Making tyrants do time

A fascinating opinion piece by Kathryn Sikkink in the New York Times compares prosecutions of human rights abuses across the globe. Often, one excuse given for not pursuing atrocities is that it leads to "destabilisation", including the threat of a (further) military coup (see the justifications for the introduction of the "Full Stop" and "Due Obedience" laws in Argentina in the '80s). Yet, according to Sikkink,

transitional countries — those moving from authoritarian governments to democracy or from civil war to peace — where human rights prosecutions have taken place subsequently become less repressive than transitional countries without prosecutions, holding other factors constant. [...]
Of 100 countries that underwent a transition from 1980 to 2004 (the period for which extensive data is available), 48 pursued at least one human rights prosecution, and 33 of those pursued two or more. Countries that have prosecuted former officials exhibit lower levels of torture, summary execution, forced disappearances and political imprisonment.

What is more,

trials seem to project deterrence across borders. If a number of countries in a region pursue prosecutions, nearby countries also show a decrease in the level of repression, even if they have not held trials. [...] In Latin America, young military officers need only look to Argentina and Chile, where 81 and 66 individuals, respectively, have been convicted for crimes during previous dictatorships, to absorb the lesson that the possibility of punishment is much greater than it was in the past. This may help explain why military coups are now so rare in the region.

This is important stuff; let's have more cross-border comparison of post-dictatorship and post-conflict democratisation processes, please.

Making tyrants do time (NY Times)

Guatemala: Video of mass grave

Looking down into this mass grave is incredible, as is the presenter's casual tone when she says "The team try to ignore the death threats...".

Thanks to Mike at Central American Politics for posting this.

Picture of the Day: Guatemala

A little late, but I have to draw attention to this fantastic photo of a woman celebrating the 6,060-year sentences in the trial of four former soldiers in Guatemala.

6,060 year sentence in 1982 massacre in Guatemala (LA Times blog)

Resources: Truth and justice in Paraguay

A recommendation for those interested in memory issues in Paraguay is the website Verdad y Justicia from the Paraguayan government ombudsman (defensoria del pueblo). It's Spanish language and includes the complete report of the country's TRC for download as PDF.

Argentina: Welcome, grandchild no. 105

Yesterday the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo held a press conference at which they officially presented the case of found grandchild number 105, Laura Reinhold Siver, the daughter of Susana Siver and Marcelo Reinhold. Laura was born in the ESMA clandestine detention centre in 1978; her parents remain disappeared.

Despite the long-running and much-publicised Noble case, not every one of the Grandmothers' discoveries involves legal wrangling; on the contrary, in this case, it was Laura herself who came to the Grandmothers' offices to explore her own suspicions about her origins. The 34-year-old is a doctor, married with two children. She is one of the 37 emblematic cases of the trial dealing with the systematic appropriation of babies during the military dictatorship, although until now, her identity was unknown.

Laura has a grandmother who, although she is now is poor health, has been able to live to see her grandchild, reported Grandmothers' president Estela Carlotto. She also has an uncle and cousins who had been continuing the search for her.

It's truly incredible that 34 years after the fact, it's still possible to uncover the stolen children like this - and a tribute to the persistence of the Grandmothers and the bravery of the grandchild herself.

"Felizmente, una de sus abuelas pudo conocerla" (Pagina/12)
105th baby 'stolen' by Argentina regime identified (Times of India)

News Round-Up

Argentina

Just in case there was any possibility of forgetting Evita...
Giant portrait of Eva Perón unveiled in Argentina ministry (Guardian)

Guatemala

Guatemala massacre trial begins (AFP)
Ex-soldiers link troops to Guatemala massacre (AP)

Peru

This is an update of a previous post of mine; the actual number of missing books may not sound that large in the great scheme of things, but as it says, these were selected, valuable works
932 books stolen from the National Library of Peru (Living in Peru)

This is a very interesting look back on Garcia's presidency as he leaves office:
Peru's Garcia leaves conflicts unresolved (AP)

News Round-Up

*Post updated to correct error in Peru section*

Argentina
The anniversary of the AMIA bombing causes the annual reconsideration of the case, this time with Iran making cooperative noises and the victims' groups responding with suspicion.
Jews: Argentina and Iran both failed in bomb probe (AP)
Jewish community complains lack of progress in AMIA bombing investigation (Mercopress)
Argentina welcomes Iran's offer on Jewish centre bombing inquiry (Guardian)

Chile
The investigation into Salvador Allende has found that he did indeed commit suicide. I don't think that this has surprised many people, but it is a positive result.
Chile can finally begin the process of healing (Guardian)
End of story: family confirms Chile’s former leader Allende committed suicide in 1973 (Mercopress)
Allende’s Death Was a Suicide, an Autopsy Concludes (NY Times)
Chilean president Salvador Allende committed suicide, autopsy confirms (Guardian)

Peru
Shining Path remants have killed two soldiers in the VRAE
Attack on military base leaves two soldiers dead (Peruvian Times)

In a postscript to the events at Majaz which I blogged about fairly extensively in 2009, Monterrico Metals has paid compensation to 33 Peruvians who had alleged mistreatment during a 2005 protest. The company did not admit liability, however.
Mining firm pays compensation to Peruvian mine protesters (Guardian)

*Updated to correct error* Peruvian president-elect Ollanta Humala has picked Salomon Lerner as his new prime minister. This is Salomon Lerner Ghitis, not to be confused (as I previously did) with Salomon Lerner Febres, former head of Peru's truth commission. So now I understand why my previous blog posts have seen a spike in hits, but unfortunately it's the wrong guy.
Leftist Humala picks centrists for Peru Cabinet (Reuters)
Free market champions named in Peru’s cabinet (Financial Times)

Uruguay

Former dictator Juan María Bordaberry has died.
Juan María Bordaberry obituary (Guardian)
Bordaberry's death yields conflicting emotions (COHA)
Juan Bordaberry, Who Led Uruguay in Dark Era, Dies at 83 (NY Times)