Friday, February 17, 2006
HUMALA CHARGED: The Associated Press (Carla Salazar) reports that "human rights activists have formally accused [Ollanta Humala] of atrocities during his 1992 command of a jungle counterinsurgency base." NOTE: "Three criminal complaints accusing retired Lt. Col. Ollanta Humala of forced disappearance, torture and attempted murder were filed Tuesday with a prosecutor in the northern jungle town of Tocache, Alejandro Silva, of the National Coordinator for Human Rights in Peru, told reporters." (The Houston Chronicle version of the story has a file photo; the Miami Herald includes a summary in their ‘Latin American Briefs’ column.) SEE ALSO: 'Humala Questioned' in Wednesday's Peruvia.
NEW APOYO #s, IV: Dow Jones (Robert Kozak) analyzes his earlier reporting on the APOYO poll suggesting that "less than two months before the April general elections, support for the various candidates running for president could still shift sharply, [according to political analysts." Martín Tanaka: "I think that voter opinion is very volatile. There can still be important movements. What Peruvian voters have, to a large degree, is the ability of being unable to be pigeonholed on what they will do." Nelson Manrique Galvez: "We don't have the structure of having a multi-party system, so there is no long-term tradition of party adhesion. There isn't any consistency of programs either. In 15 days everything can change radically." The piece cites Mirko Lauer’s La Republica column from Wednesday that "said that voter indecision could be tied to disappointment with the candidates or to other factors. In either case, a possible reaction before this indecision is to look for a different option. In this stage that could mean a widening of the number of real competitors that could enter into a second round."
ALVAREZ VITA TO JAKARTA: The Jakarta Post notes that "Peru has appointed one of its top diplomats -- Juan Alvarez Vita -- as its new ambassador to Indonesia," according to the Peruvian embassy in Jakarta. NOTE: "Ambassador-designate Juan Alvarez Vita has already arrived in Jakarta. He will submit his letter of credence to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono soon," said Carlos Javier Castillo Morales, head of the consular and commercial section. Alvarez has a short bio here; he is an author and has been Ambassador to Cuba and former Vice President of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of the United Nations.
LA ELECTORAL ANALYSES:
- The Miami Herald runs a column by Marifeli Pérez-Stable (Inter-American Dialogue) on the ‘Multiple Elections Changing Region’s Leadership This Year.’ "Though the conservative Lourdes Flores is now comfortably ahead, many Peruvians harbor an undercurrent of anger that may yet propel one of her radical opponents." NOTE: "Elections in Latin America are usually free and fair. Public trust, however, isn't just an electoral function. Good governance and an inclusive economy must also nurture the citizenry if Latin American democracy is to consolidate. That's the tall order that lies ahead."
- Indian Country (USA) offers an essay about the relationship between the indigenous communities in North and South America and upcoming electoral prospects.
- SEE ALSO: 'LA Electoral Analyses' in Wednesday's Peruvia.
USA MILITARY AID: Television station KVOA (David Marino; Arizona) reports that last year, "the U.S. spent almost a billion dollars training foreign military and police in Latin American countries. … U.S. aid to Colombia was more than $640 million, and Peru saw $54 million in anti-drug money. Another $52 million went to Bolivia, and Mexico received $58 million."
PEOPLE:
- The Herald (Kristi O’Harran; Washington State) runs a column on Peruvian-American Jeannine Fosca who has lived with AIDS for nearly 10 years and about Alive With AIDS, "an organization she created to share her story as a woman and mother, and help those living with the disease around the world."
- The Pensacola News-Journal (Amy Sowder; Florida) reports on a local 23-member medical team missionary team from the ‘Love for Peru Foundation’ in Lima. Dr. John Meade, the team's medical director and a Gulf Breeze resident, stated that, "Unlike a lot of areas that are poor, where they can have chickens and pigs running around, this place is surrounded by desert. It's not like they can run into the jungle and get a banana." Also noted are the founders of the Foundation, Peruvians Magali and Piero Solimano.
- The New Hampshire (University of New Hampshire) features David Holmes’ the University’s Peace Corps representative who started his service in the Peace Corps in Peru in 1963.
- A Kyodo News headline seems striking "Fujimori squeaks into snowboard cross q'finals+" until you realize this is a different Fujimori.
REVIEWS:
- The San Francisco Weekly reviews ‘Mi Lindo Peru’ restaurant.
- The Santa Cruz Sentinel (Wallace Baine) and the Register Pajaronian (Amanda Schoenberg; California) preview Peru Negro’s concert at the University of California at Santa Cruz. The Sentinel offers more context and original reporting.
MINING: Panamerican Silver offered a press release on "several developments in anticipation of its 2005 year-end results due to be announced on February 23, 2006."
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