News Round-up

Chile
Pass notes No 3,091: Pablo Neruda (Guardian)
For anyone not familiar with the Guardian's "Pass Notes" column, it takes a wry look at current issues in a question-and-answer format. This is a good one, though it overstates the importance of this latest call for Neruda's exhumation.

Colombia
In pictures: Colombia protests (BBC)
Interesting images of the anti-FARC protests.

Peru
Peru women fight for justice over forced sterilisation (BBC)
I always welcome international attention on this important issue. This article contains one of the most vile quotes I have seen:

"You give birth like pigs or hamsters!"

Chile: Call to exhume Neruda

The Chilean Communist Party has asked for the remains of the poet Pablo Neruda to be exhumed due to allegations that he may have been poisoned. Neruda died, apparently from prostate cancer, shortly after the 1973 coup, but his former driver alleges that he was given a suspicious injection which could have induced a heart attack.

The Pablo Neruda Foundation, which guards the poet's legacy, said in a statement in May that there is "no proof whatsoever that suggests Pablo Neruda died of causes other than cancer". (BBC)

I'm not giving much credence to these allegations at this point, I think that it probably was just a coincidence that Neruda's death occurred so soon after the coup, but given some the circumstances, his fame and the long uncertainty surrounding the fate of Salvador Allende, it's hardly surprising that some questions can resurface.

Chile Communists request poet Pablo Neruda's exhumation (BBC)
Party asks to exhume Neruda's remains in Chile (AP)

News Round-up - Posting from hospital edition

Argentina
Ex-official in Argentina found guilty of journalist's death in 1976 (Journalism in the Americas)

Brazil
Brazil Takes Steps on Truth, Human Rights, and the Right to Know (Unredacted)

Chile
Chile requests extradition of former US Army officer allegedly involved in the 1973 killing of two US citizens (Mercopress)

Wife: US official accused in Chile has Alzheimer's (AP)
Chile seeks Ray Davis extradition over 1973 coup murder (BBC)

Colombia
Int'l Mission Says Dire Situation Getting Worse (IPS)
Worse than Fiction (IPS) [about the "false positives"]

El Salvador
Spain asks extradition in Salvador priest killings (AP)
The El Mozote massacre - 30 years later (Tim's El Salvador blog)

Guatamala
Astonishing Discovery of Remains of Guatemalan Death Squad Diary Victims (Unredacted)
Archives on Decades of Police Terror Accessible Online (IPS)

Paraguay
Former Paraguay guerilla Marciano Villagra dies (AP)

Peru
Government expands scope of military activity (IPS)

Uruguay
Uruguay identified military torture victim Julio Castro (BBC)

Argentina reading

The Economist has a good round-up of recent Argentine fiction dealing with the legacy of the dictatorship - thanks to GoodAirs for drawing my attention to it. In addition, the Guardian is visiting Argentina this month as part of its world literature tour feature. Don't miss the comments for lots of reading inspiration - it's not just Borges!

Argentina: Bussi is dead

Former general Antonio Bussi, who was sentenced to life in prison for crimes against humanity during Argentina's military dictatorship, has died. He was 85.

I'm not going to summarise his lifestory, because I already did that here. Suffice it to say that an icon of repression in Argentina has passed away. It's also worth noting that 1) Bussi's involvement in human rights abuses started before the 24 March 1976 coup and 2) he was not just giving the orders - he killed personally as well.

Let's take a little look at the response.

Pagina/12 goes for the headline "Terror in hell", and certainly the image of Bussi, his profile not softened by the oxygen tube in his nose, is well-chosen to illustrate this.

Torturado, represor, asesino, dictador y fusilador (Pagina/12)

Spanish paper ABC comments that the general "had the dubious honour of being the pioneer of the systematic plan of disappearances which characterised the last Argentine dictatorship". It notes that despite his conviction, he "died in bed surrounded by his family" - more than he allowed his victims, eh?

Muere el general Bussi, brazo ejecutor de la represion argentina (ABC.es)

Almost all the Spanish-language media are highlighting Bussi's role as a "symbol", an "icon" or an "archetype" of horror.

Murió Bussi, símbolo de la represión ilegal (La Nacion)
Murió Bussi, símbolo de la tortura y el horror en tiempos de la dictadura (Clarin)

La Nacion further comments on his "iron fist":

Acusado de atrocidades y de un estilo feroz (La Nacion)

President of the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, Estela Carlotto, laments that Bussi will take his secrets to his grave and comments that his family is very lucky to be able to bury and mourn him openly. Quite. Bussi's son says that the ex-general is now "at peace" and that "in time he will be remembered as one of the great men in this country's history". Seriously?!

Estela de Carlotto lamenta que Bussi se llevara "secretos a la tumba" (EFE)

The only English language report I can find at the time of writing is AFP:

General in Argentina's 'dirty war' dies (AFP)

Guatemala update

Two of the "disappeared" have been identified in Guatemala. Union leader Amancio Villatoro and student leader Sergio Linares are the first victims that scientists have matched to Guatemala's military journal, known as the "death squad diary", a list of 183 citizens who disappeared at the hands of the army between 1983 and 1985.

Guatemala: War Victims Found (NY Times)
Guatemala identifies victims from death squad ledger (Reuters)

At the same time, a debate has broken out about a proposal to allow the over-80s to serve jail sentences under house arrest, rather than in prison - something which would obviously affect the aging human rights abusers in the country. This has been an issue in Argentina as well, and some of these supposed incidences of "house arrest" were so lax that the retired generals in question barely needed to adjust their social lives despite being convicted of the most serious crimes. I'm always opposed - a standard prison cell for the lot of them, regardless of age, I say. Nevertheless, I agree with Mike from Central American Politics that getting convictions at all must be the priority.

Guatemala proposal for aged inmates draws anger (AP)

Meanwhile, Guatemalan Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz has called for justice for the victims of the war.

"We want it to be clear that you can't use terror as a control mechanism," Paz y Paz said.

She also mentioned the problem of financial resources in battling organised crime.

Top Guatemala prosecutor warns on war crimes cases (Reuters)

International Day to End Impunity

Today - 23 November - is the International Day to End Impunity, which focuses on crimes against journalists and others "who have been killed for exercising their right to freedom of expression".

The Committee to Protect Journalists' 2011 Impunity Index highlights 13 countries where violence against people working in the press is a particular problem. Three of them are in Latin America - Mexico, Colombia and Brazil. Colombia is described as improving, but with much work still to do, while the situation in Mexico is worsening and in Brazil, the picture is mixed.