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Dreaded
Injustice
By Eduardo Kimel
Almost
10 years ago the first edition of the book "The Massacre
of San Patricio" was published in Argentina. Ever since
the readers were able to buy it, I felt proud of my work.
It was my way of contributing to building a collective memory,
trying to shed light on the most bloody repression and the
premeditated confusion with which it was hoped the infamous
killing of five priests and seminarians of the Pallottine
order would be forgotten.
The
book had in that sense a dual purpose: to investigate the
assassinations of priests Alfredo Kelly, Alfredo Leaden and
Pedro Duffy and of seminarians Salvador Barbeito and Emilio
Barletti on July 4, 1976, and to demonstrate how the killings
enunciated the objectives of state terror to destroy all organized
popular protests against the military dictatorship in Argentina.
Perhaps
I was naïve, but when the book was published I never thought
it could generate a judicial complaint. Least of all that
it would come from judge Guillermo Rivarola, who was entrusted
with investigating crimes committed under the dictatorship.
A brief paragraph in which I evaluated the role of Rivarola
was enough for him to start a libel action against me in 1991.
The book said: "Judge Rivarola carried out all the basic
procedures. He gathered all the police reports, requested
and obtained the forensic experts and ballistics. He forced
the appearance of a good number of those people who could
give clarifying evidence. However, the reading of the judicial
documents lead to one question: Did they really want to follow
a trail that would lead to the killers? The action of the
judges during the dictatorship was generally one of condescension
when not supportive of the dictatorial repression. In the
case of the members of the Pallottine order, judge Rivarola
met the majority of the formal requirements of the investigation,
although it's apparent that a series of elements key to the
solution of the assassinations were not taken into consideration.
The evidence that the criminal order came from the bowels
of the military paralyzed the inquiry, leading to a dead end."
In
October of 1995, judge Angela Braidot, who decided the grounds
of libel had been met, condemned me to a suspended one-year
jail sentence and a payment of $20,000 to Rivarola. In November
of 1996, the three-member National Appeals Court unanimously
annulled the judgement and absolved me.
In
December of last year, the Supreme Court, acting on a request
by Rivarola, revoked the dismissal and returned the case to
the appeals court for a new sentence. On April 8 of this year
the court confirmed the earlier sentence.
From
that moment a feeling of repulsion against the decision has
swept many sectors of our society. The Union of Press Workers
and the Association of Journalists have headed a campaign
nationally and internationally. The sentence was rejected
by the Argentine Association of Journalistic Entities and
by the Inter-American Press Association.
On
April 16, the OAS's relateur for Freedom of Expression, Santiago
Cantón, said: "The Office of the Relateur is surprised
that the journalist who investigated these horrendous crimes
is being castigated while the authors, those covering up justice
and the accomplices remain unpunished."
In
Capetown, South Africa, 26 journalistic and human rights organizations
issued a declaration urging "the members of the highest
court in Argentina to reconsider both sentences and issue
a just decision."
I
have received messages of solidarity from many human rights
organizations and from the Pallottine community. Many national
lawmakers have become interested in the case and have brought
motions before congress, the result of which is impossible
to determine at this time.
I'm
not alone. In this context, I feel accompanied and supported.
When I wrote the book, I did not want to cause the commotion
that this unusual judicial case has generated. But the judicial
action has obliged me to defend my book with all the legal
means at my disposal. I proved that they plan to silence me
because I criticized the actions of the judiciary during the
military dictatorship. With arguments that conflict with objective
reality, part of the justice system defends Rivarola, protecting
itself by extension from journalistic criticism. They believe
they are immune, as if their decisions weren't government
acts subject to public criticism. They have not even taken
into consideration that my book clearly demonstrates that
all the affirmations are supported in the reading and serious
analysis of the judicial case opened by the death of the five
men.
The
effect of the punishment has not ended with me. By condemning
me, they have sent a message to the news media. "Publish
what you want. There's no previous censorship here. But afterwards
we'll punish you through the suits that will be launched."
This is a clear form of limitation to freedom of expression
that not only affects journalism but also the population in
general, because it limits their right to be informed. The
judges who condemned me cannot demonstrate that what I wrote
is not true, because the goal of the investigation headed
by Rivarola in 1976 and 1977 did not find the assassins, and
the criminals are still free among us. The same way, they
cannot explain why, if between 1976 and 1983 there were thousands
of assassinations, kidnappings and tortures carried out by
the Armed Forces, none of the criminals was punished during
this period.
We
have presented an extraordinary appeal to the Supreme Court.
If they confirm the sentence, we will take the case before
international organizations to obtain the justice that has
been denied me in my own country. Perhaps all the public protests
against this arbitrary conviction will help to change the
course before it becomes necessary to take these steps.
(Eduardo
Kimel has been an editor and contributor
to Argentine media like Clarín, Página 12 and Sur and several radio stations. Besides
"The Massacre of San Patricio," he has published
two other books, "20 Years of Argentine Political History
(1945-65)"and "30 Years of Argentine Political History
(1966-86)."
(Posted in Spanish August 18, 1999)
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