Mujeres Libres

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Argentina Passes Gay Marriage Law

Thursday, 15 July 2010 21:34 Marie Trigona
Toward Freedom

Argentina approved a gay marriage law early this morning, making the country the first in Latin America where same-sex couples can wed. Same sex couples will now be granted the same rights, responsibilities and protections that married couples have. President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s government supported the bill and defied the Catholic Church’s opposition to the law.

Landmark vote

The Senate voted just before 4am, after 15 hours of intense debate. The law passed with a vote 33 to 27, with 3 abstaining. Leading up to the vote, activists stood outside of Congress listening to the heated debate, applauding and booing at the respective Senator’s deliberation. The law will cover adoption rights, inheritance protection, shared custody responsibilities and recognition and coverage of social security for same sex couples.

Religious groups opposing the law have pushed for the Senate to vote on a Civil Unions bill instead. That bill would limit the rights and protections for same sex couples. Outside of Senate building, Senator Miguel Ángel Pichetto, from the President’s Peronist Party said the government wouldn’t consider that option. A week before the Congressional vote, opposition pushed through by a slim margin add-on legislation for a Civil Unions bill which would have prohibited adoption and other rights for same-sex couples. During deliberations on the Senate floor Picheto considered the oppositions’ calls for modifications to the laws that had lower house approval synonymous with a “totalitarian state.”

Gay marriage

Nine same sex couples have already wed in Argentina, after a Buenos Aires judge overturned Argentina’s ban on same sex marriage in 2009. Alex Freyre and Jose Maria Di Bello were the first gay couple to get married in Argentina. Two hours before Thursday’s pre-dawn vote, Freyre told Toward Freedom he was hopeful. “I’m here enjoying the night on which Argentina will vote in favor of judicial equality. Tonight is a fundamental step toward an end to discrimination, a law that doesn’t justify legal discrimination,” he said. “It means that our families can have peace of mind in the face of the law, especially for children who live with gay and lesbian parents.”

Gay rights advocates rallied in support of the law which now guarantees equal rights as stated in Argentina’s constitution. Alberto Rucci, lived 18 years with his partner and when his partner died 2 years ago, his partner’s ex-wife inherited the house where they lived over a decade together. Legally, he could do nothing. Maria Alejandra Aranda, says that she as a lesbian wanted to law to pass so that gays, lesbians, bi-sexuals and trans-sexuals can come out and demand visibility without fear. “Now that the law is passed it is a triumph, because Argentina will truly be a progressive nation. Whether or not the law would have passed, we still would have won a cultural battle and gained support from society.” In the weeks leading up to the vote, groups held concerts and rallies throughout the nation. “We are considered second class citizens. The nation is civilized enough to guarantee equality, freedom and fraternity for everyone,” said Aranda.

Religious opposition

The legislation faced fierce opposition from the Catholic Church and Evangelicals. On the eve of the vote, tens of thousands from the religious community rallied in front of Congress to protest against the same-sex marriage law. Ninety one percent of Argentines identify as Catholic.. Maria Yrcovich, a 70-year old immigrant, opposed the legislation: “Why are we here? Because we are supporting what our Church asks us to. We are in favor of family. We are against what is unnatural. Homosexuals are people. But next, they are going to ask for a law to be able to marry an animal. It’s abnormal, it’s not normal. Marriage is for a man and women.”

The Catholic hierarchy in Argentina took a clear stance against gay marriage. The Church sanctioned a priest who defended gay marriage. Father Nicolas Alessio was sanctioned and prohibited from giving mass for his declarations in favor of equality in the sacrament of marriage. Alessio told the daily Pagina/12 that he would not accept the sanction and would continue giving mass, “this is censorship and punishment, they cannot prohibit me from exercising my calling.” The Catholic priest, Christian Von Wernich, charged with carry out human rights abuses while working in several of the clandestine detention centers used to disappear 30,000 dissidents during the 1976-1983 military dictatorship continues to give mass with the bishop’s blessing.

President Fernandez de Kirchner publically scorned the declarations from the Catholic hierarchy saying that “expressions such as ‘war of god’ or ‘devil’s law’ refer to times of the Inquisition” when rights were clearly violated. In a final attempt to gain opposition, groups held the rally under the banner, “All children deserve a mother and father.” The church paid for buses to bring people to and from the event, which evoked a natural order to marriage.

Argentina taking the lead

Argentina now joins the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal and Iceland as the 10th country to approve a nation-wide gay marriage law. Marcelo Torres, a public school teacher waited outside of Congress for the vote. “I’m here because I’m gay, and I support this law. I want to get my marriage just like any straight person in this country. And I’m very proud to be here. I think that this is probably one of the most important moments, because we are having great changes,” he said. “It would be like the first South American country with a gay marriage law. It would be like a revolution in South America and it will be related to other countries because they will follow us. I guess they will follow us.”

As the law passed at nearly 4am, hundreds outside of Congress celebrated, hugging each other in tears, in near freezing temperatures. For more than 10 years, gay rights activists have been working on the campaign for same-sex marriage. President of Argentina’s Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Bi-sexuals and Trans, Maria Rachid, says that more Latin American countries may follow Argentina’s lead in granting equal rights to gay couples.

“The law was passed because of how hard we fought. We are a ton of activists, from the Federation of Lesbian, Gays, and Trans who worked for this law to be passed. Today we are a more just and democratic society. And this is something we should all celebrate. And we can be proud to be the first country in Latin America to make this progress in Human Rights,” said Rachid.

Latin America to follow lead?

Although Argentina's capital Buenos Aires was the first to legalize same sex unions, not all rights were granted under the civil union code. No other Latin American nation has a nationwide gay marriage law. However, same-sex civil unions are legal in Uruguay and in some states in Brazil and Mexico. Gay marriage is legal in Mexico City. President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner backed the law and has vowed to pass the legislation.

With the gay marriage vote, Argentina transformed into a reference point for other governments in Latin America. Activists throughout South America plan to propose similar laws, in Chile and Paraguay. The Uruguayan gay community dissatisfied with limitation under the Civil Union statute also hopes to extend marriage right for same-sex couples. As activists celebrate the historic victor for equality and freedom, gay rights advocates hope that Argentina’s decision adds momentum to similar efforts around the world.

Marie Trigona is a writer, translator and radio producer based in South America. She can be reached through her blog: www.mujereslibres.blogspot.com

Argentina legalizes gay marriage – a first for Latin America

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Argentina approved a gay marriage law early this morning, making the country the first in Latin America where same-sex couples can wed. Same sex couples will now be granted the same rights, responsibilities and protections that other married couples have. From Buenos Aires, Marie Trigona reports:

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Latin America: Impunity in Plan Condor’s Shadows

Toward Freedom

Argentine Activists Demand End of Impunity for Plan Condor (Photo: Andres Santamarina)

“The precise pain, in the precise place, in the precise amount, for the desired effect.” - Dan Mitrione,United States government security advisor for the CIA in Latin America, and instructor in the art of torture teaching techniques in Uruguay during the nation's 1973-1985 military dictatorship.

