Brazil: O Globo apologises for coup support

Brazilian paper O Globo last week issued an unexpected apology for its support for the military dictatorship in the country; however, it also implicated a number of other media outlets in the complicity.

It described its support for the regime as "a mistake".

As often in such situations, few were satisfied by the statement. Current-day coup supporters saw the editorial as an attempt to rewrite history. According to weekly magazine Carta Capital, the right-wing group Clube Militar - which still holds annual celebrations of the coup - said they were nonplussed with what they saw as a two-faced retraction. On the other hand, for opponents the apology did not go far enough and was condemned as a marketing strategy. 

Apoio editorial ao golpe de 64 foi um erro (O Globo)

Leading Brazilian newspaper O Globo calls support for 1964 military coup "a mistake" (Journalism in the Americas)
Globo media organisation apologises for supporting Brazil’s dictatorship (The Independent)
Brazil's Globo group apologizes for backing military government (LA Times)

Brazil: Dilma Rousseff to receive apology for torture

Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff is among a group of people to receive apologies and reparations from the state government of Rio de Janeiro for torture suffered during the military dictatorship.

120 people are to be compensated in June, according to a spokesperson. Brazilian daily O Globo reports that 244 people will be issued reparations by 2013. Of the 1,113 victims of the regime who had filed claims, 895 have had their cases approved by the relevant commission and 650 have already been compensated.

The president is said to be donating the money - BRL 20,000 or around $10,000 - to the organisation Torture Nunca Mais. 

"It is an acknowledgement of those who fought for democracy. The money does not solve anything. What is important is the recognition of the state. We cannot forget the past," said Andrea Sepulveda, head of Defence and Promotion of Human Rights in the Rio government.

O Globo also notes that the president has filed similar claims in the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais, where she was interrogated, tried, judged and sentenced. Rousseff was imprisoned in 1970, served three years, and was tortured.

Brazil: An Apology for Torture (NY Times)
Brazil: Rousseff to receive apology, compensation for torture during dictatorship (Global Post)
Dilma Rousseff será indenizada pelo governo do Rio (O Globo)

Uruguay: Update on yesterday's acknowledgement of abuses

Here's an update because, due to international time differences, my blog post yesterday preceded the actual commemorative act in which Uruguay acknowledged its blame for dictatorship-era human rights abuses.

Uruguayan daily El Pais reports that president José Mujica gave a 15-minute speech in which he said that the country "acknowledged its institutional responsibility" in the disappearance of María Claudia García de Gelman and its failure to properly investigate the crime due to the amnesty law. He also pledged that the state would continue to work to locate her remains.

Moreover, Mujica acknowledged the responsibility of the state in the fact that "hundreds of people were the victims of torture and forced disappeared as part of the systematic practice of State terrorism".

That's a pretty big statement, I think you'll agree. Macarena Gelman did, saying that she was "very moved" by the speech.

Just to offset this, we have to have the obligatory statement by a military man, in this case the chief of staff of the army, Carlos Loitey, who claimed that "the armed forces are not criminals". "We are not a horde or a band," he continued. "Our career obliges us to make sacrifices, we can die and kill in combat. We are men of honour, we are simple, we are comrades and patriots." He added that his hands were clean. Well, there you go.

"El Estado reconoce las violaciones" (El Pais, Uruguay)

And here's a brief piece in English:
Uruguay president apologizes for dirty war death (AP)

Uruguay takes responsibility for dictatorship crimes

Uruguayan president José Mujica will lead an important public act of commemoration today in which he will take responsibility, on behalf of the state, for the human rights abuses committed during the dictatorship (1973-1985). This is following a ruling by the Interamerican Court of Human Rights (CIDH) and refers particularly to the Gelman case.

The ceremony is due to start at 4pm local time and will be broadcast on television and radio. Various important people will be there, including the president, vice-president, head of the supreme court, and the leaders of the three branches of the armed forces. I think that's a pretty significant symbolic gesture, although Uruguayan daily El Pais points out that there is still political oppostion to the move and that various ex-presidents will not be attending and that the military will still be thin on the ground.

Macarena Gelman and her grandfather Juan Gelman will be present and will also attend a prior unveiling of a commemorative plaque in honour of Macarena's mother María Claudia García Iruretagoyena de Gelman and other victims outside the military defence service building.

Uruguay was more or less pushed into this by the CIDH, but nevertheless, I'm going to class it as good news.

