One would think that humanity would learn over time, hmm? After the Europe-wide psychosis of the Holocaust, after the killing fields of Cambodia, the racial wars of Africa, after the "relocation" of aboriginal peoples in America and Australia, after the years and years of mindless violence, rape, and murder that makes up the entire history of human endeavor, one would hope--pray--that people would finally open their eyes and, if not avoiding the violence of the future, would at least not be complicit in its carnage.
Alas, that is not to be. As the mass graves of Sarajevo and the bodies strewn about Rwanda testify, genocide and decimation still exist. Not always are these crimes brought to light, and when they are, many simply turn their heads and refuse to believe.
Case in point: The cosmopolitan nation of Argentina. For the last quarter of the twentieth century, it has been conspicuously avoiding its complicity with a reign of state-ordained persecution and terror the likes of which one would have thought extinct after the fascist excesses of World War Two. For nearly fifteen years the Military Junta of Argentina futily extorted "information" on "subversives" from innocents and bystanders. They stole children born in captivity and sold them for adoption to people who didn't ask questions.
The story has been told a thousand times in a thousand ways in a thousand places. Military dictators (in this case, the Junta) overthrew an incompetent but rightfully elected government. "Subversives" and anyone even remotely connected to these "subversives" are tortured for information they didn't have. Twenty thousand innocent deaths in three hundred seventy death camps later, the damage has been done. Unlike other homicidal campaigns in Eastern Europe, Siberia, Southwest Asia, and Africa; the Junta murderers have gone unpunished. In 1986, just after the fall of the Junta, a law was passed ("El Punto Final" or The Final Point) which protected thousands of military culprits from justice. 1987 through 1989 brought military uprisings against the newly formed civilian government, causing an attitude of appeasement amongst the frightened legislators. 1990 brought the release of nearly every top murderer, each duly indicted by the democratic judicial system, in return for what Neville Chamberlain called "peace in our time."
The toll: Somewhere between twenty and thirty thousand "desaparacidos," or "disappeared persons" as well as their families.
The story of torture is familiar. The story of unpunished crime is not. The following are some of the most heinous murderers, their crimes, and the lives they currently live fifteen years after the fall of the Junta.
Reynaldo Benito Bignone: Last military dictator of Argentina in 1982. He operated two torture camps, destroyed both evidence on human rights violations and all documents pertaining to disappeared citizens. He was also a key player in the sale of infants born in captivity.
Current Status: Arrested January 1999 on charges of child kidnapping. Now being forced to suffer detention in his plush aristocratic home.
Noberto Atilio Bianco: Naval doctor and a key player in the delivery and sale of "desaparacido" infants. He has two adopted children, probably stolen from their deceased parents. He fled to Paraguay to avoid incriminating DNA tests in the 1980s and was only extradited by Paraguayan government in 1997 after children gained right to disallow these tests.
Current Status: After being found guilty of kidnapping and forgery, he was released as his luxurious vacation in Paraguay was considered equal to jail time.
Luciano Benjamín Menéndez: Commander, III Army Corps. Culpable for nearly 800 disappearances, he personally directed the torture of several citizens. Indicted for 47 murders, 76 torture cases and 4 kidnappings, all of which were closed by the Final Point law. He was pardoned by the Peronist President Menem and has been indicted on charges of genocide in Spain.
Current Status: Arrested in 2000 for refusing to testify before a court, but released. Witnesses against him have received threats.
Luís Abelardo Patti: Police assistant to the Junta. He worked in concentration camps as a torturer when he wasn't breaking down doors to haul more innocents away. He has a very long history of theft, aggravated assault, and murder.
Current Status: Mayor of Escobar and a potential gubernatorial candidate.
Víctor Hermes Brusa: Judge in the Junta judicial system. He took forced declarations, accepted testimonies signed under duress, and personally supervised torture sessions. He has been indicted in Spain on genocide charges.
Current Status: Judge in Santa Fe province.
Jorge Eduardo Acosta: Schizoid chief of a naval intelligence task force. Directly responsible for five thousand disappearances. He excelled in the practice of eliminating people by throwing people alive and naked out of airplanes thousands of feet over the Pacific. He personally ordered the vaporizations of a teenage Swedish citizen, a convent of French nuns, and the founder of the Plaza de Mayo protest group.
Current Status: In hiding.
Angry? Here's who to complain to:
madres@madres-lineafundadora.org -- the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, a group dedicated to the discovery of disappeared persons.
abuelas@tournet.com.ar -- the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, a protest group that concentrates on finding children born in captivity.
Luciano Menéndez -- one of the most recalcitrant murderers. His mailing address is:
Luciano Menéndez
Ilolay 3269
Bavrio Bajo,
Palermo,
Argentina.
(It would probably help if any letters to Menéndez were written in carefully worded Spanish.)