NGO REPS SKEPTICAL OF GOP COMMITMENT TO REFORM

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIMA 003659 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2017 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL EAID PE SUBJECT: NGO REPS SKEPTICAL OF GOP COMMITMENT TO REFORM Classified By: Ambassador P. Michael McKinley, for Reasons 1.4 (c... id: 130701 date: 11/19/2007 16:41 refid: 07LIMA3659 origin: Embassy Lima classification: CONFIDENTIAL destination: header: VZCZCXYZ0000 RR RUEHWEB DE RUEHPE #3659/01 3231641 ZNY CCCCC ZZH R 191641Z NOV 07 FM AMEMBASSY LIMA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7342 INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 1851 RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 5279 RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 7670 RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 3190 RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 0919 RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ NOV MONTEVIDEO 9373 RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 1587 RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 1606 RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC RUMIAAA/CDR USCINCSO MIAMI FL -------------- header ends -------------- C O N F I D E N T I A L LIMA 003659 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2017 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL EAID PE SUBJECT: NGO REPS SKEPTICAL OF GOP COMMITMENT TO REFORM Classified By: Ambassador P. Michael McKinley, for Reasons 1.4 (c,d) ¶1. (C) Summary: In a recent meeting with the Ambassador, representatives of Peru's top pro-democracy NGOs pointed to corruption as the fundamental challenge facing public institutions and raised doubts about the ruling APRA party's commitment to reform. The NGO reps were sanguine about the likely political and public impact of former President Fujimori's imminent trial (ref),as long as the ruling APRA party stays out of the judicial process. The NGO reps were skeptical that the government's reform plans will produce needed changes. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Ambassador McKinley on November 5 met with representatives from the top rung of Peruvian human rights and pro-democracy NGOs: Cecilia Blondet, executive director of Proetica; Pablo Rojas, national coordinator for human rights; Hans Landolt, executive director of the Institute of Legal Defense (IDL); and Rodolfo Alban, area human rights coordinator for the Andean Commission of Jurists (CAJ). ¶3. (C) Blondet began by noting that corruption remains a grave problem in Peru and continues to undermine public confidence in institutions. Blondet observed that polls show almost 90 percent of Peruvians believe that the police force is corrupt, and similarly high levels of mistrust exist for other public institutions. She said most Peruvians expect little will change on this score during Garcia's remaining four years in office. Her colleagues agreed, emphasizing that corruption is the central obstacle to Peru's reaching the next level of development. ¶4. (C) IDL's Hans Landolt suggested that even if reforming government were a more manageable challenge, APRA would be ill-equipped to take it on. He explained that the APRA party's composition as a coalition of political operatives limited its interest in genuine reform and undermined its ability to articulate a positive vision of government. For example, he claimed that the Garcia government -- APRA at its core -- had shelved a decent plan developed by former President Alejandro Toledo to strengthen human rights protections in Peru, not because it was a bad idea but because it came from a political rival. That kind of short-sighted opportunism, Landolt said, is illustrative of a government that sways with public opinion and lacks the ideological ballast necessary to lead reform. ¶5. (C) Rojas, the head of a coalition of Peru's human rights NGOs, said he doubted Fujimori's trial would produce social unrest, noting that the Fujimoristas are internally divided and no longer as popular as they were before. The prosecutors handling the case, moreover, are talented and honest and can rely on a "mountain" of evidence that virtually seals the process from the prospect of easy political manipulation. That said, Rojas worried that the ruling party may seek to intervene: some APRA leaders, including Garcia, face accusations of human rights abuses and could use APRA's influence over the judiciary in order to shape the outcome of the trial and limit its impact on future, substantively related human rights cases. Such political tampering in the process could produce widespread and potentially destabilizing protests, he said. Rojas hoped the international community would play an active role in monitoring the trial to ensure the judicial process is perceived by Peruvians as fair and transparent. ¶6. (C) In response, the Ambassador noted that despite its slim electoral victory the government has articulated and begun implementing plans to improve public services, including administrative decentralization. However, the scope of the government's challenge is enormous and the objective cannot be accomplished overnight. Acknowledging the Ambassador's point, Landolt and others insisted that the government's reform efforts thus far are skin deep and unlikely to make a difference in solving the country's entrenched social problems. ¶7. (C) Comment: In that sense, like the government's other critics, the pro-democracy NGO representatives remain skeptical that President Garcia is the kind of leader who will transform Peru into a robust and thriving democracy whose economic development does well by a clear majority of its people. End Comment MCKINLEY =======================CABLE ENDS============================