By Tito Drago
MADRID, Sep 15 1996 (IPS)

The Spanish justice system has delared that the former dictators of Argentina are liable for human rights violations, and it is considering judgement against former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.

If those accused refuse to appear in court, they could be subject to an international arrest order, and prevented from leaving their countries. Similar measures could be applied to human rights violators in other countries, judicial sources said.

On Thursday, Judge Baltasar Garzon cited former general and dictator of Argentina, Jorge Rafael Videla, and the entire leadership of the military and police who usurped power in Argentina between 1976 and 1983, to testify on charges of kidnapping, torture, disappearances and assassination.

The same measure could be taken by another judge of the National Court, who requested a similar procedure against the former dictator of Chile, General Augusto Pinochet and those who followed him during his de facto government (1973-89).

The accused, says Garzon in his instructions, will be allowed to testify in Spain or in their own country before the appropriate judicial authorities.

Both lawsuits were brought by the Progressive Union of District Attorneys, but they are being joined by other affected parties and the relatives of victims.

The Organization of Relatives of Detained and Disappeared – headed by Sola Sierra – which represents thousands of Chilean victims joined the lawsuit last week.

The 1958 Spanish-Chilean convention on dual citizenship establishes in its Article 7 that any Chilean, whether a resident of Spain or not, can file suit in a Spanish court, and has the same rights as any Spanish citizen.

In his instructions Thursday in relation to the disappearance and death of 300 Spanish citizens in Argentina, Judge Garzon asked the accused to state whether they wish to testify in Spain or in their own country

If, as predicted by the plaintiffs, they choose not to testify either in Argentina or in Spain, Garzon will issue an order of search and capture to be carried out by Interpol.

According to the plaintiffs, national borders are not valid when it comes to “universal” crimes, such as genocide, terrorism, piracy, falsification of currency, and illegal drug trafficking and sex trade.

Among the accusers are reputed jurists, like the Attorney General of Valencia, Miguel Miravet.

Manuel Murillo – a lawyer who between 1972 and 1975 defended citizens accused by the Public Order Tribunals during Franco’s dictatorship, and who now represents the plaintiffs against Pinochet – believes that “crimes against humanity are violations in International Law.”

With or without the declaration of the accused, the two judges in charge will continue to issue instructions in the case. Once that stage is concluded, a public trial will take begin.

If the accused do not present themselves, the court will suspend the trial until they do so, or until they are arrested, which means that the order for their arrest will remain in force.

That itself would be considered a victory for the plaintiffs. But they also understand that times are changing and that they will be able to cite precedents that can favor their case. One such precedent is that of former Nazi Erich Priebke, captured in Argentina, extradited and tried in Italy.

Another precedent is the case of Jose Siderman, kidnapped and tortured in Argentina in 1981. After 15 years, Siderman was able to secure the support of the U.S. judicial system in a lawsuit against the Argentine government, because it was considered to be “indirectly” responsible for what the plaintiff’s suffering during the dictatorship.

The same sources point to the fact that this was the case of a non-U.S. citizen, who was kidnapped and tortured outside of the United States, and who nevertheless was able to use the U.S. courts to plead his case.

On September 3rd, The New York Times reported that the Argentine government had offered Siderman a deal in exchange for the withdrawal of the lawsuit. Sources of the Spanish judiciary say that the offer consisted in an indemnization of 50 million dollars.

Sources for the plaintiffs in Spain point to these precedents to indicate that the lawsuits against the former dictators of Argentina and Chile and all those who committed torture, kidnapping and disappearances, could end up in more than just an international order for their search and arrest.

“All possibilities are open, except forgetting or impunity,” said one source linked to the plaintiffs.

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