RIGHTS-ARGENTINA: Amnesty Alarmed by Police Brutality, Impunity

By Marcela Valente Reprint | | Print |

Marcela Valente

BUENOS AIRES, Feb 15 2002 (IPS) - The human rights watchdog Amnesty International ended its visit to Argentina Friday expressing alarm about the torture and mistreatment of civilians by police, and about future impacts of this unpunished behaviour given the likely rise in social protests as the country’s crisis deepens.

The head of the Amnesty delegation that visited Argentina, Esteban Beltrán, warned that the country is suffering a serious problem of police impunity that dates back to the last military dictatorship (1976-1983), manifest in the continued reports of torture and ill treatment of civilians.

“Since January 2001, there have been more than 900 denunciations of human rights violations of this type occurring at police stations and prisons, with methods adopted directly from the military regime,” said Beltrán, director of Amnesty’s office in Spain.

“But only a few cases have reached the courts and there has not been one police officer condemned,” he added.

Amnesty presented the Argentine government with a memorandum in which it warns that the country’s human rights situation “has been growing worse for some years” and could worsen at an even faster pace in the short term as a result of the current social and economic crisis.

Based on the London-based organisation’s experience, the problem of illegal coercion committed by the security forces is a “very grave” matter in Argentina, even when compared to the situations of other Latin American countries, particularly due to the impunity of the perpetrators here.

The government’s apparent indifference is consistent with a policy under which it continues to refuse to extradite military officials accused of human rights violations during the dictatorship who are sought by justice authorities in other countries, says Amnesty.

Local human rights organisations created especially to deal with denunciations of mistreatment, torture and murder committed by the police have warned of the rising number of fatalities in recent years. Most of the victims have been young people.

The Coordinating Body against Police Repression, an organisation headed by criminal lawyer Maria del Carmen Verdú, reported last year that in the first three months of 2001 the police shot to death 25 unarmed individuals, whose average age was 17.

But the total deaths attributed to the police in the 18 years since the end of the dictatorship surpasses a thousand, with just 15 percent of the cases involving a trial to clarify the facts or – in even fewer cases – sentences for those responsible.

Beltrán stated that this reflects a serious problem that “could endanger the future of human rights in this country,” particularly in times of institutional instability like now, with the rise in citizen protests.

Since December, when street demonstrations began to gather momentum and president Fernando de la Rúa resigned, there were riots and looting, claiming the lives of 30 people. Justice authorities are investigating abuses perpetrated by police in at least five cases which occurred near the presidential palace, the focal point of many of the protests.

Since that time, protests, marches, roadblocks and neighbourhood assemblies have been almost a daily occurrence in some parts of the country, while poverty, unemployment and the economic recession are part of the deepening crisis.

A resident of the Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Palermo told IPS this week that when she joined neighbours to present complaints before the neighbourhood council, they were followed by a police vehicle, an incident she described as an intimidation tactic, not an effort to protect.

In the provinces there were also reports this week of police repression against demonstrators who approached municipal offices and supermarkets asking for food.

Héctor Zanni, mayor of Villa Dolores, in the central province of Córdoba, said police attacked the demonstrators, firing their weapons and spraying teargas.

“In this context, we are very concerned about the police repression that was seen in the December protests, when there were 30 fatalities. We know that several of the victims were murdered by police who shot to kill,” said Beltrán, referring to the agents who have already been taken into custody.

The Amnesty representative wrapped up his five-day visit Friday. During his stay, Beltrán met with judges, ambassadors, representatives from local human rights groups, legislators, and political leaders, but he was not granted a meeting with the president, which is generally expected for such visits.

President Eduardo Duhalde, designated to the post by congress on Jan 1, delegated the meeting to third-ranking officials, from the Secretariat of Human Rights, which only served to aggravate Amnesty’s concern about the Argentine situation.

“What worries us more than this slight from the president is that his indifference could be a symptom that human rights are not a priority on his administration’s agenda,” said Beltrán, who nonetheless highlighted the fact that his organisation’s message had been well received by Argentine society.

“The success of our mission will be seen in what occurs once we have left,” he said.