Peru president's on-air rebuke causes stir

By RICK VECCHIO
The Associated Press

President Alejandro Toledo phoned in to TV show.

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LIMA, Peru — Newspapers and political opponents criticized President Alejandro Toledo yesterday for losing his cool when he called a television program after it broadcast a video it claims supports accusations that Toledo registered his political party with fake signatures.

Lima newspapers Perú.21 and Expreso declared "Toledo Loses It" in front-page headlines, and political opponents cited his lack of decorum in the face of serious charges.

Former President Alberto Fujimori added to the cacophony with a recorded message from Japan, broadcast on Peru's CPN Radio. Fujimori made the accusation that his now-jailed spy chief, Vladimiro Montesinos, was behind the illegal start-up of Toledo's party, Peru Possible, in a secret plot to undermine Fujimori's 10-year regime.

Sunday night, American Television's "Cuarto Poder," or "Fourth Estate," aired a video of Toledo celebrating with his wife, sister and supporters in a restaurant in the late 1990s and praising his campaign workers for the "extraordinary, demanding, conscientious work by people who transcribed, entered and rechecked" the signatures.

Toledo has repeatedly denied accusations that his sister, Margarita Toledo, oversaw the systematic forging of names to make the party eligible for the 2000 elections.

The president called the TV show's anchor, Carlos Espa, on Sunday to complain that the program had not offered him or his staff a chance to respond before airing the video. He said he was referring in the video to the fact that the signature lists — now under scrutiny by state investigators — had to be checked against electoral rolls.

In the call to Espa, known for his aggressive style, Toledo accused the show of gutter journalism.

"A half-truth is worse than a lie. That's enough of staining people's honor," Toledo said in the exchange, which aired live. "I have nothing more to say. You are a coward!" He then hung up.

Congressman Javier Velasquez, of the opposition Aprista Party, told Canal N television yesterday: "It's an unusual reaction from a leader who I believe in these cases should demonstrate composure in the face" of allegations "so grave and delicate."
 
The accusations against Toledo are reminiscent of the massive forgery scandal that marred Fujimori's regime. Supporters used about 1 million forged signatures to register Fujimori's bid for a third term in elections in 2000 that were reportedly rigged by Montesinos and condemned by international monitors.

Fujimori won the election in the second round of voting, but was forced from office months later amid mounting corruption scandals. He is fighting extradition from Japan.

"Each day it becomes clearer that those forgeries were carried out by Montesinos to avoid my first-round triumph in the 2000 elections" and to favor Toledo, Fujimori said in his message.