Military

DATE=10/29/00

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=PERU UPRISING (L)

NUMBER=2-268591

BYLINE=CLAIRE MARSHALL

DATELINE=LIMA

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: A military commander and about 60-soldiers say they have taken control of a town in southern Peru. The apparent uprising follows the resignations of the four most powerful commanders in the Armed Forces, all accused of having ties with disgraced former intelligence chief, Vladimiro Montesinos. As Claire Marshall reports from Lima, the Head of the Peruvian Army has ordered the uprising to be put down.

SCRIPT: The commander of an anti-aircraft artillery unit, Lieutenant Colonel Ollanta Moises Humal Tasso, has taken over the town of Toquepala - about 11-hundred kilometers from Lima near the Chilean border.

In a statement to the press, the commander said he refused to recognize President Fujimori's leadership of the country, saying that he was an - illegitimate - head of state.

It is not yet known whether this is a solo uprising by one commander, or whether it is part of a wider movement by the armed forces. The Lieutenant Colonel has called for other military forces to follow his lead to in his words - safeguard the honor of the army.

It comes after President Fujimori replaced the heads of the Army, Navy and Airforce, along with the general in command of the second military region, who is the brother-in-law of the fugitive former intelligence chief, Vladimiro Montesinos. (SIGNED)

NEB/CM/RAE