By Sebastián Lacunza
Editor-in-Chief
Editor-in-Chief
Milani case puts human rights movement at a crossroad
A vulgar point of view appears to have cemented itself in certain segments of society: human rights organizations were co-opted by the Kirchnerite governments with the help of subsidies, jobs and fraudulent fortunes. Not coincidentally, this simplistic way of looking at the world is being echoed ad nauseam by pundits who never expressed a particular interest in pursuing justice for crimes against humanity committed by the country’s last military dictatorship (1976-83), but rather have advocated impunity for decades.
The story of this supposed “moral breakdown” uses isolated examples to raze over a long struggle that has been led by mothers, grandmothers, families and activists — people who risked everything and sometimes lost everything. It does not seem entirely feasible to think families that include several disappeared members — whose properties were usurped by repressors, who had to see the perpetrators of those crimes living freely for decades and suffered disregard from governments and courts — could be tempted by a handful of pesos or dollars. More specifically, this “co-optation” argument collides head-on with the modest dwellings where the women, who for decades have turned their backs on anything resembling luxury, live
Even if it is clear that iconic representatives of Mothers and Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo have expressed staunch support for the Kirchners, the Argentine human rights movement is too complex to be portrayed as a single entity.
A sector of Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo - Founding Line (Nora Cortiñas, Mirta Baravalle), for example, a few emblematic members of Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo (María Isabel Chicha Mariani), the Servicio Paz y Justicia organization led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, certain survivors of concentration camps and the Centre for Legal and Social Studies (CELS) are just a few of the voices that have spoken up against policies of the Néstor and Cristina Kirchner administrations. Beyond the unanimous support for the resumption of trials against repressors in 2003, the biggest complaints have to do with police brutality and illegal actions to which the Kirchners seem determined to turn a blind eye, plus certain social inequalities that have yet to be overcome despite the economic progress that was evident in 2003-2011.
It is true that government subsidies for the Mothers and Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo, as well as other human rights institutions, have risen since 2003. This could, however, be seen as a positive trend considering the number of children of disappeared parents who recovered their real identity. Ignacio Guido Montoya Carlotto, the grandson of the head of Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo Estela Barnes de Carlotto, is one of the latest cases. Still, considering that out-of-control subsidies have often defined this administration, any audit of those contributions must always be welcome.
As for embezzlement of public funds, there is a giant case involving Mothers of Plaza de Mayo that was allegedly perpetrated by Hebe de Bonafini’s former protegé Sergio Schoklender, a sinister man who apparently diverted millions of pesos from the housing programme Sueños Compartidos.
Regarding the crony distribution of civil servant postings, the allegation can be backed by a couple of names although nothing to make any grand conclusion that would tarnish what has been an epic struggle.
A more plausible explanation for the solid support toward the current government has to do with the fact that 559 repressors had been convicted as of October, while 61 had been acquitted and 1,131 had been indicted. Some 300 are now sitting in the dock. This map, which includes the likes of Alfredo Astiz, Jorge Acosta, Christian Von Wernich and Luciano Benjamín Menéndez behind bars and saw dictator Jorge Rafael Videla die in the Marcos Paz prison, could be seen as sufficient reason for the women who had been demanding justice for their children over three decades.
The year, however, is ending with a milestone that can leave serious consequences for the human rights struggle, beyond opportunistic criticism. A federal prosecutor from the province of Tucumán has said Army Chief César Milani must be questioned as a suspect due to his alleged responsibility in the disappearance of conscript Alberto Agapito Ledo in 1976. Before this latest move, most emblematic voices of the country’s human rights movement largely chose to stay silent on the issue.
Until recently, human rights institutions may have had different views about subsidies, rhetoric, current events and numerous issues. These differences were largely put aside to prioritize a demand for justice, memory and truth concerning every single disappeared person.
Now though, the Mother of Plaza de Mayo Marcela Brizuela of Ledo and her daughter Graciela have been left rather alone in La Rioja. Milani was identified by witnesses as early as 1984 in La Rioja’s Never Again report while the most recent evidence provided, inter alia, by CELS shows how the then-young officer was in charge of the proceedings that ended with qualifying the disappearance of soldier Ledo as “desertion.”
Mothers and Grandmothers have largely abandoned the fight for Ledo. Estela de Carlotto merely stated the obvious: any suspect must be investigated. Her words are less shocking than the actions of Hebe de Bonafini, who has publicly hugged Milani and lobbed insults against anyone who dares to accuse the man she now characterizes as her friend.
Politics does not leave empty spaces, so other voices that continue to defend impunity and justify repression are suddenly exhibiting an eyebrow-raising commitment to justice — exclusively related to Ledo’s disappearance.
For its part, the national government has not only chosen to ignore the demands by the Ledos but has also triggered political reprisals against lawyers and the human rights leaders in La Rioja who dare accompany the family in its struggle, even though most of them were supporters of the administration.
If Milani — who remains innocent until proven otherwise—wasn’t the head of the Army under a Kirchnerite administration, demands to remove him from office would find unanimous backing throughout the human rights movement. Right now, there has been a break, led by dogma or other kind of loyalties, that could become damaging. The most emblematic leaders of the human rights organizations should reverse their silence—before it’s too late.
@sebalacunza