Argentina returns the favour

In the early 2000s, Argentinian victims of the Dirty War, denied justice due to a local amnesty, sought justice in Spanish courts, who obligingly convicted agents of that country's dictatorship of crimes against humanity under Spain's "universal jurisdiction" law. But Argentina wasn't the only country with a repressive dictatorship which engaged in crimes against humanity and then wrote itself an amnesty: Spain was like that too! And now, Argentina's courts are returning the favour, indicting a former Spanish Minister forf murder for their role in the Franco regime's crimes:

An Argentinian judge investigating cases that happened during the Franco dictatorship in Spain has indicted a former Spanish minister on four counts of homicide.

Judge Maria Servini de Cubria, sitting in Buenos Aires, issued the ruling against Rodolfo Martín Villa, 87, interior minister between 1976 and 1979.

The judge wrote that she considered Martín Villa “the prima facie perpetrator criminally responsible for the crime of aggravated homicide, repeated on at least four occasions, of which Pedro María Martínez Ocio, Romualdo Barroso Chaparro, Francisco Aznar Clemente and Germán Rodríguez Saíz were victims”.

This is good: the crimes of the Franco regime are still unaddressed, thanks to their self-serving amnesty, and it has allowed fascist attitudes to persist throughout their government. In Argentina, international trials helped open the door for rejection of the amnesty and for justice to be delivered at home. And hopefully the same will happen with Spain.

Justice for Yemen?

In 2015, Saudi Arabia invaded Yemen. In the three years since, they've bombed hospitals, used banned cluster bombs and white phosphorus, and indiscriminately slaughtered civilians. The architect of the invasion is crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (yes, the man who ordered journalist Jamal Khashoggi killed). He is currently visiting Argentina for a G20 meeting. And Argentina has just begun a war crimes investigation against him:

An Argentinian prosecutor has agreed to pursue a case against Saudi Arabia‘s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, over possible war crimes in Yemen, according to Human Rights Watch.

HRW petitioned Argentina's judiciary on Monday to use a clause in its constitution to prosecute Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, who arrived in the country to attend the G20 summit in Buenos Aires.

Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of HRW’s Middle East and North Africa Division, announced on Twitter that a prosecutor has agreed to take up the case, and asked a judge to request information from Yemeni and Saudi authorities regarding alleged war crimes, and had also asked Argentina's foreign ministry whether the crown prince's diplomatic status might allow a legal proceeding to go forward.

“The Argentine judiciary, by taking steps towards a formal investigation, is sending a clear message that even powerful officials like Mohammed bin Salman are not above the law and will be scrutinised if implicated in grave international crimes," Ms Whitson said in an emailed statement to The Independent.

But we need more than scrutiny - if the evidence is there, we need arrest and prosecution. And we need bin Salman to be facing that threat not just from Argentina, but the entire world.

This is how you deal with spies

Two weeks ago Alberto Nisman, an Argentinian prosecutor, was found dead in his apartment. Nisman had been investigating a government deal to cover up the Iranian bombing of a Jewish community centre in 1994, and was due to testify to parliament about it. The death was posed as a suicide, but was suspicious, and the motive was pretty clear - clear enough that Argentina's president has accepted that her own spies murdered him. Unlike the US, where spies get to torture and murder with impunity, she's doing something about it: dissolving the spy-agency responsible:

Argentina’s president announced a major shakeup of her country’s intelligence network on Monday in her most combative step yet to address the fallout from the death of prosecutor Alberto Nisman.

In her first televised address since the prosecutor’s body was found at his apartment on 18 January, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner said she would support a bill to dissolve the existing structure – which employs more than 2,000 people – and replace it with a new federal intelligence agency.

Obviously those responsible need to be found and prosecuted as well (and Kirchner could have dirty hands too - there's almost certainly more to see here). But there's clearly a toxic culture amongst Argentina's spies, which hasn't been stamped out from the era of the dictatorship. Time to get rid of them.