US intervention continues to haunt Latin America, a region overrun with brutal military dictatorships during the 1970’s and 80’s. Dictatorships coordinated torture, assassinations and disappearances under a US-backed program in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. The program, called Plan Condor, was a shared strategy in Latin America's Southern Region during the 1970s and 80s and had Washington involvement.

Human rights groups claim that tens of thousands were killed during South America’s darkest period during the 1970’s and 1980’s under the military dictatorships. Military governments came to power via well planned coups in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. In Argentina alone, an estimated 30,000 people were forcefully disappeared.

Now nearly 30 years later, long standing impunity has overshadowed efforts for regional integration and return to democratic rule. Throughout the region, the road to justice has been slow. Argentina has taken the lead in trying former military and police after amnesty laws protecting military have been overturned in 2005. However, Uruguay and Brazil still uphold amnesty laws preventing human rights trials from taking place. While in Chile justice is possible, the nation grapples with dictator supporters in government who continue to hold up legal proceedings.

Operation Condor on trial in Argentina

A human rights trial in Argentina is looking into a crimes committed under Plan Condor and sheds light into how other countries are lagging behind in looking into crimes of the past. The current trial focuses on one Buenos Aires location that served as a detention center. Six former military and police face 65 charges of kidnapping, torture and murder while they worked at a clandestine detention center called Orletti auto-garage. Inside the functioning repair shop, located in a residential neighborhood, hundreds were tortured and killed.

Human rights Lawyer Pablo Llanto says the events at the garage provide detailed information on the inter-workings of Plan Condor. “People ask how did Plan Condor operate, well, this is how it operated. It was the coordinated efforts in Orletti, in this case between Uruguayan and Argentine security forces. But in Orletti, Chileans and Cuban citizens were also detained, which demonstrates that the repressive apparatus wasn’t limited to Argentines, it targeted citizens from other nationalities in Latin America.”

Relatives and survivors waited for more than 30 years for military members to face trial, due to amnesty laws that protected the officers. The impunity laws were overturned in 2005. More than 10 high-profile trials are underway to prosecute dozens of military, police, and civilians accused of participating in the systematic plan to disappear so-called "dissidents."

Regionally, Argentina has taken the lead in revisiting these human rights abuses and bringing those responsible to justice through trials. But Giselle Temper, a human rights activist from the group HIJOS says that countries such as Chile and Uruguay have blocked all possibilities for justice for crimes committed during the nations’ dictatorships.

“Plan Condor included Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and other countries. But Argentina is the only country putting the people who carried out genocide on trial. In Chile, Pinochet died without being tried, in impunity. Uruguay didn’t win the vote to annul the amnesty for military officers. Argentina has expressed their social condemnation for what happened during the dictatorship, without that these trials wouldn’t be occurring.”

Uruguay’s ‘State of Siege’

The Orletti trial will investigate why and how Uruguayan prisoners were brought to Argentina and held at the Orletti auto-garage. However, Uruguay will not try military officers who participated in the torture and forced disappearance of dissidents during the 1973-1985 military dictatorship. Uruguay’s military junta came to power three years before Argentina’s junta. Many Uruguayan activists were exiled to Argentina before the 1976 military junta. After Argentina’s dictatorship led a coup in 1976, both regimes secretly cooperated in the torture and disappearance of each others’ citizens with CIA assistance.

This assistance came in the form of training from U.S. Department of State officials. The scene depicted in Constantin Costa-Gavra's 1972 film State of Siege, set in Uruguay in the early 1970s reflects the role the US had. In an unforgettable scene, a US official from the Office of Public Safety teaches a room full of cadets the technique of the picana or "electric prod.”

Declassified U.S. Department of State documents have provided evidence of Plan Condor's broad scope and Washington’s involvement. Stella Calloni is a leading expert on Plan Condor – she has written two books detailing Plan Condor’s scope and US participation. “The US, under the Washington consensus used criteria to unify the dictatorship in South America to prosecute important leaders. Under Plan Condor, the military could prosecute and murder dissidents. Another crime was to kidnap an activist from one country and bring them to another country to disappear them after torturing them.”

Even though documents have shed light into the extent of the crimes, Uruguayan military continue to be exempt from justice. In 2009 the country revisited the controversial Ley de Caducidad, or impunity law that protected many Uruguayan officials from prosecution for human rights abuses. Human rights groups, unions and representatives from the Frente Amplio government coalition worked to overturn the law in 2009 via a plebiscite. Nearly 46 percent of the adult population voted to overturn the law, however in order to end impunity more than 50 percent was needed. However, human rights groups continue to work to undo the amnesty law.

More than 10,000 marched in silence in Uruguay’s capital Montevideo to demand truth and justice for the crimes committed during the nation’s dictatorship. “We are looking for truth, because reconciliation is only possible when the truth is known. We’ve said it in other marches and we’ll say it again: the truth continues to be abducted while we don’t know what happened and while our relatives continue disappeared,” said Marta Passelle, leader of the Association of Mothers and Relatives of Disappeared speaking at the march.

Part of the nation’s silence is reflected in the fact that the Uruguayan state only recognizes 37 disappeared, while human rights organizations report more than 200 disappeared – all of which will never be investigated due to Uruguay’s impunity law.

Human Rights in Chile and Brazil

Human rights groups in Chile and Brazil have criticized their respective governments for obstacles and disregard of international human rights laws to carry out investigations. During Chile’s 1973-1990 military dictatorship, 3,000 disappearances took place. Augusto Pinochet, the nation’s US-backed dictator, died without standing trail and continues to cast a shadow over Chile.

As of October 2009, 559 former military personnel and civilian collaborators were facing charges for enforced disappearances, extrajudicial executions, and torture, according to Human Rights Watch. Nearly 277 had been convicted, and 56 were serving prison sentences. Pinochet was under house arrest and faced prosecution at the time of his death in 2006, but judicial proceedings came too late and he was left unpunished.

Proceedings progressed in 2009, when a judge indicted 129 former members of the DINA, the dictator’s secret police for disappearances. In 2009, for the first time, a court declared torture a systematic practice to be a crime against humanity. This led the Supreme Court to rule that an amnesty decreed by the military government is inapplicable to war crimes or crimes against humanity. However, judges may use discretion about whether the amnesty is applicable.

“Chile hasn’t seriously progressed in the trials because there is no political compliance to do so. There haven’t been more than mere symbolic gestures,” says Leonardo Ortega, a Chilean graduate student in sociology at FLACSO. Many of the military up for trial were low-rank officers, while higher ranking officials who gave orders have been protected by the criminal code. Currently, Congress has evaluated a bill to amend the code so that crimes against humanity are not subject to amnesties or statutes of limitation, but it has been deadlocked since 2005.

Brazil’s government has faced serious criticism from international human rights organizations for its failure to convict military officials for crimes committed during the dictatorship. The 1979 amnesty law remains unchanged, blocking prosecution against former officials for human rights violations committed under the 1964-1985 dictatorship. Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court upheld the amnesty law in a decision in 2010.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights concluded in 2009 that the amnesties and statutes of limitations cannot be applied to crimes against humanity that were committed during the dictatorship. “Brazil has had neither trials nor even a truth commission to address the very serious crimes that took place, and is lagging behind the region in accountability for past abuses,” said José Miguel Vivanco, America’s director for Human Rights Watch. “It's been nearly a quarter century since the transition to democracy. The victims and their families have waited too long for justice.”

