POLITICS-ARGENTINA: Congress May Bar Doors Against Army General

By Marcela Valente Reprint | | Print |

Marcela Valente

BUENOS AIRES, Nov 23 1999 (IPS) - General Antonio Bussi, charged with the disappearance of more than 600 people, kidnapping and illicit enrichment during Argentina’s 1976-1983 dictatorship, will face obstacles in December when he tries to take the parliamentary seat he won in October’s elections.

Bussi, governor of Tucumán province until two months ago, could be left outside parliament if a legal challenge presented by 25 legislators is successful. Other requests, formal and informal, have been made to ban him from legislative office.

Requests to refuse Bussi entrance to parliament’s Lower House have also come from the National University in Tucumán and via an e-mail campaign in which thousands of individuals have added their Internet “signature.”

One of the legislators challenging Bussi is socialist Alfredo Bravo, who warned that the general is “morally unqualified” to be a member of the Lower House, and that his title, granted by popular vote, will be revoked December 1 when new legislators are sworn into office.

Bussi led the Third Army Corp during the dictatorship, and some 600 civilian prisoners disappeared under his command, but a 1987 law – which ended legal proceedings against military personnel accused of human rights violations – meant he never faced punishment.

Last month, a man who was an army soldier during the dictatorship revealed there was a clandestine detention centre in Tucumán where Bussi often went to personally torture prisoners or shoot them at point-blank range.

Legislator Bravo stated that, though the 1987 law was approved by the parliament at the time, Bussi does not have the “moral background necessary” to act as legislator. Bravo said he suspects the army general intends to use parliamentary privilege to protect him from facing trial for human rights violations.

Bussi began his political career as the dictatorship drew to a close, and was elected governor of Tucumán province in 1995. But in the third year of his term, investigations originating in Spain put him in the legal spotlight once again.

In 1998, Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón requested investigations of Bussi and other military leaders for their alleged participation in kidnapping, torture, disappearances and illicit enrichment during the dictatorship. The inquiry revealed that Bussi had a Swiss bank account.

Bussi had never officially declared the overseas account and initially denied the charges, but later confessed. The Tucumán legislature suspended him from the governorship for 60 days, until his accounts were legally settled.

A military court found the suspended governor guilty and reprimanded him for lying under oath, but Bussi’s party had the majority in the provincial legislature and prevented his dismissal from being interpreted as an impeachment.

In October’s national elections, centre-left candidate Fernando de la Rúa won the presidency. Bussi was elected as a Tucumán national representative just two days before handing the governorship over to his successor. His election maintains the legal protections he enjoyed as governor.

Bravo indicated that Bussi faces trial for lying in sworn statements and for illegal enrichment in his career as public servant, as well as charges of State terrorism – under which the military made as many as 30,000 people disappear, according to human rights groups.

The legislator explained that when Bussi was being scrutinised by the media or by legal authorities, he would transfer his wealth to accounts in the name of close friends or distant relatives. Once the legal threat was past, he would return the money to his own accounts.

Bussi’s fortune in Argentina is estimated at more than 1.5 million dollars. His detractors suspect he has much more in overseas accounts.