The Minister of Defense, Luis Petri, was denounced by the Buenos Aires legislator of Unión por la Patria, Victoria Montenegro, before the United Nations Organization (UN).), for having ordered the dismantling of the area of his portfolio that investigated crimes committed during the last dictatorship.
At the end of March, Lucas Erbes, national director of Human Rights, reported that ten of the thirteen workers in the area were fired and that the government was going to repeal the resolutions they had created. The survey and analysis teams (ERyA) of the archives of the Armed Forces were created in 2010during the administration of Nilda Garré, and they operated for 14 years, carrying out more than 170 reports on causes against humanity.
Victoria Montenegrowho chairs the Human Rights Commission in the City Legislature, He asked the United Nations Special Rapporteur, Fabián Salvioli, to intervene in the case because “the disappearance of the ERyA would hinder not only judicial investigations, but also access to the truth.”. For the moment, the Armed Forces themselves are the ones that must respond to the requirements of Justice, which possibly “gives rise to the emergence of solidarity with those who are being investigated.”
Fabián Salvioli, the Argentine United Nations Special Rapporteur
“By emptying the teams of technicians, their ability to work is obstructed and access to the documents and files that make up the Ministry’s documentary collection is hindered with the same consequences,” said Montenegro. Likewise, the legislator declared that dismantling that area “directly impacts the rights of the direct victims, their families and society in general”regarding knowing the truth and investigating, judging and punishing those responsible in an “appropriate” way.
“The construction of collective memory is essential for preventing the repetition of crimes against humanity”Montenegro added. Furthermore, together with her partner Alejandrina Barry, from the Workers’ Left Front, they denounced that Javier Milei’s government “seeks to hinder the progress of the trials” while “calling for reconciliation” with the Armed Forces.
Deputy “Bertie” Benegas Lynch said that he does not believe in mandatory education and crossed the entire opposition arc
At the moment, there are 17 trials in progress and 62 cases requiring referral to trial. In addition, hundreds of perpetrators still need to be identified, the remains of the victims must be found, and the identities of more than 300 children born in captivity or appropriated in their first months of life must be restored.
“There is a political definition of President Milei and Vice President Villarruel of rewriting Argentine history. They have an interpretation that what happened during the last dictatorship was a confrontation. It is part of a history that we as a people have already overcome,” concluded Montenegro, who is the daughter of missing people.
Previous presentations against Petri for the dismantling of the ERyA
The lawyers Pablo Llonto and Mariana Maurer presented an action for protection and a request for a precautionary measure last Wednesday before the Federal Criminal and Correctional Court No. 3 of the city of Buenos Aires of Daniel Rafecas, where the mega case for crimes against humanity committed within the orbit of the First Army Corps is being processed.
The precautionary measure aims to have the maintenance of archival work experts who were laid off and protecting documentation. “The safeguarding of all the original documentary evidence found in the archives of the Armed Forces and the production of specialized reports at the request of the Judiciary that the Teams have been carrying out since 2010 are at risk. They constitute fundamental evidence for the trials of Against Humanity throughout the country.”the lawyers argued.
“In addition, all this work by the teams has resulted and is a means to comply with the international obligations assumed by the Argentine State to investigate and punish those responsible for serious violations of human rights added to the enormous contribution to the right to the truth for the victims, their families and society as a whole,” Llonto and Maurer completed.
Yasky: “Access to material (…) allowed the preparation of reports that have been key in multiple judicial processes”
At the same time, the federal prosecutor Miguel Palazzani —in charge of the units that investigate crimes against humanity in Bahía Blanca and Neuquén— sent a letter for Minister Petri to refrain from taking any measure that could put the documentary collection of the Armed Forces at risk.
For his part, the deputy and general secretary of the CTA, Hugo Yasky also presented a request for reports so that the head of Defense explains his decision and explained: “Access to material that was secret for a long time, but that is also difficult to access for those who do not work on its systematization and have technical knowledge, allowed the preparation of reports that have been key in multiple judicial processes.”
ML / ED