Nunca Mas – Never Again

The slogan “Never Again” was adopted with the hope that Argentina and other countries in the region, including Brazil, Chile and Uruguay, ruled by violent military dictatorships would never repeat that dark chapter in history. Decades have passed since the end to the dictatorships in the region and much heralded “return to democracy.” But many of the old systems of repression remain. In Argentina a key human rights witness, Julio Lopez remains missing after his 2006 disappearance. Survivors in the region continue to face threats and security issues on the brink of their testimonies in trials. Much of the files and top-secret information has yet to be released about the crimes the military coups committed.

Plan Condor united the nations in a plan to wipe out dissidents regionally through state imposed terror. Now, governments in the Southern Cone have the opportunity to work together to revisit the past and investigate the crimes which continue to be a social stigma scarring the respective countries. Without justice and with outstanding impunity, history is likely to repeat itself.

Marie Trigona is a writer and radio producer based in Argentina. She can be reached through her blog www.mujereslibres.blogspot.com

Argentina’s Soccer Passion

By Marie Trigona / ZNet.com / June 28, 2006 / original article

An old article, but still relevant.

The world cup is here. Until July 9th, 32 national teams will play for the Word Cup title. It is estimated that the World cup will draw five billion viewers world wide. Argentina is no exception to the frenzy. South Americans are the wildest about their soccer, with the highest TV ratings. Argentina’s passion for soccer is a cultural mainstay and part of national identity regardless of class backgrounds.

This year’s World cup tournament has brought back a wave of fervor for Argentina’s national soccer team. Argentina is expected to have a good chance at the World Cup title with super stars like Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez, young soccer magicians leading the offense.

I just returned to Argentina in the height of this year’s World Cup fever. Fans’ passion for the sport has inspired even sports nerds like myself. During the recent matches, the streets of Buenos Aires have looked like a western ghost town with everyone shut in their homes or workplaces watching the game. International and national companies like Pepsi, Quilmes beer, Adidas have featured Messi and Tevez marketing their products. Local stores, bars and citizens have been plastered with Argentina’s national colors, sky blue and white. Every news broadcast (morning, noon, evening and nightly newscasts) feature special reports on the world cup. National politics and local events seem to have been frozen in time until the world cup ends and Argentina takes home the cup. With nothing else seemingly happening in the country, it seems logical to write about what Argentine’s know best, their soccer.

Soccer as socialism

At the turn of the 20th century, Anarchists and Socialists founded many of Argentina’s first soccer clubs. They sought the need to use soccer as a social and political tool for organizing. Anarchist historian Osvaldo Bayer has written extensively on anarchism and soccer. Argentina’s large Anarchist movements in the 20th century, influenced by the influx of European immigrants, were alarmed by the working class’ drive to go to the soccer stadium on weekends rather than ideological picnics or other cultural events. The movement’s daily anarchist newspaper La Protesta wrote in 1917 compared the effects of soccer with religion, writing “church and soccer balls: the worst drug for the people.” However, anarchists soccer ideology changed quickly.

One of the first teams Chacarita Juniors was founded on May 1, 1906 in an Anarchist library in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Chacarita. Anarchists had a clear vision. “Soccer is a socialist game. Everyone plays together with the objective of making it to the goal line, that is the triumph, that is the revolution. In soccer you learn how to act in solidarity. You can’t play alone, when someone is in a better position you have to pass them the ball.” They even discussed what would happen when the sport would become professionalized. When the anarchists would win a championship, all the prizes would go toward forming schools for children to learn the sport. Other clubs followed including the “Martyrs of Chicago,” a homage to the American workers hung for fighting for a 8 hour workday. In the 30's the clubs became appropriated by capitalist interests. The “Martyrs of Chicago” later became Argentinos Juniors: “We are Argentines, not anarchists” became the new nationalist slogan erasing the team’s proletariat history. Chacarita still sports red and black uniforms even though the club is run as a commercial team.

Soccer as nationalism

Until the 60's South America’s soccer teams remained inferior to Western European teams. With the upsurge of military dictatorships in the region, Latin America also emerged as leaders in soccer. Argentina won its first World Cup championship in 1978, in the height of the military brutal dictatorship (1976-1983). The coup’s first dictator, Jorge Rafael Videla hosted the 1978 World Cup as a media stunt to show the world that the military had popular support.

The 1976-1983 military dictatorship ushered in unimaginable methods of terror–drugging dissidents and dropping them from planes into the Atlantic Ocean in the “vuelos del muerte,” using electric prods or “picana”on the genitals of men and women who entered the clandestine detention centers, raping women and forcing husbands, wives, parents, brothers, and companeros to listen tot he screams of their loved ones who were being tortured. The dictatorship disappeared 30,000 men and women to wipe out working class resistance and implement the neoliberal economic model.

By 1978, the international community had heard the accounts of the dictatorship’s human right’s violations. An international campaign gained steam thanks to the determination of groups like the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo. In the midst of criticism, the dictatorship decided to host the World Cup. Anyone who opposed the dictatorship risked being disappeared themselves. The dictatorship justified the tortures, kidnaping and executions as a “dirty war” against anti-nationalist, communist opponents. The mothers of Plaza de Mayo suffered the most aggression leading up to the World Cup. Three of the founding members were disappeared and murdered following the infiltration by Adolfo Astiz, a military officer, in 1977.

The 1978 World Cup cost Videla several hundred million dollars. Business tycoons who benefitted from the dictatorship’s neoliberal policies joined in the World Cup frenzy. The BAUEN hotel (currently under worker self-management) was constructed in 1978 for the World Cup, with government loans and subsidies.

Many ex-detainees held at the ESMA (Navy Mechanics School), one of the 400 clandestine detention centers, said they could hear the cheers as Argentina won the world cup while being tortured. The River Plate Stadium is less than a kilometer away from Argentina’s infamous and largest clandestine detention center. Some detainees gave accounts that they too cheered for Argentina while tied and blindfolded.

Home players beat Holland 3-1 in the final. Holland along with many nations threatened to boycott Argentina’s World Cup, saying “you can’t play soccer a thousand meters from a torture center.” The Holland players said openly they would not accept the World Cup trophy from hands of dictator Videla. The military coup used the World Cup to launch its own counter-human rights campaign with the slogan “Argentineans are right and human.” The dictatorship’s national pride campaign overshadowed any international criticism of human rights violations.

Soccer and image

Diego Armando Maradona, by far the best soccer player in history, led Argentina in taking the title again in 1986 during the World Cup in Mexico. Maradona from the working class neighborhood Fiorito, a shanty town in a southern Buenos Aires suburb continues as a soccer god for many worldwide. During the 90's Maradona began to slip in the midst of the golden neoliberal era of former president Carlos Menem. Maradona left the soccer world in 1994 with a drug addiction and weight problem.

