Archbishop Offers Church Mediation in Peru Crisis
LIMA (CWN) - Cardinal Augusto Vargas Alzamora, Archbishop of Lima and president of the Peruvian bishops' conference, announced on Wednesday that the Catholic Church is willing to play an active role in the hostage crisis created at the Japanese Embassy in Lima by the Marxist group "Movimiento Revolucionario Tupac Amaru," also known as MRTA.
Since Tuesday night, between 15 to 20 members of MRTA have held hostage around 200 key personalities who were celebrating Japanese Emperor Akihito's birthday at the residence of the Japanese Ambassador in Peru's capital.
A spokesman for the guerrilla group, who identified himself as "Commander Huerta," briefly spoke with the local radio station Radioprogramas del Peru to state that "all hostages are well, but we want to negotiate directly with (President Alberto) Fujimori."
"Commander Huerta" also said that they were a "suicide commando." "We don't care about dying. We want the release of all our (MRTA) comrades or we will kill them all, one by one," he said. Among the 200 key hostages remaining in the residence are the ambassadors from Brazil, Bolivia, Cuba, England, Italy, Spain, Austria, Israel, and Japan, as well as key Peruvian personalities such as Chancellor Francisco Tudela, the president of the Electoral Jury, and several congressmen. The US ambassador and aides left the party just a half hour before the attack.
Archbishop Vargas Alzamora spoke to the radio station early in the morning and announced that the Catholic Church is willing to mediate if necessary. "Our prayers are committed to those suffering in this situation as well as to our country," the archbishop said. He also stated, "we are ready to cooperate in any way to put an end to this crisis and to avoid any violence that may cost lives." The Archbishop of Lima also addressed some words to the terrorists, asking them to "be respectful of the human rights of the hostages just as they claim the respect for the human rights of their comrades in prison."
The demands of the terrorists have been constantly changing by the hour.