Chile top court asked to muzzle Fujimori

SANTIAGO - Chile's government asked its Supreme Court to muzzle former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori - who is out on bail in Chile - to keep him from commenting about Peru's presidential election, Chile's president said on Tuesday.

Fujimori is a fugitive from justice in Peru, where prosecutors want him to face trial on charges he embezzled millions of dollars from the state and condoned death squads.

Peru said on Monday it sent a diplomatic note to Chile asking the government to stop Fujimori from commenting publicly about the two candidates for its June 4 presidential vote or about his extradition.

President Michelle Bachelet's administration asked the top court to take steps "to put a stop to this situation and keep Mr Fujimori's actions - which could be incompatible with his legal situation - from affecting relations between Chile and Peru", Bachelet told reporters from the foreign press association in Chile.

Fujimori was released last week after spending six months in a Chilean prison, and he has since given a series of interviews.

In at least one, he hinted that Peru's centre-left former President Alan Garcia was more to his liking as a presidential candidate than nationalist Ollanta Humala. Opinion polls show Garcia ahead of Humala as the election approaches.

"The declarations to the media are, I'd say, not positive, for Peru's situation at an important electoral time, or for Chile-Peru relations," Bachelet said.

Peruvians fear Fujimori, who is striving to make a political comeback despite the charges against him, could influence the outcome of the vote by steering his supporters to Garcia or Humala.

Although many Peruvians revile Fujimori, he still has a following. The candidate from his political movement won 7.4 per cent of the vote in Peru's first-round presidential election in April.

Fujimori governed Peru from 1990-2000, when his second term collapsed in a major corruption scandal and he fled to Japan. He lived there until last year when he made a surprise flight to Chile and was arrested on an international warrant.

- REUTERS