As part of Argentina’s image recovery from the 2001 financial and political crisis, Maradona cleaned up his act and had gastric bypass surgery to lose weight. Once again, Maradona is Argentina’s national pride. The best soccer player in history has a tattoo of Ernesto “Che” Guevara on his arm and another of Fidel Castro on his calve. Maradona hosted a weekly national talk show, which broke tv rating records in 2005. Fidel Castro gave Maradona an exclusive interview in which the best soccer player in history pridefully showed the ‘comandante’ his tattoo. During the interview Maradona also promised the ‘comandante’ that he would protest against George W. Bush’s visit to Argentina during last year’s Summit of the Americas.

In popular culture, almost noone makes reference to the 1978 World Cup victory. Fans generally cheer, “we’re going to win just like in 1986!” Soccer, like any sport can be used to uphold authoritarianism and nationalism. The political punk rock band, Las Manos de Fillippi, wrote a song about the 1978 World Cup “La Selecion Nazzional.” The lyrics go: “The World Cup is another state ministry, while the education ministry makes you stupid, the World Cup nationalizes you.” Universally, the state has coopted the World Cup for national interests.

However, sports can also bring people together. It’s no wonder that bosses often ban employees from forming sports clubs or other leisure activities. The workers from the Zanon ceramics factory, occupied and managed by its workers since 2001, launched an interesting campaign during the World Cup. They printed a special ceramics title with the slogan: “Together we are playing for the world cup, together we fight for the expropriation of Zanon.” When the former boss at Zanon prohibited the workers from talking in groups of three or more, the workers began to organize against exploitive conditions in the plant by getting together and playing soccer. Today, the Zanon workers have organized their own soccer tournament inside their factory to create a recreation space and to create unity among the workers.

Marie Trigona forms part of Grupo Alavío. She can be reached at mtrigona@msn.com. For more information visit, www.agoratv.org

US-backed torture and assassination program focus of trial in Argentina

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A human rights trial in Argentina is looking into a US-backed program that engaged in torture, assassination and disappearance. The program, called Plan Condor, was a shared strategy in Latin America's Southern Region during the 1970s and 80s and had Washington involvement. The current trial focuses on one Buenos Aires location that served as a detention center. FSRN's Marie Trigona reports.

Argentina’s Bicentennial: Indigenous Tell Another History

For Upsidedownworld Written by Marie Trigona, Photos by Francisco Ciavaglia

Thursday, 27 May 2010 07:37

Argentina is celebrating the bicentennial of a revolution that paved the road to independence from Spain with the nation’s capital transformed into a gala event. But not everyone is celebrating. The nation’s indigenous people are calling attention to a legacy of invasion and displacement that continues to this day. Nothing to celebrate As bicentennial events commenced, indigenous groups led a caravan to the nation’s capital to demand recognition of their sovereign culture and plurality, in one of the largest indigenous demonstrations in Argentina’s history. During the march thousands commemorated the nation’s non-colonial history. Santiago de la Casa, a Pilagá community member traveled from the province of Formosa to push for a law to recognize indigenous cultures, languages and territory. “We can’t be happy and celebrate the nation’s past 200 years as indigenous people. The indigenous people already existed here. The other, the Europeans who came here 200 years ago can celebrate. They can be happy because they have benefited from the waters, rivers, air, earth apt to produce. We are sad because we don’t have a specific law for the aboriginal people.” The Pilagá community has faced environmental devastation and water pollution due to the construction of public water works project which has flooded indigenous ancestral lands. Amnesty International published a report on the “systematic violation of human rights.” The Pilagá community numbering around 6,000 inhabits the bordering lands of the La Estrella wetlands. The indigenous have faced constant repression from security forces and threats, in addition to the degradation of living standards due to the pollution of the wetlands. The Pilagá face food shortages and risk losing their traditional ways of life, such as hunting and fishing which they have depended on for centuries. Genocide More than 30 indigenous nations have survived the mass immigration of Europeans to Argentina. However, the nation’s early leaders led campaigns such as the “conquest of the desert,” to wipe out indigenous communities in the Patagonia south to make room for white inhabitants. General Julio Argentino Roca led this campaign in which “30 million hectares were stolen from the indigenous and distributed among the nation’s most wealthy under what is called the campaign of the desert,” said Anarchist Historian Osvaldo Bayer. Lestuaro Newen is from the Mapuche confederation in Neuquen, one of the communities attacked in the campaign to dominate Patagonia in the 1870’s. “An essential component of the change that needs to take place in Argentina and in Latin America is that history tends to be manipulated and tries to legitimize the genocide that took place. And that history recognizes that there were pre-existing communities and that the colonialists tried to exterminate indigenous people which constitutes genocide. Our communities have a lot to contribute to history, not only the past but the future and we have hope history will change.” The lands stolen during the Campaign of the Desert were handed over to the nation’s oligarchy. One such beneficiary to the genocide of the Patagonian indigenous includes the Great Grandfather of Jose Martinez de Hoz, the former economy minister during the dictatorship and architecht of the neoliberal economic model for which the military junta needed to carry out another genocide campaign to implement and disappear 30,000 activists during the 1976-1983 military dictatorship. 200 years after the supposed end to colonial rule, indigenous territory continues to be invaded by foreign economic interests. One of the largest landholders in the Patagonia, includes the Italian company Benetton which owns 2.2 million acres of land. Benetton has lead a campaign to evict families from the land which their families lived centuries ago. “Our demands include that they recognize our people, territory and our rights to natural resources,” says Newen. He adds, ““The provincial governments carries out policies that allow natural resources to be bought and sold, for lands that Mapuches have occupied for decades to be sold with the communities on the lands, and that our people along with the people from the province are being polluted from the extraction of natural resources such as petrol and mining.” Mourning Pachamama Indigenous communities have faced not only displacement but poverty and health problems due to the environmental devastation of their land by industrial agriculture, mining and dam projects. One indigenous representative from the Amayra –Quecha Andean region, Guayma Huamca, said that the Pachamama, or Mother Earth desperately needs equilibrium and harmony. “Our leaders have been dismembered and tortured during the nation’s history. To squash our consciousness and rights our communities have been terrorized so that we never raise our voices again. Years go by and centuries have passed, and the Pachamama is boiling with grief, and is crying for help.” Festivities for the May 25 independence revolution concluded, and millions have visited the art exhibits, food stalls, and didactic historic displays line the Buenos Aires major avenues. President Cristina Kirchner met a delegation of indigenous representatives. Only one law has been passed in 2006 to protect indigenous lands, and only a handful of provinces recognize the pre-existence of indigenous cultures, languages and sovereignty over territory. However, for the 8,000 indigenous who marched to the city, the May 25 bicentennial struck a deep chord for communities that face discrimination in the present and forget of the past. Throughout the city, the cries of “the stolen land will be recuperated,” the mourning of the Pachamama and the tears of genocide of indigenous peoples echoed as the nation celebrated its bicentennial. Marie Trigona is a writer, radio producer and translator based in Argentina. She can be reached through her blog www.mujereslibres.blogspot.com

Argentina's indigenous continue to struggle as country marks bi-centennial

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Argentina celebrates the bicentennial of a revolution that paved the road to independence from Spain with the nation’s capital transformed into a gala event. But not everyone is celebrating. The nation’s indigenous people are calling attention to a legacy of invasion and displacement that continues to this day. FSRN’s Marie Trigona reports from Buenos Aires.