Convincing

Voters in the Falkland islands have voted overwhelmingly to remain a British territory, with only 4 of 1,517 votes cast voting against. I'd say that's a convincing mandate. But the Argentine Government is refusing to accept it:

Ahead of the referendum, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner had said the inhabitants' wishes were not relevant in what is a territorial issue.

To the contrary, its the only thing which is relevant. The UN recognises the principle of self-determination, and its simply unthinkable in the modern era for a democratic country to legitimately claim ownership of a territory whose people do not want to be governed in that way.

Of course, exactly the same principle applies to Scotland...

Justice for the disappeared

Between 1976 and 1983, Argentina's military junta waged a campaign of violence against dissidents, students, and unionists known as the "Dirty War". Thousands were disappeared, tortured and murdered by government death squads, their bodies flung from the backs of planes over the Atlantic Ocean to prevent any evidence from coming to light. One particular horror was the theft of the children of the victims, who were given to military families to raise. An estimated 400 children were stolen in this manner.

Yesterday, former dictators Jorge Videla and Reynaldo Bignone were convicted for their role in that crime. Videla was sentenced to 50 years in prison, Bignone to 15. Both are already serving lengthy prison sentences for torture, murder, and disappearance, and will likely die in jail. But this doesn't make the convictions pointless. The trial has uncovered and acknowledged the truth. While that makes no difference to Videla, it makes all the difference in the world to his victims.

Justice for torture in Argentina

Between 1976 and 1983, Argentina's military junta waged a campaign of violence against dissidents, students, and unionists known as the "Dirty War". Thousands were disappeared, tortured and murdered by government death squads, their bodies flung from the backs of planes over the Atlantic Ocean to prevent any evidence from coming to light. Yesterday, former naval officer Alfredo Astiz was sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity for his part in those killings. Astiz worked in an intelligence unit operating from the Naval Mechanical School (ESMA) in Buenos Aires, a notorious torture centre and death camp. He specialised in infiltrating peaceful opposition groups, identifying their leaders, then disappearing, torturing, and murdering them. Among his proven victims were French nuns Alice Domon and Léonie Duquet, and the founders of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, a group which protested against disappearances. None of these people committed any crime; they were murdered because they spoke out against the crimes of the government and people like Astiz.

Fifteen other former military officers were also jailed for their crimes at ESMA, eleven of them for life. They're not the first, and they won't be the last. Argentina is settling its score with the dictatorship and their torturers, finally providing justice for their victims.

Justice for the disappeared

Between 1976 and 1983, Argentina's military junta waged a campaign of violence against dissidents, students, and unionists known as the "Dirty War". Thousands were disappeared, tortured and murdered by government death squads, their bodies flung from the backs of planes over the Atlantic Ocean to prevent any evidence from coming to light. Today, former General Eduardo Cabanillas and three accomplices were sentenced to life imprisonment for their role in those crimes. Cabanillas ran a secret prison where hundreds of left-wing activists were tortured and murdered as part of the regime's programme of political cleansing; the bodies were dumped in a river in cement-filled drums.

This is just one of a series of cases. Since 2005, when the regime's purported amnesty was overturned by the Supreme Court, dozens of regime figures, including former dictators Reynaldo Bignone and Jorge Videla have been tried and convicted for their crimes against humanity. Argentina is comprehensively settling its score with the dictatorship, finally providing justice for the disappeared.

The domino effect

Last week, Argentina legalised same-sex marriage. But the law change hasn't just affected Argentina - now two of its neighbours, Paraguay and Uruguay, are also looking at legislating for marriage equality.

So, when is New Zealand going to catch up? Or are we going to continue to pander to bigotry by denying gays full equality and instead offering them only "separate but equal"?

Equality comes to Argentina

Argentina's Senate has voted to legalise same-sex marriage, making Argentina the first country in South America to affirm full equality for gays. And hopefully the rest won't be too far behind. Meanwhile, New Zealand still lags behind with "separate but equal" civil unions. Isn't it time we reclaimed our mantle as the most progressive country in the world?

