in the standoff.
The rebels said they targeted the home of Japanese Ambassador Morihisa Aoki because of the "constant meddling of the Japanese government" in the South American nation. Fujimori, Peru's president is of Japanese descent and has close ties with Japan.
Fujimori's mother and sister were in the compound when the attack began but the rebels allowed them to leave.
Several need medical aid
One of the hostages, a Peruvian congressman, was permitted to telephone his wife. She quoted him as saying some of the rebels had been wounded and that several of the hostages were in need of medical attention.
She also said that the rebels wanted police to move back from the compound.
The rebels faxed their demands to the media, stating their demands. These included:
- A change in Peru's economic model so that the benefits will accrue to the masses;
- Freedom for all Tupac Amaru prisoners now imprisoned. An estimated 400 rebels are being held;
- Transport of the rebel commandos to a jungle location, with a number of dignitaries as hostages to ensure their escape;
- Payment of a war tax, with no amount specified.
The number of rebels inside the compound was estimated by various witnesses as between 10 and 23.
Mieko Teniya, who was at the party but later released, said the attack began near the end of the dinner
"We heard an explosion near us. Two or three seconds later we heard gunshots. People started screaming ... When I looked the terrorists were already in the room.
"They were wearing green military fatigues with their faces covered and painted," Teniya said. "They were saying, 'Everybody duck and don't lift your heads.'"
The Tupac Amaru rebels are a Marxist group whose ideology is inspired by Fidel Castro's Cuba. Formed in the early 1980s, the group is less well known than the larger rebel movement, the Maoist Shining Path.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related story:
- Peruvian rebels release 2 hostages - December 18, 1996
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