Peru’s new government asks Congress to approve security measures

President Keiko Fujimori, who took office on Tuesday, has promised to address soaring security concerns across the Andean nation. (EPA Images pic)LIMA: Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori's cabinet on Wednesday sought congressional approval of its crime-fighting measures after meeting for the first time.Conservative Fujimori took office Tuesday, promising to address soaring security concerns across the Andean nation.Her inauguration speech detailed plans to deploy the army to areas where extortion, drug trafficking and illegal mining are rife.Wednesday's 90-minute cabinet meeting resulted in "a series of measures to strengthen citizen security", a presidential statement read.The cabinet asked Congress to grant the government the powers it needed to "firmly confront the country's urgent challenges," it said, without specifying which powers it meant.The newly appointed leader is the daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori, who ruled in the 1990s.He was eventually jailed for corruption and crimes against humanity committed during what he considered a fight against terrorism.His daughter wants to combat crime by expelling undocumented people, setting up courts with anonymous judges and making prisoners work for their food.While some Peruvians look forward to another hardline Fujimori administration, others – including families of state violence victims – fear that a crime crackdown will lead to abuses.Peru is going through its worst security crisis in decades, fuelled by the spread of both local and foreign criminal gangs that oversee contract killings and extortion."The main demand of the people… is that we fight against citizen insecurity," Foreign Minister Carlos Espa told reporters."I am sure that the opposition will support this request," he added.Peruvian security forces recognised Fujimori as their leader at an official ceremony on Wednesday morning, after which she attended a military parade to celebrate national independence.Fujimori has also vowed to tackle the impacts of the El Nino climate phenomenon, which meteorologists predict will be the most intense and devastating since 1998.