Friday, July 13, 2007

Justice For The 'Dirty War'? A Spark Of Hope

A single spark of hope in a long quest for justice:
Argentina's Supreme Court has revoked a pardon granted to a former general accused of human rights abuses.

Santiago Omar Riveros is accused of more than 40 crimes against humanity which were committed during the military rule of 1976-1983.

The ruling opens the way for all of those accused of involvement in the "Dirty War", in which an estimated 30,000 people were killed, to be tried.
The BBC report continues:
Mr Riveros was pardoned in 1989 by the then President Carlos Menem.

Hundreds of other military leaders and policemen were also pardoned at the same time.
...

They hoped to live the rest of their lives in peace but the survivors and the families of the victims of seven years of military rule, in which an estimated 30,000 people were kidnapped and killed, continued their fight for justice.

The found a strong ally in President Nestor Kirchner and, one by one, the pardons and amnesties granted in the early days of democratic rule have been overturned.
Ahhh, the long arm of the families of the victims!

You can run, but you cannot hide ...