ARGENTINA: LAWMAKERS DEBATE WHETHER TO REPEAL THE AMNESTY LAWS THAT SHIELD FORMER MILITARY OFFICERS FROM PROSECUTION

Record ID: 646074

  • Title: ARGENTINA: LAWMAKERS DEBATE WHETHER TO REPEAL THE AMNESTY LAWS THAT SHIELD FORMER MILITARY OFFICERS FROM PROSECUTION
  • Date: 14th August 2003
  • Summary: (W1) BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (AUGUST 12, 2003) (REUTERS) SLV DEMONSTRATORS GATHERED OUTSIDE CONGRESS WITH SIGNS; SCU SIGNS; SLV /SCU PROTESTORS (3 SHOTS) SCU/ MV CHILDREN OF DISAPPEARED VICTIMS WEARING WHITE SHIRTS; MV MOTHERS OF PLAZA DE MAYO; MVCHILDREN OF DISAPPEARED VICTIMS WITH MOTHERS OF PLAZA DE MAYO (7 SHOTS) (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTOR SAYING "There is a possibility that we will see the sinister people behind bars." MV/SCU POSTERS OF DISAPPEARED VICTIMS
  • Embargoed: 29th August 2003 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA3G69ZSLP24NOMFKZTD295I82V
  • Story Text: Argentine lawmakers have debated whether to repeal the amnesty laws that shield former military officers from prosecution.
    As thousands of protesters cheered outside Congress, Argentine lawmakers considered a bill on Tuesday (August 12, 2003) that would repeal the amnesty laws that shield from prosecution former dictatorship-era military officers accused of human rights violations.
    One of the two bills backed by President Nestor Kirchner would abolish the statue of limitations against suspected human rights violators, a measure put into place in the 1980s to protect military officers accused of torturing and murdering leftist opponents during the 1976-1983 "Dirty War."
    The other bill, which would annul the amnesties, is primarily symbolic since legal experts question whether Congress can nullify the laws and believe the Supreme Court may have the final say now that several lower courts have declared the amnesty unconstitutional.
    The moves increase political momentum on the court, which has been under pressure to repeal the laws since left-leaning Kirchner, who was briefly detained during the dictatorship, took office in May.
    Kirchner has already annulled a decree that prohibited officers accused of rights crimes from being extradited.
    His decision came one day after a judge ordered the arrest of 45 former military officers at the request of Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon.
    Garzon, famous for his ultimately unsuccessful legal crusade against former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, accuses them of murdering hundreds of Spanish citizens in Argentina.
    An annulment of the amnesties could block the extradition but would pave the way for trials in Argentina.
    Many rights groups say they would prefer to see the military tried in local courts.
    As many as 30,000 people were arrested, tortured and never seen again during the dicatorship, according to human rights groups.
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