The "Dirty War"

The "Dirty War"

ome extraordinary things have

been happening over the past

few weeks in Latin America. In

Argentina the government has passed

laws to remove the immunity from

prosecution from members of the

military who took part in the

disappearances and torture during the

"dirty war" against the left in the 70s

and early 80s. This means that

Argentinians will be able to examine

what happened during those dark

years and to see who was responsible

and why they were unpunished for so

long. Argentina's popular new

president, Nestor Kirchner supports

these measures.

In Chile last month President Lagos

announced plans to investigate the

terrible period in his country's history

that followed the 1973 military coup.

His measures would allow immunity

to some of those who took part in the

atrocities in return for their

cooperation in the investigation into

what happened to the more than

3,000 who were killed by the military.

In Peru last month a report was

published about the events of the

1980s, when 60,000 died or

"disappeared." This, too, could lead to

prosecutions, and an investigation of

what happened and why.

The reaction to these developments

has been mixed. The 1970s and 80s

were an extremely painful time. Some

conservative commentators suggest

that these events are now best

forgotten so that people can get on

with their lives. Others have followed

President Bush and suggested that all

terrorists are "evil" and "hate

freedom". When you deal with people

like this, they say, any methods are

allowable. Many of them are asking

for a general amnesty because the

militaries in the three countries say

they were all fighting communist or

extremist elements and they had to

fight fire with fire. They argue that war

is war and both sides do terrible,

demonic things that you cannot

investigate fairly in peacetime. This is a

dangerous argument, which is invalid

on the basis of simple numbers.

In Argentina, for example, leftist

guerrillas were responsible for an

estimated 600 deaths, while the state

was responsible for 15,000 killings

and disappearances. In Chile the

figures were 150 killed by guerrillas

and 3,000 by the military. In Peru the

guerrillas killed a lot more, but the

state killed around 20,000 people. In

all three countries the state allowed

murders and torture to take place.

The actions of the guerrillas were

punishable by law and through the

courts. The state, on the other hand,

could do what it liked. These are

matters not just for the countries

concerned but also for the

international community, and there

are lessons to be learned today.

President Carter was the only one to

criticise the human rights abuses in

Argentina. The then US secretary of

state, Henry Kissinger, helped to

organise the coup in Chile and

celebrated when it happened. It is a

very dangerous road when a country

suspends its laws because of

"terrorism".

In 1974.there was a large

advertisement in the streets of Buenos

Aires with the message: Silence is

Health. The purpose of the sign was to

stop motorists using their car horns,

but it seemed at the time to carry a

much deeper meaning. That silence is

finally being broken. Those courageous

people who have fought for justice

over the years in Argentina, Chile and

Peru, deserve the world's admiration

and encouragement.