Fujimori responds correctly

Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori took his time before he spoke on the serious hostage crisis underway in Lima. When he did, more than four days into the spectacular capture of the Japanese ambassador's home, he was calm but unbending.

He said that holding high-ranking officials and foreigners at gunpoint is terrorism. The president refused to negotiate under such duress. His only promise was that his government would not initiate force to end the siege, at least for now.

Mr. Fujimori is correct in his stand. He and his advisers have recognized there must be a balance between two goals. The first is to free all hostages from their Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) captors. The second is to ensure there are no rewards for such blatant terrorism. So long as the MRTA members hide behind helpless human shields, reason and calm must prevail.

If this were the movies, the audience would be waiting for the hero to leap into action. Rebels would die, but theirs would be the only blood spilt. This is seldom the case in real life. Peru's foreign minister, Japan's ambassador and more than 300 other people in the diplomat's home are in serious danger. Mr. Fujimori alone has the power, and must take the responsibility to free them.

The president is faced by a desperate band of hostage takers. Their leader has been identified as Nestor Cerpa, the deputy commander of the MRTA. He was jailed almost 20 years ago following a labor dispute in which four died. He is generally believed to be the mastermind of a long series of kidnappings of businessmen in Peru since his release in 1980.

An expert on the MRTA says Cerpa has the reputation of a "wildman". One of the hostages released from the Japanese ambassador's home said Cerpa "is willing to play for everything".

The Tupac Amaru movement has won some sympathy in the past for its social goals. But even before last week's hostage-taking, the Cuban-inspired group has shown little respect for the dignity of human life. Legitimate organizations with complaints against the government try to avoid violence toward innocent bystanders.

If there is anything to the MRTA's charges against Mr. Fujimori's regime -- or against Japan -- it is beside the point for now. At the moment, there is one issue: The group must free every hostage. No other action is truly acceptable. President Fujimori deserves support for his calm but firm response to the terrorists.

-- The Bangkok Post