Fujimori appeals for forgiveness
LIMA: Former authoritarian leader Alberto Fujimori sought forgiveness from Peruvians “from the bottom of my heart” yesterday for shortcomings during his rule, and thanked President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski for granting him a Christmas pardon.
In a video on Facebook, Fujimori, 79, vowed that as a free man he would support Kuczynski’s call for reconciliation, hinting that he would not return to politics.
“I’m aware the results of my government were well received by some, but acknowledge I also disappointed other compatriots,” the ailing Fujimori said, reading from notes while connected to tubes in a hospital bed.
“And to them, I ask for forgiveness from the bottom of my heart,” Fujimori said.
The remarks were his first explicit apology to the Andean nation that he governed with an iron fist from 1990 to 2000.
They came after two days of unrest as protesters slammed the pardon as an insult to victims and part of a political deal to help Kuczynski survive a scandal.
The pardon cleared Fujimori’s convictions for graft and human rights crimes during his leadership of the right-wing government.
On Monday, Kuczynski, a 79-yearold former Wall Street banker, appealed to Peruvians opposed to the pardon to “turn the page” and defended his decision as justified clemency for a sick man whose government had helped the country progress.