Argentina a Step Closer to Same-Sex Marriage

From Toward Freedom

Written by Marie Trigona

Thursday, 13 May 2010

Argentina's First Gay Marriage Argentina is a step closer to legalizing same sex marriage. The South American nation’s lower house approved gay marriage on May 6, and the law will now go to the Senate. If passed, Argentina will become the first country in Latin America to implement national legislation lifting a ban on same sex marriage. Gay rights advocates celebrated the House of Deputies’ decision to approve gay marriage, although they are working hard to push for Senate majority to approve the law. Landmark Legislation Five same sex couples have married following court rulings declaring the ban on gay marriage unconstitutional. Martin Canevaro and his partner tied the knot to become Argentina’s fourth gay-married couple. “I have been happily married to Carlos Alvarez, following a court ruling which declared the civil code which impedes marriage between two people of the same sex as unconstitutional.” Despite these case by case judicial rulings which could eventually be considered by the Supreme Court, Lesbian and Gay rights organizations have pushed for a national law that would allow marriage between gay couples. If approved, the law would grant the same basic rights that opposite sex married couples have – rights that are more comprehensive than those granted under civil unions. President of Argentina’s Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Bi-sexuals and Trans, Maria Rachid, explains. “We need this law for two fundamental reasons. First to have all of the rights which marriage guarantees: sharing with your partner a social security plan, being able to leave the person you love a pension, to leave them an inheritance. Even though these rights are an important part of a person’s daily life, there’s another reason which is even more important: which is access to legal equality.” Many of the court rulings allowing gay marriages spawned from the courts’ interpretation of Argentina’s constitution which states that all citizens must have equal representation under the law and civil codes. Rachid, who was also the first woman to hold a civil union ceremony with her partner in Argentina adds, “If the State legitimizes judicial inequality, it translates to discrimination and violence against the queer community. To fight against this discrimination and violence, we need equal legal recognition from the State.” Argentina’s First Gay Marriage Two Argentine men wed on December 28, 2009 in Latin America’s first same sex marriage. Alex Freyre and Jose Maria di Bello tied the knot in a private ceremony in the Patagonian province of Tierra del Fuego, becoming Argentina's first married gay couple. However the governor of the Southern Tierra del Fuego issued a special decree allowing the two men to wed legally. Jose Maria di Bello said that gay marriage is a symbol of civil rights. “I think this marriage is going to cause a domino effect throughout Latin America. It will allow for more transformations in which all citizens’ rights will be included and respected.” Earlier in 2009 a Buenos Aires judge overturned Argentina’s ban on same sex marriage. But the day before the two men were originally set to marry, a federal judge issued an injunction that prevented the December 1st planned wedding in Buenos Aires. A supreme court appeal is still pending. The couple did not announce plans to wed to prevent further judicial roadblocks. More than 60 same sex couples have presented court appeals challenging the nation’s laws on gay marriage, while another 200 petitions are being prepared for presentation. Some of the marriages that have taken place have been overturned by higher courts. Latin America and Same Sex Marriage Until now, no Latin American country has formally recognized gay marriages, although Mexico City's legislature has approved them. Same-sex civil unions, have been approved in Buenos Aires and other places in Argentina, as well as in Uruguay, Ecuador, Colombia, and in one state of Venezuela. Martin Canevaro is president of the NGO, 100 Percent Diversity and Rights. He says that the Lower House’s approval of the same sex bill sends the message that Argentina, historically a conservative nation has progressed. “The message for gays, lesbians and trans-women and men for us to be able to live without fear, the parliament sent a message that we should be able to live in freedom and not in a closet.” He continues, “For gays, lesbians, bi-sexuals and trans-sexuals not to have that protection is an act of discrimination and violence that we can’t allow when we are in the 21st century. This law will level the rights gay and lesbian families with the rights of heterosexual families, this law would repair decades of institutional discrimination and violence.” While the Catholic Church has branded the push for same-sex marriage as immoral, the media and public welcomed the lower-houses decision to approve the law. Increasingly in Latin America, the gay, lesbian and trans community has gained visibility and acceptance along with the trend toward progressive governments in the region. Grass roots organizations have challenged standing legislation banning same-sex marriage as well as other issues such as reproductive rights for women and gender equality. Time will tell whether Latin America’s governments will pass legislations which reflect a region rich with cultural and sexual diversity. For more than 10 years, gay rights activists have been working on the campaign for same-sex marriage. When Buenos Aires became Latin America’s first city to recognize same sex-unions in 2002, activists began the campaign for a same-sex marriage law. Argentina’s Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Bi-sexuals and Trans formed in 2005 with the objective of grouping together queer advocacy groups to fight for same-sex marriage and a law that would allow trans-gender individuals to openly and legally chose their gender identity. Argentina’s annual pride march is one of Latin America’s largest, and during this year’s march thousands of lesbians, gays and trans women and men carried banners for same sex marriage as a basic right. National Law Following 12 hours of debate, the Lower House voted 126 to 110 to approve the bill. Vilma Ibarra, is a national deputy who wrote the current bill now on its way to Senate. “That today a homosexual is prohibited from accessing a civil institution such as marriage due to discrimination based on their sexual orientation is part of the struggle for equality. Argentina’s taking the forefront and pushing for the fight against discrimination which may impulse other countries to make similar laws for equal rights.” The Senate must now approve the bill. Senators allied with the president’s party pledged to pass the bill and the president vowed not to veto the measure if it reaches her desk. Law-makers and queer rights activists supporting the law hope that if same-sex marriage is approved in Argentina, other Latin American nations will follow suit to grant equal rights to sexual minorities. If passed, the law will surely bring hope to activists throughout the continent fighting for equal recognition of civil rights such as same sex marriage and end to discrimination based on sexual orientation. Marie Trigona is a writer, translator and radio producer based in South America. She can be reached through her blog: www.mujereslibres.blogspot.com

Argentina moves closer to same-sex marriage law

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A case challenging the Defense of Marriage Act began today in Boston. A federal judge heard arguments about whether the law, which denies federal recognition of same-sex marriages, is constitutional. Meanwhile, Argentina is a step closer to legalizing same sex marriage. The South American nation’s lower house approved gay marriage on Wednesday, and the bill will now go to the Senate. FSRN’s Marie Trigona reports from Buenos Aires.

