BELAUNDE RENEWS "STATE OF SIEGE"
The nationwide witch-hunt in Peru, accompanied by military operations in the Andes in pursuit of guerrilla fighters on three reported fronts, is continuing unabated, & :
On August 4, the government of President Pernando Belaunde Terry announced that the 30-day "state of siege" will be renewed for another 30 days. Under a "state of siege" all democratic rights guaranteed by the constitution are suspended, permitting arbitrary arrests and indefinite imprisonment without trial or stated reasons,
Hundreds of arrests have been made in this way throughout Peru of trade unionists, students and intellectuals thought by reactionary government officials to be of "leftist" persuasion, Obviously the government is utilizing the appearance of guerrilla fighters as a pretext for a vast campaign of political intimidation.
On the guerrilla front, the army has been able to boast of: but few successes. The guerrilla fighters appear to be highly elusive or quite few in number. Nevertheless the army is continuing its forays, apparently following techniques prescribed by experts of the Pentagon.
Reuters reported August 2 from Lima that planes equipped with loudspeakers are being sent at low altitude over jungle areas in the Andes to persuade whoever may be within hearing range to cooperate with the repressive effort.
Speeches, probably recorded, are broadcast in Quechua, the language of the descendants of the Incas, arguing that no help
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should be given to any guerrilla fighters in the region.
This "psychological campaign," according to an unnamed government spokesman, is the prelude to a “definitive offensive" against. the guerrilla fighters.
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