More justice for disappearance

Between 1976 and 1983, Argentina's military junta waged a campaign of violence against dissidents, students, and unionists known as the "Dirty War". Thousands were disappeared, tortured and murdered by government death squads, their bodies flung from the backs of planes over the Atlantic Ocean to prevent any evidence from coming to light. When democracy was restored, former dictator Jorge Rafael Videla was put on trial and sentenced to life imprisonment for murder for these crimes. He was pardoned after serving less than five years, but the pardon was overturned by the courts last year. Now, he is being prosecuted for an additional 49 cases of kidnapping, torture, and murder.

While Videla is already in jail, this isn't pointless. An important part of such trials is to uncover and acknowledge the truth: that people were disappeared, tortured, and murdered, and that this was illegal and part of a crime against humanity. An additional life sentence would make no practical difference to Videla. But recognising his crimes as crimes would make a world of difference to his victims and the world.

Justice for disappearance

Between 1976 and 1983, Argentina's military junta waged a campaign of violence against dissidents, students, and unionists known as the "Dirty War". Thousands were disappeared, tortured and murdered by government death squads, their bodies flung from the backs of planes over the Atlantic Ocean to prevent any evidence from coming to light. Today, former dictator Reynaldo Bignone and six accomplices were sentenced to 25 years imprisonment on 56 charges of murder, torture, and kidnapping. This is just the tip of the iceberg of the crimes against humanity committed during that era - estimates of the death toll range from ten to thirty thousand - but one provable case is all it takes. These human rights abusers will now be in jail for the rest of their natural lives, condemned by the apparatus of the democratic state they tried to strangle. It may have been slow in coming, but there is finally some justice for the disappeared.

(The reason for the delay? Because the first post-junta government granted the military an amnesty for their crimes. It took until 2003 for the laws to be repealed, and 2005 for the courts to declare that they had absolutely no effect and that prosecutions could begin. Voreqe Bainimarama take note!)

Equality comes to Argentina

An Argentinean judge has overturned that country's ban on same-sex marriage on the basis that it violated the constitutional right to equality. The government will not appeal, and now the first same-sex marriage licence has been issued. Unfortunately due to Argentina's legal system, the ruling did not create a precedent - other gay couples will have to go to court to enforce their right to marry - but it is likely to be cemented by legislation in the near future.

Argentina decriminalises marijuana

The Argentinean Supreme Court has struck down some of the country's drug laws, ruling that it is unconstitutional to prosecute and punish private marijuana use:

The Argentine court ruled that: "Each adult is free to make lifestyle decisions without the intervention of the state."

Supreme Court President Ricardo Lorenzetti said private behaviour was legal, "as long as it doesn't constitute clear danger".

"The state cannot establish morality," he said.

Its a solid, liberal decision, and one which has the support of the government. They're expected to pass amendments defining a personal possession threshold in the near future.

The full ruling is here, for those who read Spanish.

Justice for disappearance

Between 1976 and 1983, Argentina's military junta waged a campaign of violence against dissidents, students, and unionists known as the "Dirty War". Thousands were disappeared, tortured and murdered by government death squads, their bodies flung from the backs of planes over the Atlantic Ocean to prevent any evidence from coming to light. Today, two of the worst perpetrators of those crimes were finally held accountable for their actions during that era. Antonio Bussi and Luciano Menendez, both senior generals in the military regime, were sentenced to life imprisonment for the kidnapping and disappearance of a leftist senator in 1976. Given that they are in their 80's, that jail sentence might be short, but they have been held to account. After 32 years, there has been some justice for the disappeared.

This is why the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance is so important: it means that people like these will not be able to find sanctuary anywhere in the world, but will instead face justice for their crimes. And that is why New Zealand should sign it.

