Peru's President-elect Faces Task of Bringing Fujimori to Trial

Peru's President-elect Alejandro Toledo faces the task of bringing former President Alberto Fujimori and his aid Vladimiro Montesino to trial, Peruvian Foreign Minister Javier Perez de Cuellar said Monday.

One of the tasks of the new government of Toledo, who won the run-off elections Sunday, is "to get rid of those elements that have caused so much damage to the country," the minister, who is attending the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), told a news conference.

He said that Peruvian acting President Valentin Paniagua receives a continuous flow of evidence against Fujimori and Montesinos, who are accused of abusing power and embezzlement.

"Everyday we know they (Fujimori and Montesinos) are the two faces on the same coin. We are accumulating evidence to extradite them or to appeal to international laws to bring them to trial," he added.

Perez de Cuellar said that corruption must be punished and the current transition government is determined to bring Fujimori and Montesinos to trial.

"Crime must not pass unpunished and this will be one of the tasks the new government will have to face," he said.

Fujimori was ousted in a corruption scandal when he was in Japan last November. Peru wants his extradition. His top aid's whereabouts remains a mystery.






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