US embassy cable - 05LIMA2054

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LIMA 002054 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PINS, PINR, PE 
SUBJECT: CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE REPORT ON FORGED 
SIGNATURES SCANDAL REMAINS MIRED IN CONTROVERSY 
 
REF: A. LIMA 1953 
 
     B. LIMA 1900 
     C. LIMA 1375 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified.  Please protect accordingly. 
 
1.  (U)  SUMMARY:  The three opposition party members of the 
congressional committee investigating allegations that 
President Alejandro Toledo's party forged signatures to 
register for the 2000 elections concluded that there was 
massive fraud and that Toledo was responsible.  The two 
pro-GOP members disagreed and boycotted the Committee's final 
session, thereby preventing the quorum needed to transact 
business.  The opposition members nevertheless voted to adopt 
a final report and forwarded it to the Congress Directive 
Council.  That body, in turn, farmed it out to the 
Constitutional Affairs Committee, which is expected to reject 
the report based on the absence of a quorum.  While 
individual opposition politicians may wish to use this 
scandal to go after Toledo, the opposition parties and their 
leaders remain content to let the President finish his term. 
Once Toledo leaves office on 7/28/06, however, the 
allegations against him could well resurface.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
2.  (U)  The Villanueva Committee (a special congressional 
committee charged with investigating allegations that 
political parties forged signatures to register for the 2000 
elections) terminated its mandate on 5/3.  Three of its five 
members (all belonging to opposition parties) signed off on a 
final report that accused President Alejandro Toledo of 
complicity in the alleged massive forgery of signatures to 
register his Pais Posible (now Peru Posible) party; Prime 
Minister Carlos Ferrero of interfering with the Committee's 
investigation; and Toledo, Transport Minister Jose Ortiz and 
ex-Interior Ministry Javier Reategui of involvement in the 
temporary flight of witness Carmen Burga to Ecuador.  The 
report left it to the full Congress to determine the 
appropriate sanctions.  Individually, the three Committee 
members expressed different opinions on the sanctions they 
thought Congress should apply to Toledo.  Committee Chairman 
Edgar Villanueva (Peru Ahora) urged that Congress vacate the 
Presidency, Xavier Barron (Unidad Nacional) suggested that 
Toledo be prohibited from assuming public office for 10 years 
once his term ends on 7/28/06, and Victor Velarde (APRA) 
opined that the President should be suspended from office 
until the case is processed by the Congress. 
 
3.  (U)  The two pro-GOP Committee members, Marcial Ayaipoma 
(Peru Posible) and Heriberto Benitez (Independent Moralizing 
Front), rejected the report on procedural and substantive 
grounds.  Procedurally, they argued that the Committee lacked 
the necessary quorum when it voted to adopt the report as 
neither legislator was present and, under congressional 
regulations, a majority-plus-one (four out of the five) 
Committee members is required to establish a quorum.  On 
substance, they dismissed the reports conclusions as being 
based on the uncritical acceptance of the non-credible and 
often contradictory testimony of a string of witnesses 
(Refs).  Prime Minister Ferrero agreed with this assessment 
during a 5/3 press conference, stating that the report's 
conclusions "have no value."  Ferrero also suggested that the 
Villanueva Committee's opposition members were engaged in a 
political witchhunt, accusing the Committee of ignoring "94 
percent" of its assignment, as it only investigated two of 
the 16 parties that filed signatures to register for the 2000 
elections. 
 
4.  (U)  The Villanueva Committee report was submitted to the 
congressional Directive Council, which forwarded it to the 
Constitutional Affairs Committee to determine if it was 
adopted in accordance with congressional regulations.  The 
Chairman of that committee, Aurelio Pastor (APRA), told the 
press on 5/3, that his committee would rely on the judgement 
of Congress' Chief or Staff Jose Elice on this question. 
Elice earlier went on record that congressional regulations 
do indeed require a majority-plus-one to establish a 
committee quorum, and that this means four legislators are 
needed on a five-member committee. 
 
5.  (SBU)  COMMENT:  The Villanueva Committee has been mired 
in controversy from the start, and it is not/not surprising 
that its "final report" should continue this trend.  While 
the individual opposition legislators who signed off on the 
report concluded that there was a massive forgery of 
signatures and high-level GOP complicity in the temporary 
flight of a key witness, and sought to hold Toledo 
responsible for these acts, the opposition parties themselves 
have demonstrated no/no interest in pursuing these charges 
against the President, at least at this time.  APRA leader 
Alan Garcia, for example, on 5/3 called on the political 
class to respect Toledo's constitutional term in office. 
Consequently, it remains likely that the report will be 
archived for the present, but that its conclusions, and the 
concurrent criminal investigations into the forged signature 
and witness tampering allegations, will resurface to haunt 
Toledo after he leaves office.  END COMMENT. 
STRUBLE