The Wall Street Journal - 02.10.2019

A8| Wednesday, October 2, 2019 *** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.**

obstruction...will continue.”

In the Congress on Tuesday,

Cecilia Chacón, a leading law-

maker from Ms. Fujimori’s

Popular Force party, said Mr.

Vizcarra’s move was dictato-

rial. She said the head of Con-

gress was reaching out to mul-

tilateral organizations

including the United Nations

and the Organization of Amer-

ican States for support. Ms.

Chacón was one of a handful

of lawmakers who spent the

night in Congress, fearful they

would not be allowed back in

if they left.

“No one knows what is go-

ing to happen. A dictator sim-

ply does what he wants, what

he can, not what the norms

say,” she said.

The OAS’s secretary-gen-

eral, Luis Almagro, said Peru’s

highest court, the constitu-

tional tribunal, was responsi-

ble for determining if the clo-

sure of Congress was legal.

The tribunal has made no pub-

lic statement about the dispute

and didn’t respond to calls

seeking comment on Tuesday.

Ms. Fujimori, jailed on cor-

ruption allegations, narrowly

lost the presidential vote to a

president who then resigned

two years later amid corrup-

tion allegations and political

battles with opposition law-

makers, resulting in then-Vice

President Vizcarra’s rise to

president.

Ms. Fujimori, who heads the

Popular Force party, is the

daughter of ex-President Al-

berto Fujimori, the jailed auto-

crat who ruled Peru in the

1990s and at one point closed

Congress.

Peruvians have little sympa-

thy for Congress, which is

deeply unpopular here due to

accusations of rampant cor-

ruption. On Tuesday, one law-

WORLDWATCH

EL SALVADOR

U.S. Eases Warning

On Travel Safety

The U.S. State Department

eased its travel advisory for El

Salvador, days after the U.S.

government signed an agree-

ment with the Central American

country to send some asylum

seekers in the U.S. there.

El Salvador’s travel advisory

rating was reduced Tuesday to

Level 2, “Exercise increased cau-

tion when traveling to El Salva-

dor due to crime.” The State

Department noted that the

country has a high murder rate

and other violent crime due to

widespread gang activity.

It was previously Level 3, the

second-highest rating.

A State Department spokes-

man said the travel advisory

change wasn’t connected to the

recent agreement on asylum.

—Michelle Hackman

EUROPE

‘Fast-Track System’

For Refugees Backed

Four European Union nations

will seek endorsement next

week from their EU partners for

a “fast-track system” for getting

migrants off boats in trouble in

the Mediterranean Sea and dis-

tributing people aboard who

want to seek asylum among

countries willing to take them.

Germany, France, Italy and

Malta want approval for a pro-

cess that would screen migrants,

relocate asylum seekers and re-

turn people who don’t apply or

qualify, all within four weeks, ac-

cording to a statement obtained

by the civil-liberties watchdog

Statewatch.

—Associated Press

CANADA

Weak Energy Output

Stalled Growth in July

The Canadian economy unex-

pectedly stalled in July following

four straight monthly advances,

as a decline in oil and gas extrac-

tion weighed on overall growth.

Canada’s gross domestic

product, which tracks broad ac-

tivity in goods and services in

the economy, was essentially un-

changed in July from the previ-

ous month at a seasonally ad-

justed 1.970 trillion Canadian

dollars (US$1.488 trillion), Statis-

tics Canada said Tuesday. The

result marks a slowdown from

the 0.2% month-over-month in-

crease posted in June and a re-

vised 0.3% advance in May.

On a one-year basis, the

economy grew 1.3% in July.

—Kim Mackrael

SPAIN

Catalonia Rallies

Mark Secession Vote

Thousands of supporters of

the secession of Catalonia from

the rest of Spain marched in

Barcelona on Tuesday to mark

two years since a banned inde-

pendence referendum that shook

Spanish politics.

More rallies were held in

towns across the northeastern

Catalonia region of 7.5 million

people, where separatist senti-

ment has been on the rise for

nearly a decade.

Police in Barcelona estimated

18,000 people participated.

Many carried pro-independence

flags and shouted “Not forgot-

ten, not forgiven!” in reference

to clashes between voters and

police during the referendum.

—Associated Press

Washington has for years

supported the GNA and ini-

tially condemned Mr. Haftar’s

offensive. But at the urging of

Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Presi-

dent Trump called Mr. Haftar

in mid-April and “discussed a

shared vision for Libya’s tran-

sition to a stable, democratic

political system,” the White

House said.

“This muddled, divided

global approach has been a

gift to Libyan actors on the

ground, because they can turn

to different sides,” said Fred-

eric Wehrey, a fellow at the

Carnegie Endowment for In-

ternational Peace.

—David Gauthier-Villars

and Jared Malsin

contributed to this article.

