ARGENTINA: Argentines demand justice for man who disappeared after testifying in Dirty War trial

Record ID: 447352

  • Title: ARGENTINA: Argentines demand justice for man who disappeared after testifying in Dirty War trial
  • Date: 19th September 2011
  • Summary: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (SEPTEMBER 18, 2011) (REUTERS TV) VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS GATHERING IN FRONT OF CONGRESS BEFORE MARCH VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS WALKING WHILE HOLDING FLAGS AND POSTERS MIRIAM BERGMAN, ATTORNEY FOR MAN WHO DISAPPEARED, JULIO LOPEZ, WITH OTHER PROTESTERS
  • Embargoed: 4th October 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Argentina, Argentina
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA1ULFGL9T8K7XSETZALBEI59F2
  • Story Text: Thousands of Argentines marched on Sunday (September 18) to mark the five-year anniversary of the disappearance of a key witness who helped convict Buenos Aires' former police commander of dictatorship-era crimes.
    Thousands of people held posters and signs demanding to know what happened to former bricklayer Julio Lopez.
    In 2006, 77-year old Lopez testified that Miguel Etchecolatz was responsible for his kidnapping on October 27 of 1976-- the height of the country's military dictatorship.
    Etchecolatz was sentenced to life in prison for the murder, torture and kidnapping of six people during Argentina's 'Dirty War' years. Shortly thereafter, Lopez disappeared.
    Attorney Miriam Bergman said that the investigation into the disappearance has not progressed because Buenos Aires police was put in charge of it.
    "What we know is that all the clues in the case point to the Buenos Aires police. What we were told is that the governability of the (police) force was going to be a priority. That's what (2006 Buenos Aires province security minister) Arslanian told us and today, when all the clues lead to the Buenos Aires police, they've been guaranteed impunity," she said.
    Workers Party leader Nestor Pitrola said that the investigation into Lopez has been a sham, which he says proves that the city's current police department is still the same one that ruled the capital with an iron hand.
    "They're not searching for Jorge Julio Lopez anymore; that is public and notorious knowledge. When they were searching, they were raking and doing all kinds of show like that. They didn't search in the only place they needed to search which was at the Buenos Aires police station. That's where the disappearance of Jorge Julio Lopez leads. That's where they need to investigate. But if neither (Buenos Aires province Governor Daniel) Scioli nor (President) Cristina (Fernandez de) Kirchner want to investigate Buenos Aires police. They govern from that Buenos Aires tradition of forgiving crime, of being trigger-happy, of repressing popular movements which is the continuation of the Buenos Aires police of the dictatorship," he said.
    The military junta swept to power on March 24, 1976 in a bloodless coup d'etat to try and stamp out leftist and at times armed militants who drew upon the lessons of their countryman, Ernesto "Che" Guevara, most famous for helping foment the 1959 Cuban revolution.
    A government report says more than 11,000 people died or disappeared during the 'Dirty War.' Human rights groups, including the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, estimate that more than 30,000 people disappeared during the era's violence.
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