South American leaders move to expose past dictators' misdeeds

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Sun, Aug. 24, 2003

South American leaders move to expose past dictators' misdeeds
By KEVIN G. HALL
Knight Ridder Newspapers

ASUNCION, Paraguay - Leaders in Argentina, Brazil and Chile are taking new steps to expose the killing, torture or other abuse of thousands of their countrymen by right-wing dictators from the 1960s to the 1980s. Paraguay's new president is expected to follow suit. The latest action came Thursday, when Argentina's Senate, pushed by new liberal President Nestor Kirchner, voted overwhelmingly to revoke amnesty laws passed in 1986 and 1987 that had protected generals and their henchmen from prosecution.

Some of the motivation behind the new aggressiveness is personal: The old regimes oppressed, imprisoned or very personally offended three of the new left-liberal presidents: Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Chile's Ricardo Lagos and Kirchner. The cleansing initiatives are widely popular, and easier now that the old regimes' leaders, such as Chile's ailing Gen. Augusto Pinochet, 87, are no longer intimidating figures.

It's also important for Latin countries to clarify their recent dark histories and sanction human-rights criminals who've lived and often prospered in their midst, many victims and their advocates say. Marcial Riquelme, a Kansas State University scholar who fled Paraguay's military regime 40 years ago, called the region's new effort "a recovering of the collective memory." Until there's an accounting of what happened to the victims, Riquelme said, "It is like an air crash where no bodies were recovered."

South America's conflicts were brutal. In Argentina, some killers trafficked the children of victims. In Chile, research centers were established to determine how much torture a victim could withstand before dying.

Revisiting the past has risks for U.S.-Latin relations, because Washington staunchly supported the old, right-wing regimes as Cold War allies or as buffers against Soviet or Cuban expansion. Some of the information sought involves allegations against U.S. officials and policies. (snip/...)

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/6587231.htm

[pfitz59]

1. BFEE dirt surfacing?

What are the odds they'll turn up incriminating evidence against the Bushistas? That would be grand!

[jamesinca]

5. Is this why Rummy is on official business in Cent. America

Things that just make you wonder. He is down there watching, I would bet on it. He is just as dirty as Regan, GHW Bush, Chenney, Baker and the whole lot that came from that era.

[dani]

2. revoking the amnesty laws

that protect mass murderers. It's about time. And I'm very glad to see this moving forward now.

[dArKeR]

3. Friendly Dictators Trading Cards (A look at the truth behind America)

http://home.iprimus.com.au/korob/fdtcards/SouthAmerica.html

[Squeech]

4. Because they don't need the USA any more

Brazil, Argentina, Chile and... um, I think it's Paraguay... have a trade treaty organization called Mercosul, along the lines of the old European Common Market. They would rather trade amongst themselves as more or less equals than join the FTAA and have American bankers pull their strings all the time.

Given that, exposing the USA's complicity in supporting their old dictators is not a problem.

[Kbowe]

6. Did they mention that most of them were US pawns?

I can't think of one evil-doer S. American dictator that we did not support in their moves against their own people...as we did with Saddam in Iraq during the 80's.

[bvar22]

7. Henry Kissinger's name will come up alot.

Henry is a wanted for conspiracy to commit murder in several South American countries.

To really get the goods on Reagan, poppy bush, and BFEE, look in El Salvadore, Guatamala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Columbia, and Venezuela.