Peru Excessive Force

At first, public opinion in Peru seemed to back President Alan Garcia Perez's bold decision to let the armed forces crush three coordinated prison rebellions, although at least 250, and possibly 400, radical inmates were killed. Last week the President again put his popularity on the line. Facing % the gravest crisis of his eleven months in office, Garcia said in a televised address that paramilitary police at one prison massacred some 30 to 40 inmates who had already surrendered. All of the victims belonged to the Maoist- oriented Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) guerrillas, who have been waging a terrorist campaign since 1980.

In his speech, Garcia said that he had ordered the arrest of police chiefs and officers who had taken part in the storming of Lurigancho prison near Lima on June 18. At least 124 inmates died in the operation, including those killed after the prisoners had ended their resistance. Declared the President: "What happened after the surrender in Lurigancho is a crime that I will not silence." While condemning the police, Garcia strongly defended Peruvian marines who attacked another prison, on the island of El Fronton, where as many as 270 Shining Path disciples died.

By authorizing the use of lethal force against the prisoners, Garcia underscored his determination to defeat the Shining Path. The radical group had timed the insurrections to humiliate the President while prominent world figures were in Lima for a congress of the Socialist International, an organization of socialist and social-democratic parties. The gathering was held in Peru to recognize efforts by Garcia's center-left government to stabilize the country's economy, which has been crippled by the falling prices of oil, copper and other major exports.

Garcia's swift move to crush the jail riots reflected the demands of Peru's armed forces, which want a freer hand to deal with the Shining Path. But the military's attempts last week to conceal evidence of its excesses only embarrassed the government. Soldiers sealed off the prisons and buried dead inmates at night, despite assurances from First Vice President Luis Alberto Sanchez that the bodies would be delivered to their families.

Nor did the prison massacres bring an end to the violence that is becoming commonplace in Peru. On Wednesday a bomb concealed in a suitcase ripped through the roof of a packed train that was carrying tourists to the ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu. Seven passengers were killed, including one American and three West Germans. As many as 40 other people were injured. Although no one claimed responsibility for the attack, it was widely seen as an attempt by the Shining Path to avenge the deaths of its imprisoned followers.