Peru's Fujimori Sworn in, Six Die in Fire

Peru's Fujimori Sworn in, Six Die in Fire

Peru's President Alberto Fujimori was sworn in for an unprecedented third term on Friday amid violent protests in Lima in which six people died when they were trapped in a burning bank.

Police fired tear gas and fought running battles with thousands of anti-Fujimori demonstrators in colonial-era downtown Lima just blocks from the swearing-in ceremony.

Angry protesters burned the headquarters of the National Electoral Board as Fujimori, elected in a May vote that is widely considered tainted, pledged reform in his inaugural address.

An official in the state human rights office said six people died after they were trapped in a state bank set alight during the riots. Some reports said the victims were bank security guards.

At least 84 people were arrested and 49 protesters taken to hospital, including three who had been shot.

Opposition lawmakers, some wearing gas masks to protest the heavy handed policing, shouted insults at the 62-year-old leader and walked out of the swearing-in ceremony.

Fujimori, who has already served two five-year terms, defended his controversial reelection in his state-of-the-nation address and promised reforms.

``I consider necessary the full democratization of the country. We realize the institutions should be updated with the times,'' said the president, who is popular with some for defeating a bloody Maoist group but criticized for iron-fisted rule.

Opposition leader Alejandro Toledo, who boycotted May's run-off vote charging it was rigged, led marchers shouting ''down with the dictatorship!'' toward Congress. They were forced back by tear gas.

``They have the police firing at us but never, I tell you again, never will we take one step back,'' said Toledo, who has demanded new elections after losing what international monitors called a tainted ballot in April.

Riot police, some perched on roofs, fired tear gas straight into thousands of protesters who tried to break through their lines. Some marchers threw Molotov cocktails and set tires on fire to block roads, sending up thick black smoke.

Some youths had sticks and poles but many had only bottles of vinegar to counteract the effects of tear gas. Some demonstrators opened their bags to show reporters they had no weapons.

``We're not violent but they want to kill us. The Chinaman wants to stay in power,'' said Elda, a 28-year-old Indian woman in traditional Andean dress. Peruvians call Fujimori ``el Chino'' (Chinaman) for his Japanese descent.

Many protesters vomited and fainted from the gas and march organizers said a Spanish journalist suffered an eye injury.

Fujimori returned to the presidential palace as protesters gathered outside. Central Lima was under a cloud of smoke as fires gutted several government buildings, including the national election body's headquarters, during the clashes.

After most protesters left downtown, the acrid smell of gas hung in the air, groups of demonstrators huddled in corners and spent gas canisters and stones littered the streets.

The march was the culmination of three days of protests which have seen more than 40,000 people, chanting ``down with the dictatorship'', rally in the city center overnight.

Protesters traveled to Lima from the Andes, the jungle, the Pacific coast to demonstrate against Fujimori.

While most election victors in Latin America can expect many heads of state to attend their swearing-in, only leaders of neighboring Ecuador and Bolivia were at Friday's ceremony, which coincided with Fujimori's birthday and Independence Day.

Fujimori still rates 43 percent support in opinion polls for stabilizing the economy and beating the leftist guerrillas who took Peru to the brink of civil war in the early 1990s.

But the disputed election divided the nation of 25 million people and increased discontent with Fujimori.

Fujimori's democratic credentials have been questioned since his ``self coup'' of 1992 when he shut down Congress and took special powers to combat the Marxist guerrillas who had virtually ringed Lima.

His autocratic style helped him vanquish hyperinflation and bring in foreign investment. But wages have stagnated and jobs are scarce, with half the population in poverty.