Caso Gelman: acto sin el apoyo político esperado por Mujica (El Pais, Uruguay)
Estado uruguayo reconoce responsabilidad por crímenes de dictadura (Prensa Latina)

Guatemala: President Colom apologises

Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom has apologised to the family of former President Jacobo Arbenz who was ousted in a 1954 coup backed by the United States. Arbenz died in exile in 1971.

Colom announced on Thursday that he will name a federal highway after Arbenz, notes the Associated Press. Not to make light of an absolutely serious issue, but that does seem a slightly odd tribute.

The New York Times, which calls the ceremony "muted", takes the opportunity to remind readers of a little of the history surrounding the Guatemalan coup.

The Eisenhower Administration painted the coup as an uprising that rid the hemisphere of a Communist government backed by Moscow. But Mr. Arbenz’s real offense was to confiscate unused land owned by the United Fruit Company to redistribute under a land reform plan and to pay compensation for the vastly understated value the company had claimed for its tax payments.

Arbenz's grandson also said that the family would like an apology from the US for its role in the coup.

Guatemala apologizes to ex-president's family (AP)
An Apology for a Guatemalan Coup, 57 Years Later (New York Times)

Mike from Central American Politics has also blogged on the issue and rightly points out that such state apologies are no replacement for real responsibility-taking by the perpetrators. Of course, I agree, and a "sorry" in itself is not justice. However, I always like to note these steps taken and I find the public engagement with memory issues interesting - even further afield, if you think of examples like the NY Times.

Chile: Obama's visit

US president Barack Obama and his family are spending the day in Chile, causing some to wonder if Obama will take the opportunity to discuss the country's past, and the States' role in it. Errrr, I think it's unlikely. Nevertheless, several hundred people are reported to be protesting, demanding that Obama apologise for the US interference which paved the way for Pinochet taking power.

Chile protesters want Obama to apologize for CIA encouragement of Pinochet dictatorship (Washington Post)

In a comment piece in the Los Angeles Times, Chilean writer Ariel Dorfman calls on the US president to prioritise the victims of what he calls "the defining experience of Chile's recent history". Dorfman points out,

A scant seven blocks from the presidential palace, La Moneda, where [Obama] is to be feted by President Sebastián Piñera, 120 researchers are busy all day long compiling a conclusive list of Pinochet's victims so that final amends and compensation can be made.

He suggests,

If Obama prefers places to people, he could acquaint himself with Villa Grimaldi, a former torture house turned into a center for peace, or devote 10 minutes to the Museum of Memory, where exhibits recall the darkest days of Chile's history.

He could even, writes Dorfman, visit Allende's grave.

Ghosts of Chile (LA Times)

The Miama Herald also notes that "some are wondering what he won't say".

Obama has busy schedule during Chile stop (Miami Herald)

I don't expect to see this visit straying from its official schedule, but at least the issue of memory, and the legacy of the Pinochet dictatorship, is being raised in the mainstream US media, so in that sense, what Obama isn't saying is being said quite loudly.

Peru: Lori Berenson Apologises

Lori Berenson, threatened with a return to jail, has apologised publicly for her involvement with the MRTA.

“Si mi participación... contribuyó a la violencia en la sociedad lo lamento profundamente y me arrepiento de ello... Si hay personas que se sienten afectadas por mis palabras y mis actos, pido perdón”
If my participation... contributed to the violence in society I am very sorry and regret that... If there are people who feel affected by my words and my actions, I ask their forgiveness. (my trans, you will probably see slightly different versions in various news articles)

I can only agree with Silvio Rendon on this one (if you read Spanish, go check out his whole post here). It's not a good apology. "If I have done harm... If there are people who feel affected...". Apologising for having offended someone is not the same as regretting the action itself, and this 'sorry' takes little responsibility.

Las disculpas de Berenson (Gran Combo Club)
American woman apologizes for collaborating with Peruvian Marxist rebel group (Peruvian Times)
US militant apologizes for collaborating with terrorism in Peru (Mercopress)
US citizen Berenson says sorry for Peru terrorism (Reuters)

News Round-Up

Chile
Chile Magnate May Oust Left, Fights Pinochet Ghost (NY Times)
Chilean journalist on trial for accusing army officer of killing famed singer (Journalism in the Americas)

El Salvador
El Salvador President Mauricio Funes in Abuse Apology (BBC)

Peru
Peru journalist critical of government jailed for defamation (Peruvian Times)
The Commission of Inquiry's Report on the Violent Events in Bagua, Peru: A Truth Commission with Little Truth (NACLA)