At the request of the Peruvian government, German authorities
are seeking to ban all public political statements by Isaac
Velazco, European spokesperson for the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary
Movement (MRTA), who lives in Hamburg. Less than a year after
Peru's civilian dictator Fujimori visited Germany with a Peruvian
trade delegation for meetings with Germany's political and
economic elite (following up on German Foreign Minister Klaus
Kinkel's earlier visit to Peru), the German Foreign Ministry now
feels that Mr. Velazco's freedom of speech presents a
"considerable danger to the foreign political interests of the
Federation Republic of Germany". On the orders of Interior
Minister Manfred Kanther, officials in the city state of Hamburg
are taking legals steps under Germany's so-called Foreigner Law to
take away Mr. Velazco's political rights and freedom of speech.

A Deathly Silence In Peru

     On April 23, 1997, when Peruvian television all day long
broadcast images of President Fujimori walking past the bullet-ridden
bodies of the guerrillas who were executed in the Japanese
ambassador's residence in Lima, a clear signal was sent to all
opposition forces: Resistance to the civil dictatorship will be
crushed by all means. The storming of the ambassador's residence
by Peruvian special forces, which Latin American human rights
groups have described as a planned massacre carried out on the
orders of "Take no prisoners!", was a sign to Peru's trading
partners. Last October, during a visit to Hamburg, Fujimori stated
that: "We will welcome investors with open arms. Terror, poverty,
social riots - those are things of the past." Now it has been
proven that the Fujimori regime will seek to keep things as
silenct as a cemetery in Peru, a climate which international
investors approve of. The stock market in Lima soared at the news.

Life In A Gold Mine

     The international media have been astounded by the economic
developments which have taken place while Fujimori has been in
office: "A regular gold mine!", commented the New York Times. "An
economic miracle!", wrote the Wall Street Journal. But what lies
behind this? When Fujimori became President of the Andean state in
1990, he introduced a neo-liberal economic model which has since
become known as "Fujimori-Shock". An extensive privatization
scheme was launched, and the opening up of the domestic market was
one way to draw in foreign capital. The price of these policies
was paid by the broad masses of the population, who were driven
into poverty. The number of people living below the poverty level
has doubled since 1991 to more than 13 million (in a country of
just 22 million people).
     Politically, these neo-liberal economic changes were
accompanied by increased political repression against trade
unions, democratic organizations, progressive students, women's
groups, and, last but not least, alleged supporters of armed
organizations such as the MRTA and the Shining Path/Communist
Party of Peru. The more than 5,000 political prisoners (including
450 from the MRTA) were subjected to policies of destruction. They
have been forced to endure torture, hunger, isolation, and a complete
loss of human rights. Fujimori said that he would let them "rot in
their tombs". Many representatives of legal political
organizations were thrown into prison as well after Fujimori
dissolved Peru's Congress in 1992 and wrote a new Constitution.

World Policeman In The UN Security Council

     It's not for nothing that Germany's Foreign Ministry sees
"considerable danger to the foreign political interests of the
Federation Republic of Germany with respect to bilateral relations
with Peru and Japan": During his visit last October, Fujimori
pledged to support Germany in its effort to gain a permanent seat
on the UN Security Council. Immigration officials cited "possible
damage to German-Peruvian relations" in denying entry into Germany
to the mother of one of the MRTA members murdered during the
storming of the ambassador's residence. She was due to speak on
the events in Peru.
     This is yet another example of Germany actively intervening
in struggles in the Third World, in this case banning the
expression of the point of view of one of the parties to the
conflict - this adds a new dimension to the suppression of
criticisms of conditions in the Third World. Germany has a bad
tradition of banning foreign organizations and criminalizing their
activities. But before, like with the banning of the PKK,
political action was banned by the authorities, but now the state
is seeking to outlaw merely public speaking about events taking
place in one's homeland. The basis for this ban which is being
sought is Germany's so-called "Foreigner Law" ('Auslaenderrecht'),
a racist special piece of legislation which bans things such as
political activity to certain people just because they are not
Germans according to the Constitution. This law, which was
tightened only weeks ago, is increasingly becoming part of
everyday German policy: control over and harassment of an entire
population group, who are collectively viewed as dangerous, while
at the same time maintaining good foreign relations.
     We believe that the German authorities will try to push
through this ban on political activity by Isaac Velazco, in so far
as they are able to. That's why it's very important that we work
to stop this!

Freedom Of Speech For Isaac Velazco!
Abolish The Racist "Foreigner Law"!

Faxes and letters of protest to the German authorities and in
support of Isaac Velazco can be sent to the Hamburg officials at
the following address:

Auslandsbefoerde
Amsinckstrasse 34
20097 Hamburg
Germany

Tel: +49-40-328-62292
Fax: +49-40-328-62966

Increase International Solidarity!
The Struggle Continues!

Initiative "Kein Maulkorb fur Isaac Velazco!"
c/o Rote Hilfe e.V.
Postfach 306 302
20329 Hamburg
Germany

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