Yusuf bin al-Amin, above, commands a militia supporting the United Nations-backed government in Tripoli. His fighters, including

these operating from a house south of the capital, work with limited, often defective equipment, some of it from the Soviet era.

ANDRÉ LIOHN FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (2)

In Capital in Limbo,

‘People Are Tired’

Gas lines in Libya’s capital

snake around entire blocks,

matched only by those of

people waiting at banks low

on cash. Across Tripoli, con-

struction projects have sat

unfinished for years with

cranes still hovering overhead.

In a bank line, Amnia Ibra-

him, a 52-year-old high-school

art teacher and mother of six,

said she and her husband had

taken additional jobs to sup-

port their family because her

bank branch rarely has cash

to dispense.

Over the previous four

days, power outages had

blanketed Tripoli, leaving her

without electricity.

As the conflict drags on

between Khalifa Haftar’s

forces and militias defending

the city, some in Tripoli have

warmed to Mr. Haftar.

“I think he will bring back

order,” Ms. Ibrahim said of Mr.

Haftar. “People are tired.”

Protesters once demon-

strated against Mr. Haftar on

Fridays at Tripoli’s Martyrs

Square, where Moammar

Gadhafi used to hang dissi-

dents. Now, no one comes ex-

cept for families seeking dis-

traction, said a vendor selling

belts and sunflower seeds.

WORLD NEWS

maker was hit in the back of

the head with an orange pylon

outside Congress.

Mr. Vizcarra’s strategy

stands to improve his approval

ratings, currently around 50%,

said Alfredo Torres of pollster

Ipsos Peru. He said Congress

has about 10% to 15% support

among Peruvians.

“Everyone agrees with what

the president did,” said Irma

Caceres, a 46-year-old in

Lima’s middle-class San Miguel

neighborhood. “There is so

much theft in Congress, they

don’t do anything for the

country.”

Hugo Perea, chief economist

forPeruatBBVAResearch,

said a drawn-out dispute could

hurt a projected economic re-

covery. He expects the econ-

omy to accelerate 3.4% next

year from 2.5% this year. “If

this is not resolved in the next

few days, many investors will

put their plans on hold,” he

said.

Peru’s biggest business or-

ganization, Confiep, criticized

Mr. Vizcarra’s move as a viola-

tion of the constitution that

undermined democracy and in-

creased political uncertainty in

one of Latin America’s stron-

gest economies.

Peru’s political class has

been roiled by corruption in-

vestigations stemming from a

scandal involving Brazilian

construction company Ode-

brecht, which paid millions of

dollars in bribes to win public-

works contracts. Three of

Peru’s past presidents are un-

der investigation in connection

with the scandal, while an-

other former president, Alan

García, died by suicide this

year when police tried to ar-

rest him.

LIMA—Peru’s political crisis
deepened with both the presi-
dent and his vice president
claiming to be head of state
and defiant lawmakers occupy-
ing the legislature on Tuesday
even after it was shut down.
The turmoil, with roots in a
corruption crisis, culminates a
bitter confrontation between
President Martín Vizcarra and
Congress, which is controlled
by lawmakers from a party
loyal to jailed opposition
leader Keiko Fujimori.
The latest crisis erupted on
Monday when Mr. Vizcarra
dissolved Congress, which re-
sponded by suspending the
president’s powers and swear-
ing in the vice president as the
new leader. Peru’s armed
forces and national police
backed Mr. Vizcarra late Mon-
day, saying he remained their
“supreme leader,” as the public
also supported him.
“I think the majority view is
that Vizcarra will prevail but I
just hope and pray there is no
violence,” said Cynthia McClin-
tock, a Peru expert at George
Washington University. “The
opposition is clearly not going
to take this lying down.”
Mr. Vizcarra, in shutting
down Congress and setting
new legislative elections for
Jan. 26, accused lawmakers of
obstructing the government’s
anticorruption revamp and
trying to stack the country’s
top court. Mr. Vizcarra had
proposed early elections to
break the impasse, which Con-
gress rejected last week.
“Peruvian people, we’ve
done everything we can,” said
Mr. Vizcarra on Monday.
“However, it’s clear that the

BYRYANDUBE

Crisis Divides Peru’s Political Class

President Martín Vizcarra announced the dissolution of Congress

on Monday, prompting a standoff with opposition lawmakers.

