Argentine voices support Garzon

Not surprisingly, the Argentine government and other organisations are coming out strongly in support of Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon, recently found to have abused his power by a Spanish court. Garzon is a hero to human rights activists in Latin America for his work prosecuting Southern Cone dictatorship figures.

Argentine human rights secretary Eduardo Luis Duhalde has called the case "scandalous" and said it reflected badly on the Spanish justice system (he's not alone there as there has been widespread criticism of Garzon's lack of right to appeal).

In typically strident language, president of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo, Hebe de Bonafini, warned:

"You have to be very careful: These bugs are like cockroaches, and after the atomic bomb hits them, everybody thinks they're dead, but no," she said. "Germany still has its Nazis, Spain its Franquistas, Italy its Mussolinistas and in Paraguay you can see how the people of Stroessner still act. So you have to be very careful."

President of the Abuelas, Estela Carlotto, described Garzon as honest and committed.

Argentine rights workers to Spain: Lay off Garzon (AP)
El Gobierno argentino rechaza la "escandalosa" condena de Garzón (EFE)

News Round-up

Argentina
Cristina Kirchner: she's not just another Evita (Observer)
This profile of Argentina's president is not really one for the true LatAm-ophiles, I'm including it because I find it interesting when the mainstream English media go a bit further in-depth on someone like this and it has a lot of background info which isn't seen that often.

Central America
New Knight Center map chronicles attacks on journalists in Central America (Journalism in the Americas)

Guatemala
Long-hidden archives help Guatemala war crimes trials (Reuters)
Great info from Reuters here on the uses of and practical challenges posed by Guatemala's archives

For the first time in Guatemala's history, a former police chief now faces trial based on evidence collected from the national police archives, a labyrinth of dark rooms found by chance in 2005 when an explosion tore through a dilapidated building being used as a munitions dump.

...which makes it particularly disappointing to contrast with this story about possible legal limitations to the use of official documents in the country:
Guatemalan bill would classify military, diplomatic records as confidential (Journalism in the Americas)

For recent news on Guatemala, see also Mike's round-up at Central American Politics.

And I can't end before remarking on the conviction of judge Baltasar Garzon in Spain. This is a blow for human rights, memory and justice across the world, if you ask me, and Pagina 12's title page just about says it all.

Baltasar Garzón, judge who pursued dictators, brought down by wiretapping (Guardian)

Argentina/Spain: Turning the Tables

Spain's adherence to the principle of universal justice led judge Baltasar Garzon, now himself facing trial, to pursue Argentine human rights abusers, among others. Now it's Argentines who are looking for redress for crimes committed during the Spanish Franco regime.

The three cases being presented in Argentina on Wednesday are the civil war shooting deaths of Spanish citizens Severino Rivas, Elias Garcia Holgado and Luis Garcia Holgado, and Argentine Vicente Garcia Holgado. The plaintiffs, both Argentines, are Dario Rivas, son of the first victim, and Ines Garcia Holgado, the niece and grand-niece of the others.

The plaintiffs want the Argentine courts to expand the case to include any murders and disappearances committed by Franco's forces between July 17, 1936, the day before Franco's military turned against Spain's Republican government, and June 15, 1977, when Spain held its first democratic elections following the dictator's death in 1975.

Argentines Try Probing Crimes of Franco's Spain (NY Times)

Argentinian Court Considers Spanish Civil War Inquiry (Guardian)

Relatives of Franco's victims file lawsuit in Argentina (AFP)

Spain/Lat Am: Good News/Bad News

First the good news: Spain has approved the extradition of Julio Alberto Poch to Argentina. The Dutch-Argentine pilot is accused of flying some of the 'death flights' in which prisoners were thrown, still alive, into the Rio de la Plate estuary during the dictatorship. Ah hem, I am aware that I have reported this before, in January, but extradition procedures are long and convoluted things; at least it seems that progress is still being made.

Spain Approves Extradition of Pilot to Argentina (NY Times)

Now the bad: renowned Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón is apparently to face trial on charges of overreaching his powers in his investigation of the disappeared from the Franco regime. This will be close to the hearts of many Latin Americans, and others, who have followed Garzón's tireless pursuing of Pinochet and Scilingo, among others. One can only echo the words of the New York Times editorial:

The real crimes in this case are the disappearances, not Mr. Garzón’s investigation.

An Injustice in Spain (NY Times)
Spanish Judge Garzon Faces Trial over Franco Probe (BBC)
Profile: Judge Baltasar Garzón (BBC)