- Title: Argentines take to the streets against crime and insecurity
- Date: 12th October 2016
- Summary: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (OCTOBER 11, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS AGAINST CRIME AND LACK OF SECURITY GATHERED OUTSIDE CONGRESS WOMEN CRYING WITH PHOTOS OF LOVED ONES WHO WERE VICTIMS OF CRIME / PROTESTERS DEMANDING DEATH PENALTY WOMAN CRYING DURING PROTEST WOMAN CHANTING NAME OF JUDGE AND DEMANDING JUSTICE FOR MURDERED SON PHOTO OF YOUNG VICTIM OF CRIME (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MOTHER OF VICTIM OF CRIME, NILDA GOMEZ, SAYING: "It's easy to kill and it's cheap because you go in and leave (jail). It's just a process, it's probation etc. This is why people are protesting in this way and we hope that as there are many protesters that ministers, the executive and various officials will change this. This is also why we're here." VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS DEMANDING JUSTICE WITH PHOTOS OF CHILDREN WHO WERE VICTIMS OF CRIME VARIOUS OF WOMAN WITH PHOTO OF CHILD WHO WAS A VICTIM OF CRIME CRYING (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MOTHER OF VICTIM OF CRIME, ANDREA FERREIRA, SAYING: "The culprit was a minor and is free. We need a reduction in impunity for minors, that victims have lawyers, an effective enforcement of sentences because the judicial process is very long. We have gone out to march despite our pain, we should be at home with our grief." VARIOUS OF PROTESTERS WITH PHOTOS OF VICTIMS DEMANDING JUSTICE VARIOUS OF PHOTOS OF VICTIMS OF CRIME
- Embargoed: 27th October 2016 01:36
- Keywords: protest Argentina Buenos Aires crime insecurity
- Location: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
- City: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
- Country: Argentina
- Reuters ID: LVA00153KBUPV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Thousands of Argentines gathered outside Buenos Aires' Congress building on Tuesday (October 11) to denounce crime in the country and demand stiffer penalties for offenders.
Parents and allies wept outside Congress as they demanded justice for their children who have been murdered. They are from a group locally known as the Madres del Dolor, or Mothers of Pain in English.
Nilda Gomez's son was killed in a fire. She hopes that the big turnout for the anti-crime protest will shake authorities into action.
"It's easy to kill and it's cheap because you go in and leave (jail). It's just a process, it's probation etc. This is why people are protesting in this way and we hope that as there are many protesters that ministers, the executive and various officials will change this. This is also why we're here," she said.
Other mothers had similar stories of grief. Andrea Ferreira's some was killed by a minor firing a gun.
She says that authorities need to get tougher on minors who commit crimes.
"The culprit was a minor and is free. We need a reduction in impunity for minors, that victims have lawyers, an effective enforcement of sentences because the judicial process is very long. We have gone out to march despite our pain, we should be at home with our grief," said Ferreira.
Argentina has long suffered from widespread corruption which many protesters say have hobbled their search for justice.
According to the United States' Bureau of Diplomatic Security crime report on Argentina in 2016, there has been an uptick in home invasions and violent robberies have been occurring with increasing frequency.
Crime statistics in Argentina are scant, but the U.S. State Department regards crime as a "serious problem" in the nation. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