Murder of Human Rights Witness Sparks Fears

Americas Program Report Americas Program, Center for International Policy (CIP) by Marie Trigona April 19, 2010 americas.irc-online.org

The recent murder of Silvia Suppo, a key witness in a human rights trial on crimes committed during the Argentine dictatorship, has sparked fears for the safety of witnesses who testify publicly in the cases. Suppo, a torture survivor, was stabbed to death on March 29 at her crafts shop in the province of Santa Fe in an alleged robbery. In 2009, Suppo testified in a human rights trial against a former judge for his role in abuses during the dictatorship. Human Rights groups suspect that Suppo was killed to send a message to those still willing to testify as human rights trials progress. 2010 has been a year of reckoning with the past in Argentina. Close to two dozen high-profile military officers have been prosecuted for torture, kidnapping, murder, and disappearances. Although justice for crimes dating back to 1976 has taken a slow course in the South American nation, Argentina has finally taken the lead in breaking the impunity that shielded members of violent dictatorships from prosecution for human rights abuses. The human rights proceedings have also fueled a campaign by supporters of the dictatorship, who openly defend the military's actions during the 1976-1983 military junta that disappeared more than 30,000 people. Human rights activists have reported threats against torture survivors, witnesses scheduled to testify in the upcoming trials, and judges and prosecutors since the trials were reopened in 2005. The concern for witness safety culminated in 2006 with the disappearance of Julio Lopez, a key prosecution witness. Lopez disappeared three years ago after testifying in the case of a police chief who was convicted for crimes against humanity and genocide. He is presumed dead and was scheduled to testify in more trials. More than 10 high-profile trials are underway to prosecute dozens of military, police, and civilians accused of participating in the systematic plan to disappear so-called "dissidents." Julio Lopez and Silvia Suppo would have testified in trials currently taking place in La Plata, Lopez's hometown, and in Santa Fe, Suppo's home province. Instead, their absence in the courtroom sends painful memories of repression with impunity and fears about the possibility of violent repercussions against survivors and witnesses participating in the human rights trials. However, witnesses, relatives of victims, and human rights activists want the trials to speed up and for the state to dismantle judicial roadblocks tying up the proceedings. Silvia Suppo Santa Fe held its first human rights trial, involving a judge and five others, in 2009. Víctor Brusa and former police officers Héctor Colombini, Juan Calixto Perizotti, María Eva Aebi, Mario Facino, and Eduardo Ramos were sentenced to 18-23 years in prison for crimes against humanity committed during Argentina's military dictatorship. Silvia Suppo was detained at the age of 17 by a commando group in Santa Fe. She was taken to Police Precinct Number 4, where she was raped repeatedly. When it was discovered that Suppo was pregnant, Juan Calixto Perizotti and his secretary María Eva Aebi transferred her to another clandestine detention center for an abortion. It was there Suppo met Patricia Isasa, a 16-year-old also detained in Santa Fe. "Silvia spoke of sexual violence and rape as a method of torture, a systematic practice and a separate crime against women," said Patricia Isasa, a fellow torture survivor, in an interview with national daily Pagina 12. Suppo, 51 years old, provided key testimony in the trial against the judge and police. The military protected their identities by forcing detainees to wear hoods or blindfolds. While she was at the La Casita clandestine detention center undergoing an abortion, Suppo was able to see her perpetrators' faces when they removed her blindfold. Since 1997, Patricia Isasa gathered exhaustive documentation to put her perpetrators behind bars. However, the so-called "full stop" and "due obedience" laws implemented in the early 90s foreclosed any successful prosecution of ex-military leaders for human rights crimes by the courts. In 2005 the Supreme Court struck down amnesty laws that protected former military officers who served during the dictatorship. Many of those prosecuted since the amnesty laws were removed not only enjoyed impunity from prosecution for their crimes, they often held prominent government positions, even in the justice system. Brusa climbed the ranks of the judicial hierarchy to hold the post of federal judge. Following torture sessions, 18 torture survivors testified that Brusa participated directly in interrogations and forced detainees to sign confessions by threatening to send them back to the torture room if they didn't confess to participating in armed struggle, for example. Fasino served as mayor of San José del Rincón, Santa Fe in the 90s. Ramos was appointed secretary of culture in Santa Fe. Colombini was in charge of the illicit drugs division in the police force. "The misfortune of failing to put these people on trial not only resulted in impunity, rather they were rewarded for their crimes," said Isasa in an interview in 2006. In 2006, Patricia Isasa received a series of disturbing phone calls on her cell phone and at her home. She entered a witness protection program and left the country for several months, hoping the trial would begin soon. Following Suppo's murder, Isasa once again has entered a witness protection program. Police detained two men in the murder of Suppo, however, human rights witnesses and relatives have pushed for authorities to continue to investigate the case. Isasa and Suppo's relatives have expressed doubts that the crime was a simple robbery given the profile of the victim and the circumstances of Suppo's death. The crime occurred in the morning hours at Suppo's shop and violent robberies are uncommon for the town of Rafaela, where the victim was killed. More than 1,500 people marched to the local court house to demand that authorities continue with the investigation. Like many other witnesses in the proceedings for crimes against humanity, Suppo had received threats. Nearly two years ago, when opening proceedings began in the Judge Brusa trial, two men stood at the entrance of her shop to intimidate her. Suppo unrelentingly gave her testimony of the terror she endured and refused to enter a witness protection program. Julio Lopez and the Paradigm of Forced Disappearances Julio Lopez went missing three years ago on September 18, 2006 in his hometown of La Plata, Argentina. However, September 18, 2006 was the second time the father, construction worker, activist, and torture survivor was disappeared. Julio Lopez's first forced disappearance occurred during Argentina's 1976-1983 military dictatorship, when he was kidnapped from his home during the night by a commando group, taken to a secret detention center, and tortured in several different police barracks that served as a clandestine network for disappearing thousands. During his 1976 kidnapping and torture sessions he was tortured repeatedly with a Picana [electric prod]. It was there he met Miguel Etchecolatz, the police chief who coordinated kidnappings and torture in clandestine detention centers in La Plata, 30 miles from Buenos Aires. Lopez's testimony during a historic human rights trial in 2006 led to Etchecolatz's conviction. The police chief was sentenced to life in prison for crimes against humanity and genocide during the dictatorship. Julio Lopez missed seeing the face of his torturer, Etchecolatz, dressed in police clothing and a bullet-proof vest, kissing a rosary as he was sentenced to life in prison. In what many consider an ominous sign of new cycles of impunity, Lopez—at age 77—had been disappeared for the second time in his life before learning the results of the trial he had worked so hard and risked so much to bring about. Nearly four years after his disappearance, relatives and fellow activists have no information as to Lopez's whereabouts. Lopez would have testified in another high-profile trial this year. The trial involves the prosecution of 14 police officers and security guards who worked at the