Defiant Banner Underscores Dwindling Hope in Peru

LIMA, Peru — Marxist guerrillas holding 74 hostages at the Japanese ambassador’s residence in Lima vowed Saturday not to surrender and called on President Alberto Fujimori to start negotiations on their demands.

Hidden by darkness, rebels of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement crawled onto the mansion’s roof and unfurled three banners.

“Nobody in here is giving up,” was the defiant message that flew from the rooftop of the residence on the 18th day of the standoff.

Fujimori has rejected the rebels’ claim to be fighting for Peru’s poor and has condemned them as “terrorists.” He has ruled out their main demand that about 400 jailed comrades be pardoned.

Meanwhile, a Japanese newspaper reported today that the rebels initially demanded a $100-million ransom from Japanese companies but are now seeking about $30 million. The Mainichi Shimbun, in a report that cited “informed sources,” said the rebels demanded the cash in exchange for freeing senior Japanese executives who are among the hostages.

In Tokyo, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hiroshi Hashimoto said prospects of winning the release of the hostages were now at their lowest point since the rebels stormed a Dec. 17 party at the residence.

Japan’s Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto told reporters, “I am not optimistic about the situation, seeing as the number of hostages has been reduced to a level where it is easy for the terrorists to control them.”