Peru, Fujimori and SIN (National Intelligence Service)
roypd...@my-deja.com
services are very widely recognised, e.g. the CIA, KGB (but the name of
its Russian successor is still much less widely known - possibly a good
sign!), MI5, MI6, and the Mossad. Peru's National Intelligence Service
is much less well known than the others mentioned but has a far more
memorable acronym; SIN (Servicio Nacional de Inteligencia).
In the past few days SIN has attracted an unprecedented amount of
attention in the popular media in countries outside Latin America.
Following the decision of President Fujimori to call for new elections
next year (in which he will not be a candidate) and to "deactivate" SIN,
its head, Vladimiro Montesinos the man described as Fujimori's Svengali
or Peru's Rasputin, has disappeared from public view and rumours have
spread that he is either under arrest or is busy destroying
incriminating files.
SIN played a major role in crushing the Sendero Luminoso or Shining Path
which, by the late 1980s, had brought terror to much of Peru. However
many people would say that its treatment of legitimate opponents of the
government after the defeat of the terrorists, made SIN a threat to
democracy.
Until Fujimori's shock decision Vladimiro Montesinos, and SIN in
general, had attracted relatively little attention in the popular media
outside Latin America. One exception is in the realm of fiction - the
multifarious acts of SIN are one of the main themes of the novel "Into
the Fire" by Linda Davies (my sister) who spent three years living in
Peru.
In my web page on "Into the Fire" the words of Victor Maldonado (the
fictitious head of SIN in the novel) in his conversation with the
heroine, portray the complex mixture of patriotism and cynical
opportunism that could bring down a shadowy figure who, if he had
behaved more honourably, could arguably have claimed to be his country's
real saviour but instead has always been feared by many and loved by
few.
Roy Davies
Into the Fire
http://www.ex.ac.uk/~RDavies/arian/fire.html
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