prison, "Penal 8," which the courts described as a "regimen of terror and extermination." When the trial opened, the seat in the front row of the courtroom reserved for Lopez was empty. A white handkerchief lay on the seat to commemorate the missing witness. Lopez's disappearance has re-opened painful wounds. Little hope remains that Lopez will be found alive. Investigations have provided no answer as to where Lopez could be located, alive or dead. "Three years after the disappearance of Julio Lopez, the investigation into his whereabouts is practically paralyzed," said Myriam Bergman, prosecuting attorney who represented Lopez during the trial against Etchecolatz. "We feel as if there's been an absolute negation of justice." The only suspect police questioned, Osvaldo Falcone, was Etchecolatz's personal physician who visited the convicted torturer in jail just days before Lopez went missing. Human rights groups presented a formal letter to the Supreme Court accusing authorities of delaying the investigation into Lopez's forced disappearance. Groups suspect police and court authorities with ties to officials who participated in rights abuses have disrupted the investigation into Lopez's disappearance. Unrepentant Military Faces of the vicitims. The military, police, and civilians charged with an array of counts of kidnapping, torture, and murder have been escorted into courtrooms handcuffed to face the accusations. Defense lawyers have relentlessly requested sick leave for the accused and tried to hold up proceedings with last-minute changes in legal representatives. Unrepentant, many military officers have testified in their defense, refused to provide information, and discarded proposals to confess. Some openly defend their actions as following military orders to "fight a war against subversion." For the first time this year, Rafael Videla appeared in court in March. Hundreds of police protected the former dictator from news cameras as he was hurriedly shuttled in and out of the courtroom. In a shocking incident, a police officer pointed a gun at a photographer trying to take a photo of Videla, who led the coup and the plan to forcefully disappear 30,000 people. Videla will have to take the stand again in another mega-trial in the province of Cordoba, along with 24 others charged with crimes against humanity in the murder of 32 victims. The crimes committed are unimaginable for their cruelty, and the terror and pain that was inflicted. The ESMA—Navy Mechanics School, served as the military's largest clandestine detention center and has been compared to Auschwitz for the nature of the abuses and thousands of people who perished within the military barracks. Alfredo Astiz, also known as the "blonde angel of death" is one of the 17 former ESMA officers charged with crimes against humanity in the ESMA. The day he was to answer to allegations, he dressed in jeans and a ratty navy blue sweater. He didn't deny the crimes he is charged with. He didn't show repentance. He didn't ask for forgiveness. He admitted to the crimes, justifying his acts as the need to "exterminate terrorists," and stating that the "armed forces acted in defense of the nation." The junta devised a complex system of hundreds of clandestine detention centers, 370 according to the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons, to systematically torture and disappear anyone considered a dissident. Among the doleful roll call of the list of disappeared included high school students, professors, artists, unionists, university students, workers, priests, nuns, social workers, activists, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, husbands, wives, and compañeros. Given the magnitude of disappearances and the number of torture centers, thousands of individuals were involved, said Estella Carlotta, president of the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo. On the 34th anniversary of the nation's bloody military dictatorship, tens of thousands flooded into the historic Plaza de Mayo for the commemoration with cries of nunca más—"never again." Brave Witnesses Jose Shulman, a survivor from the Brusa detention center in Santa Fe, said that despite the threats and disappearance of Lopez, none of the 2,500 witnesses have withdrawn their testimony or refused to testify in the human rights trials. He interpreted the threats as a "sign that those dictatorship supporters feel weak from the judicial defeat that they are now facing." In the same courtroom where Astiz defended his actions, the sister of French nun Alice Domon, who was disappeared in a raid led by Astiz, testified. The first witness in the trial, Gabrielle Domon affirmed that her sister "was not a terrorist" and that she hoped that as a result of the ESMA trial relatives of victims "will get the truth and some answers to our questions." Many witnesses include children of the disappeared, who are now in their 30s and 40s. Along with the grandmothers and grandfathers who have lived to see the trials, they are testifying on how the absence of mothers and fathers who were disappeared affected their lives. Ramiro Poce's father, Ricardo Cesar Poce, was disappeared in 1978. "It's important that the trials are done by circuits of clandestine detention centers to avoid witnesses having to testify repeatedly in separate trials on a case by case basis," said Poce on the opening day of the Atlético, Banco, and Olimpo trial, which will examine the crimes committed at three separate secret detention sites where thousands were tortured and disappeared. Although the trials have progressed, with 1,464 military officers, police, and civilians accused of crimes against humanity committed during the dictatorship, only 75 have been sentenced, says the Center for Legal Studies (CELS). In addition, courts have convicted 649 people, and only 75 have been sentenced. Of the 649 awaiting trial, 421 are under arrest while 228 are leading normal lives in their homes. Relatives of the military charged with crimes against humanity, genocide, kidnapping, torture, rape, and murder have attempted to rally support in defense of the dictatorship's actions. Former interim president, Eduardo Duhalde, hoping to run for presidency in 2011, has called for a plebiscite on whether to grant amnesty to military, which he called a "witch hunt." During this year's massive march for the commemoration of Argentina's 30,000 disappeared, protestors and human rights groups expressed immediate concerns about delays in legal proceedings and resistant judges contributing to delays in the human rights trials. "Only a few who formed part of this genocide are being tried in the justice system. There are still a lot left to be charged," said Estela Carlotta. Human rights groups say that to ensure witness safety, the trials need to progress in a timely fashion and to ensure that those charged be sent to regular jails and have surveillance in their contact with the outside world. Adriana Calvo, who was kidnapped and forced to give birth in a detention center run by Etchecolatz, has admitted that Silvia Suppo's murder "has spawned fear, like the disappearance of Julio Lopez. Unless authorities can prove the motives behind the murder, we think that Suppo's death was politically motivated to brutally threaten the witnesses." Calvo, a torture survivor who has participated in the human rights movement for over three decades, added that if Suppo's murder was meant to intimidate witnesses it didn't work. Calvo said that those responsible for the crimes during the dictatorship haven't accomplished their mission because activists continue to fight and "the terror hasn't paralyzed us." Marie Trigona is a journalist based in Argentina and writes regularly for the Americas Program (www.americaspolicy.org). She can be reached at mtrigona(a)msn.com. To reprint this article, please contact americas@ciponline.org. Sources http://www.cels.org.ar/home/index.php http://hijos-capital.org.ar/ http://www.patriciaisasa.com.ar/index.php?lang=es http://30anios.org.ar/wordpress/ For More Information Landmark Human Rights Case in Argentina Puts Torture on Trial http://americas.irc-online.org/am/6634 Argentina: Missing Witness Awakens Dark Past http://americas.irc-online.org/am/3595 Argentina 30 Years after the Coup http://americas.irc-online.org/am/3170

