Ex-President Fujimori extradited to Peru

‘There will be a political heir’
Fujimori also suggested that he's eyeing a political comeback, saying, "I still have majority support from a very popular political current.

"I assure you that there will be a political heir if I am no longer around," he added. "There will a Fujimori movement for a long time. I guarantee that there will be some Fujimori in the next presidential race."

He said his daughter Keiko, who was elected to Congress last year with 600,000 votes, far more than any other legislator, has "what it takes" to be president.

On Friday, Keiko, 32, who is six months pregnant with her first child, demanded that he not be mistreated while in custody and urged supporters to greet him at the airport.

"Fujimori was the one who brought peace to this country, who defeated terrorism, and it seems a paradox that today Fujimori is being tried for human rights," she said.

Fujimori-allied Congressman Rolando Souza predicted that if the former leader does not receive a fair trial and is sentenced to a long prison term, indignation among his supporters would propel his daughter into the presidency in 2011.

"I'm completely sure of it," he said.

Peruvian prosecutors are seeking 30 years in prison for each human rights charge, and up to 10 years for the corruption charges. But prison terms run concurrently under Peruvian law.

‘It's hard to say who is guilty’
Some Peruvians say Fujimori's controversial crackdown on the bloody Shining Path insurgency was justified.

"Maybe it's a crime now, but there was a war going on then," said Miguel Capac, 40, a civil engineer who voted for Fujimori. "And in a war it's hard to say who is guilty and who is innocent."

But for others, his administration's alleged crimes outweigh its successes.

"He has done good things. No one denies that. But that doesn't allow him to get away with the acts of corruption he committed," said Maria Huaman, a 35-year-old architect.

Many believe Garcia didn't want Fujimori extradited, fearing he could become a powerful opposition leader. Garcia's political opposition is fragmented, giving him a free hand to rule, and he maintains a fragile control of the 120-seat Congress with the backing of 13 legislators allied to Fujimori.

Larry Birns, director of the Washington think tank Council on Hemispheric Affairs, said the trial also could prove to be embarrassing for Garcia. He said human rights violations were even greater during Garcia's first term in 1985-1990 than in Fujimori's administration, "and I think Fujimori is going to use that as his defense."

The trial "will open up not one but many cans of worms because corruption in Peru was endemic at that time," Birns said.

"Peruvian politics are still very unstable," he added. "The trial and its aftermath are going to have a disruptive effect. There will be no real winners of this except probably the Peruvian human rights community."

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