The ghost of the "Dirty War"

Between 1976 and 1983, Argentina's military junta waged a campaign of violence against dissidents, students, and unionists known as the "Dirty War". Thousands were disappeared, tortured and murdered by government death squads, their bodies flung from the backs of planes over the Atlantic Ocean to prevent any evidence from coming to light. Argentina is now confronting its past, and prosecuting those responsible for these atrocities, but it is still haunted by the ghost of past terror. In two recent cases against former torturers, key witnesses have disappeared. One has still not been found. And now it has happened again. Lt Colonel Paul Navone, a former army officer, was scheduled to testify about the fate of two babies kidnapped by the regime and given up for adoption. He has just been found dead. While the circumstances suggest suicide, there's a strong suspicion that he was murdered.

Far from being over, it seems that Argentina's "Dirty War" will not end until the last of those responsible is behind bars...

Argentina votes

Argentina went to the polls today in Presidential and legislative elections, and according to preliminary results, Senator Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (partner of current President Néstor Kirchner) has won the presidency with 46.3% of the vote. Her nearest rival, Elisa Carrió, gained only 23.7%, but in a crowded field of 14 candidates was hoping to make it to a run-off (under Argentina's two-round system, the winner needs to get 45%, or at least 40% with a 10-point lead, otherise there is a run-off between the two top candidates). So, Argentina has its first elected woman president; unfortunately, she's a Peronist.

(Argentina's first woman president, Isabel Martínez de Perón, was originally elected as vice-president and succeeded after her husband died. She was toppled by the military shortly afterwards, and is currently under house arrest in Spain awaiting extradition back to Argentina for crimes against humanity).

Luis Gerez

Desaparecido
27-12-2006

Between 1976 and 1983, Argentina's military junta waged a campaign of violence against dissidents, students, and unionists known as the "Dirty War". Thousands were disappeared, tortured and murdered by government death squads, their bodies flung from the backs of planes over the Atlantic Ocean to prevent any evidence. Following the fall of the junta, the new civilian government issued an amnesty for those responsible, but this was overturned by the Argentinean Supreme Court in 2005. And so there began to be justice for the crimes of the past, with former military officers and torturers dragged into court and made to account for their crimes.

Unfortunately, the terror isn't over. Earlier this year a witness in the first trial, Jorge Lopez, vanished within days of the sentence being handed down. Neither he nor his body has yet been found. And now Luiz Gerez, a man who testified against a prominent right-wing congressman and caused him to lose his seat, has also disappeared. The government is blaming former members of the security forces, but one thing is becoming clear: that this will not end until there is justice, and the last of these criminals is behind bars.

Update: Gerez has been found - but it seems Argentinians' worst fears were realised. According to the Washington Post, he "had been abducted by three men who had blindfolded, beat and burned him with cigarettes". These people it seems are willing to return to the tactics of the past in an effort to escape justice. They must not be allowed to get away with it.

Jorge Julio López

Desaparecido
18-9-2006

It has been over twenty years since the end of Argentina's "Dirty War", and messages like the above were thought to be a bad memory of the past. But the process of bringing justice for the disappeared, and prosecuting the junta's agents for their crimes has reopened old wounds and brought the past back to life. Last week, Miguel Etchecolatz, a former police chief under the dictatorship, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the kidnap, torture, and murder of dissidents. A key witness in the trial was Jorge Julio López, who testified about his detention and torture at Etchecolatz's hands. Now, he has disappeared - and Argentinians fear he has been kidnapped by former agents of the junta eager to intimidate those who would testify in future.

Fortunately, they're not taking it lying down; tens of thousands have marched in Buenos Aires to protest Lopez's disappearance and demand the government get to the bottom of it. The demand for justice for the past is strong. We just have to hope that kidnapping witnesses and threatening judges is not enough to thwart it.

Justice for the disappeared

Argentina's Supreme Court has declared the country's amnesty laws unconstitutional. Military officers who had committed human rights abuses under the 1976 - 83 military regime were protected from prosecution. The Supreme Court's decision clears the way for them to finally face justice.

Given that at least thirty thousand people were disappeared or murdered by the regime, and thousands more tortured, I'd say the Argentine courts are going to have their work cut out for them.