Argentina Revisits Dictatorship: A Year of Human Rights Trials

Written by Marie Trigona

Thursday, 01 April 2010 Toward Freedom

"With regular jails overflowing, you (the military) turned the principle garrisons in the country into virtual concentration camps, where no judge, lawyer, journalist or international observer enters. The military keeping the proceedings as secret, invoked as the need for interrogation, has transformed most detentions into kidnappings that allow you to torture limitlessly and execute prisoners with no trial." -- Rodolfo Walsh, political writer disappeared after he penned the text, "Open Letter to the Military Junta" published on March 24, 1977, the first anniversary of the coup. Tens of thousands in Argentina recently marked the 34th anniversary of the nation’s bloody military dictatorship, flooding into the historic Plaza de Mayo with cries of nunca más, or never again. On March 24, 1976 the military ceased power and instituted one of Latin America’s darkest chapters of terror. During the 1976-1983 junta, the military disappeared more than 30,000 people. Since the 30th anniversary of the coup, in 2006, protests to repudiate the military coup have grown in size and political importance; at this year’s protest more than 25,000 people overflowed the Plaza de Mayo while major human rights trials are underway. The Mothers and Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo led the march carrying a banner with photos of the disappeared. The black and white portraits extended for blocks, with thousands of photos of unionists, students, artists, intellectuals, workers, lawyers, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters and compañeros, many of whom were only in their 20s when commando groups kidnapped them to take them to clandestine detention centers, torture and later disappear this generation which dreamt of a better world. This generation was reflected in the outpouring on March 24, 2010, and in the collective screams of "30,000 disappeared—present! Now and Forever!" Open door to justice Nearly 27 years after Argentina’s return to democratic rule, the country is revisiting its painful past with human rights trials. Many have called 2010 the year of the human rights trials. More than eight high-profile trials are underway, prosecuting dozens of military, police and civilians accused of torture, murder, kidnapping and disappearances. The recent release of classified military files may also lead to more prosecutions and answers as to what happened to Argentina’s 30,000 disappeared. Until 2003, amnesty laws foreclosed any successful prosecution of ex-military leaders for human rights crimes by the courts. Even when prosecution was impossible, human rights groups continued to gather information as to the whereabouts of the disappeared, collect evidence and testimonies, and to demand justice and an end to impunity. However, a 2003 Supreme Court order overruled the Due Obedience and Full Stop laws passed in the early 1990’s which protected officers from the possibility of facing charges. The dimension of the crimes of those prosecuted is unimaginable. And the number of prosecuted and facing criminal proceedings falls short considering the complex system of kidnapping, torture, murder and disappearance that ensued during the dark years of the dictatorship. The most painful component for many is the significance of disappearances, and the open wounds left behind by not knowing exactly what happened to the victims and their bodies. Disappearances, a cornerstone in the lexicon of terror devised by the military dictatorship, persist as a social stigma and an uncomfortable void of the recent past. ESMA trial "March 24 not only compels us to reflect on the past, but also to reflect on our future and current challenges," says Victoria Donda, a national deputy whose parents were disappeared at the same detention center where her mother gave birth. Donda was born at the ESMA Navy Mechanics School while her mother was in captivity at the clandestine detention center. She lived most of her life with appropriators, who never told her about her past. She recuperated her identity in 2003 at the age of 26. More than 500 children were kidnapped by the dictatorship and raised with false identities. The human rights group Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo, has strived to find all of the children, so far they have recuperated the identity of 101 children, who are now in their 30’s. The ESMA trial, one of the largest human rights trials in Latin America’s history opened in December 2009. In total, 19 officers who worked at the ESMA face charges of kidnapping, torture and murder of 86 people. However, it is estimated that nearly 5,000 were disappeared inside the ESMA barracks, as the largest clandestine detention center that operated during the dictatorship. Donda will testify in the trial, and says, "We are living in a country where the people who participated in the crimes during the dictatorship are being tried, [but] these are not the type of trials that we want, nor are they as fast as we’d like, nor are all the people involved in the abuses on trial; however, these are the trials that we have and they are progressing." Surviving testimonies More than 300 clandestine detention centers operated during the dictatorship, shedding light on the magnitude of state terrorism carried out from 1976-1983. Many of the victims in Buenos Aires and surrounding neighborhoods were thrown from planes into the sea after being drugged. Aside from the ESMA, other clandestine torture centers operated in the nation’s capital. Inside the Atlético, Banco and Olimpo, three separate secret detention sites, thousands were tortured and disappeared. Ramiro Poce’s father was disappeared from the Garage Olimpo, one of the clandestine detention centers in a trial of the Buenos Aires circuit of clandestine detention centers. "The Due Obedience and Full Stop laws prohibited the proceedings against military. Thanks to the reversal of those laws we are able to slowly begin the trials," says Poce. He will testify in the trial, to give testimony of his father’s kidnapping by a commando group. Some 17 military and police are being prosecuted in this trial. For many, the trials mark a new chapter in Argentina’s history. "Each time the trials began, it is a step towards building a true democracy and prosecuting those who staged a coup against the nation and the entire population." Military officers have begun to testify in their defense, failing to provide information or confess; on the contrary some defend their actions as following military orders to "fight a war against subversion." For the first time, Rafael Videla appeared in court in March; however hundreds of police protected the former dictator from news cameras. Slow justice During this year’s massive march for the commemoration of Argentina’s 30,000 disappeared, protestors and human rights groups expressed immediate concerns about delays in legal proceedings and resistant judges contributing to delays in the human rights trials. "Only a few who formed part of this genocide are being tried in the justice system. There are still a lot left to be charged," said Estela Carlotta, president of Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo, reading from a document written by human rights groups on March 24. Organizers from this year’s march demanded, "the political decision to give more resources to the Justice system, in larger court rooms and truly public trials. Society has already condemned the murders and we won’t allow for forgiveness, amnesty or reconciliation for those responsible." The government official Victoria Donda admits that the judicial system has been slow to reform and is filled with accomplices from the dictatorship who still have not been prosecuted for their actions. A recent article in the national daily Pagina/12 revealed that several judges are being investigated in the province of Mendoza for human rights abuses committed during the dictatorship. Other irregularities have surfaced such as the same judge overseeing trial proceedings in two different provinces, which has delayed another major human rights trial of the Massacre of Margarita Belen for over a year and a half. The higher courts have also agreed to change judges, following the defendants’ request, all with the purpose of tying up proceedings. "In the provinces of Salta and Jujuy they do not have an adequate space to hold the trials. And they purposefully held the ESMA trial in a court room so small [that] space for observers, media and activists from attending all the court sessions has been limited," says Donda. Breaking the wall of impunity This year’s massive march reflects the passionate cries for the trials to continue, and that all military and accomplices involved in the brutal terror be brought to justice. But protestors came out not to close the dark chapter of history, but to turn the pages in the construction of a new future that values democracy and human rights. March 24 is now considered a national holiday, "a national day of memory for justice and truth," a day on which schools and public offices are closed. President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has supported the trials, but has also polarized the human rights movement. The president turned the official commemorations into a rally for the President, while creating tensions between human rights groups critical of the government’s economic policies and failure to provide the judicial system with enough resources to carry out the trial. While the president released an important document with the names of 4,300 people who worked in the armed force battalion 601, one of the largest intelligence agencies of the Armed Forces, more documents remain to be disclosed. The agency was used to collect information on activists which led to their disappearances, among the ranks of the thousands of names of people now in their 50s and 60s are not only military but civilians, professionals who have yet to be tried for their participation in the dictatorship. Human rights groups report that intelligence officers continue to infiltrate social movements and political organizations. Among those demanding justice are the Mothers and Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo, which for over 30 years have used pacifist tactics to demand justice and truth about what happened. For Latin America, these groups have exemplified the regional struggle for democracy and sovereignty, in a hemisphere plagued by dictatorships in the 1970s and 1980s which disappeared over 90,000 people according to The Latin American Federation of Associations for Relatives of the Detained-Disappeared (FEDEFAM). Argentina, thanks to the endless work of human rights groups, is paving the way for other countries to revisit their painful past. Without justice for crimes committed in the past, the military and repressive forces in the region will have the power to act with impunity as we are seeing with an active coup in Honduras, military in the streets of Chile and U.S. military bases in Colombia. Militarization remains a risk for the region, and with long-standing impunity for military crimes Latin America could lose another generation. However, a new generation of human rights advocates in Argentina is trying to break this wall of impunity through the legal system for long-standing justice. Marie Trigona is a writer, radio producer and translator based in Argentina. She can be reached through her blog www.mujereslibres.blogspot.com All photos by Marie Trigona

30,000 presentes! 34th anniversary of Argentina's military coup