TRIPOLI, Libya—When Tur-
key sent armored vehicles here
in May to help stave off an at-
tack on the capital, there was a
problem: The trucks didn’t
have mounted machine guns.
“Because they lack weap-
ons, they do us more harm
than good,” said militia com-
mander Yusuf bin al-Amin.
“They are essentially just
closed boxes, and those inside
die if it’s hit with a missile.”
Foreign powers have fun-
neled military support to both
sides of Libya’s civil war—but
not enough to give either a de-
cisive advantage.
On one side is the United
Nations-recognized Govern-
ment of National Accord, or
GNA, which controls Tripoli
and much of the country’s west
with help from arms supplied
by Turkey. On the other is the
attacking force of Khalifa Haf-
tar, a Libyan-American dual
citizen who rules the country’s
east and south with help from
Egypt, the United Arab Emir-
ates and Saudi Arabia.
In June, the government re-
captured the strategically im-
portant town of Gharyan, south
of Tripoli, from Mr. Haftar. But
since then the conflict has
stalled, with efforts to broker
peace sidelined by fighting.
The conflict risks becoming
another dragged-out war in a
region where foreign powers
are also major actors in Yemen
and Syria.
“This is not a war between
Libya’s east and west,” said
Fayez al-Sarraj, prime minister
of the GNA. “It is between
people who back civilian gov-
ernment and those who want
military rule.”
More than 1,000 people
have been killed during the
battle for the Libyan capital
according to the U.N.; entire
Tripoli suburbs have been
evacuated and hospitals have
been bombed.
For months, militia com-
manders allied with the GNA
have been clamoring for more
Turkish weapons for a decisive
counterattack, complaining
that Mr. Haftar’s forces are

better armed, with more com-

mitted foreign backers.

Mr. Sarraj said that in addi-

tion to receiving military sup-

port from Egypt and the

United Arab Emirates, Mr. Haf-

tar is employing mercenaries

from Africa. He said his gov-

ernment has also found evi-

dence—including personal ef-

fects found on the battlefield

and videos posted online—that

Russian private military con-

tractors are fighting alongside

Mr. Haftar’s forces.

Foreign interference “is

making the situation more dif-

ficult. It is not helping Libyans

sit down and find a solution,”

he said.

The militias defending the

capital say they often rely on

Soviet-era weapons left over

from the fallen regime of Col.

Moammar Gadhafi, to hold off

Mr. Haftar’s forces. As bullets

flew over their heads, young

militia members on the front

line on the southern edge of

Tripoli struggled recently with

a Soviet-era 120 mm mortar.

To avoid a dangerous misfire,

one fighter tied a white rope

to the launcher’s switch, al-

lowing it to be fired from a

nearby house.

“If we were with Haftar,

you’d see all new weapons,”

said Muneer al-Swaih, a 32-

year-old member of Mr. al-

Amin’s militia.

Mr. al-Amin lamented the

state of his militia’s equip-

ment, as a young fighter drove

up an oft-targeted road on a

moped. “This is what we drive

to the front-line on,” he said.

Mr. al-Amin wore cargo

pants, a black T-shirt and san-

dals. Like many of his fighters,

he has eschewed traditional

combat gear because of the

heat, making the government’s

forces look more like ragtag

fighters than an army.

Mr. Haftar has framed his

offensive as a liberation of

Tripoli from a weak govern-

ment that can’t keep the elec-

tricity on, fill bank coffers or

control the militias that patrol

its streets.

The Saudis and some other

Middle Eastern states have

backed Mr. Haftar, saying he is

a bulwark against Islamist

groups, notably the Muslim

Brotherhood.

Turkey has sought to coun-

ter the influence of Gulf states

in Libya and prevent Mr. Haf-

tar from taking over the coun-

try. In May, Turkey began

delivering armored vehicles

and armed drones to Tripoli,

selling $350 million of military

equipment to the GNA, said

people familiar with the

matter.

But Turkish President Re-

cep Tayyip Erdogan is hesitant

to be sucked deeper into an

arms race with wealthy Gulf

states, the people said.

A Turkish government

spokesman declined to com-

ment on the equipment sold to

Libya. Turkish officials said its

arms sales were concluded

within the framework of a 2012

bilateral defense pact and

didn’t violate the embargo.

Saudi Arabia offered Mr.

Haftar tens of millions of dol-

lars in financial aid before his

advance on Tripoli, according

to senior advisers to the Saudi

government, which says it

maintains an even hand in

Libya and backs U.N. media-

tion efforts. The Saudi govern-

ment hasn’t commented about

its support to Mr. Haftar.

Egypt and the U.A.E. have

provided air support to Mr.

Haftar’s forces, according to a

U.N. panel that monitors a 2011

arms embargo that limits sup-

port to both sides. Egypt denies

it has provided air support and

the U.A.E. hasn’t acknowledged

the presence of its aircraft.

U.S. officials say they are

consulting with a range of Lib-

yan leaders to bring both sides

back to the negotiating table.

BYRAJAABDULRAHIM

Military Aid

Brings Libya

To Stalemate

Fight for the capital

drags on with support

to both sides from

foreign powers

JUAN PABLO AZABACHE/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES