Former Argentine dictator and other officers convicted for baby thefts
An Argentine court has sentenced former dictator General Jorge Videla to 50 years in jail for stealing babies from political prisoners. There were also heavy penalties for other military officers involved in the practice.
Videla was sentenced at Argentina's Federal Oral Tribunal Court on Thursday, along with other former officials from the 1976 to 1983 dictatorship.
The court ruled that Videla was guilty of systematically executing a plan in which infants were taken from detainees who had been kidnapped, tortured and killed by the regime.
While Videla was given a 50-year sentence, the country's last dictator General Reynaldo Bignone received a 15-year-term.
Hundreds cheered the ruling, which was broadcast on a giant television screen outside the courthouse. Nine other defendants were jailed for between 15 and 40 years because of their roles in the practice.
Rights campaign group Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo has fought a legal battle calling for justice for the stolen children since 1996. It claimed 500 babies were taken and subsequently raised by families close to the regime.
According to the evidence, Bignone had been urged to reveal the identities of the stolen babies as part of the country's transition to democracy. Instead, the court heard, he had ordered a cover-up.
The junta's “dirty war” on leftist dissidents eventually claimed 13.000 victims according to official records, including pregnant women who were forced to give births inside torture centers. Human rights groups place the number at closer to 30,000.
The 35 abductions dealt with in the court case took place at the Argentine Naval School of Engineering, ESMA, in Buenos Aires.
Survivors who testified said that inmates gave birth while shackled and hooded and, in the overwhelming majority of cases, were never allowed to see their babies.
In most cases babies were given to soldiers or friends of the military, while mothers were thrown into the sea from military planes in what were known as “death flights” or “disappeared” by other means.
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Looks like they have enjoyed 30 years of freedom unlike their poor victims.
Interesting, I wasn't aware of the amnesty
It would appear the present CFK government is undermining economic and political freedom of the people.I wouldnt be surprised if certain trade unionists were arrested.
Varela is in jail already, this is just another sentence to his already long list...
This amnestry was very similar to the amnesty applied in cambodia. Could you explain your point about politaical freedom in relation to this article as I'm not quite getting you...
apparently most, still do not know, if indeed there parents, are actualy the real ones,
a mess to say the least .
a very sad event, i was listining to this on the bbc news late last night,
very sad .
Very true and something even harder to find that the brother you've longed to meet now possibly stands for everything you are against. This was, after all, the purpose of this. Breed the left wing out of the population and ensure that the dictatorship continues unopposed...vile in the extreme
One doesn't think that far, I'm afraid... One is so stuck in the past, living every second of lost time in the blink of an age. And then, as Cardozo puts it, accepts it...
These parasites hurt humanity. Another thing they did was to invade the Falklands, of course sending the kids of their opponents to fight their war.
In Uruguay they tortured people and kidnapped babies, In Argentina they disappeared people and kidnapped babies. In Chile they tried mass executions as they way to eradicate the left, and I would guess they kidnapped babies as well.
It didn't work, we are still standing, stronger than ever, still waiting for our cousins to come home
The 1983 government of Ricardo Alfonsin put these bastards on trial and condemned them, Carlos Menem pardoned them.
Political freedom? ...we know about bought votes, nepotism,corruption.La Campora intimidation,decrying the opposition,etc ,etc. The parallel I am trying to draw is what will this increasingly desperate government do to opponents when things inevitably get worse.At least the military has been weakened.
I certainly hope no more lives are lost.A sad period of history .
In Uruguay they have been able to walk the streets all along...
That aside, where do you get that info on bought votes from? La Campora intimidating? Decrying the opposition???
All this is happening in your head or alternatively in your local newspaper...
These ones: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xqwNsmzCbM
When are they going to put all these away for 30 years apiece?
Unfortunately self Determination is right about vote buying, intimidation, demonizing the opposition, corruption, etc. These are things we have to live with, our government is not a clean one, but if you are truthfull with yourself you must admit that none of our governments, niether here or in Europe are anything to write home about!!!!
The US soldiers impregnated asian women knowing the race cannot be mix.
The asian women could not delivered an 8 pound child. Many asian women bled to death. The babies that survived were sent to the US as the Operation Babylift with thousands of mixed children place for adoption. What a mess!
What in the name of God has that got to do with the rise and fall of he dictators of South America, Miss Sussie?
Videla and friends burn in hell.
I am not aware of any children kidnapped by the military in the pinocho era.
Seems to me that I have read of similiar crimes, committed by similiar types of people in recent European history. Would anyone care to draw the comparison.
On a personal point of view. They should have hanged all the bastards involved!
Finally we agree :)
Let me point out that these were the cretins that invaded the Falklands.
Allies of USA they implemented an experiment together with Uruguay, Chile, Brazil and Paraguay on how to best eradicate the left.
Dilma was tortured in Brazil, Pepe Mujica was tortured and imprisoned for 14 years. The people in power in SA today are the very same people that they tried to eradicate. The oligarchy has finally lost its grip on the continent, as for 2002, when it occured, you can see MASSIVE improvements in just about every SA nation. You guys should bloody cheer on us!
If it wasn't for that little issue with those islands...
The ERP and Montoneros fought an internecine war with the milicos and often between themselves that caused the deat of an unknown number of civilians before the Junta took power.
There has never been a single investigation of what happened pre-1976, and those who lost loved ones to the ERP and Montos apparently do not have the same human rights as the terrorist do.
This doesn't mean that the terrorism of the Argentine state was right, it was horrendous and should be paid for by the death penalty, but so should the other side pay for its crimes.
Within the state of law everyone should be considered equal before the law.
I am stunned and shocked, amazed truly amazed. Lets agree to disagree, because I have the slightest, just the miniscule idea, that your take and my take on European history clash. Whilst you refer to the US I refer my friend, to that most henious of political parties, the National Socialist Party of Geremany. The NSDAP. better known as the Nazis. Sorry old mate.
The response is always the same;
1. In our constitutions it clearly says that we should deny any imposter that takes the power by force
2. The reason why the people revolted against the “democracies” before the coups, was because a major part of the population were not being involved in the distribution of the countrys wealth.
3. The revolutionaries have served any crime they might have commited before the coup, while the coup lasted. Any “crime” thereafter is no crime as our constitutions protects our rights against terrorism of the state.
4. (For Uruguay only) Liber Arce, civilian and student, was the first one to die.
Ther are crimes and there are crimes, some are so dispicable that you you can not compare them. There does come a time when the ends, do not justify the means!
I understand you meant the Germans. Your language is clear and easy to understand, don't you worry. We still agree :)
I too mean the Germans, and as you say yourself, they should've been hanged. These men, the ones that comes with the similarities, are the same ones that invaded the islands, the ones that turtured, murdered and kidnapped babies.
I too believe they should've hanged them all
So we DO agree :)
I thought you were referring to the Franco dictatorship and the baby kidnappings there.
Guzz,
I agree with you on the notion of justice for those responsible for the crimes committed during the days of the dictatorships, but not on your idea that there was a massive leap forward in SA in 2002 when the oligarchies lost control.
If you look at Chile for example. The leap forward came during the dictatorship and subsequent democratic gov’ts have continued on the same road. Chile is the country that has seen the greatest economic growth on the continent and it is largely still oligarchic.
In order to not repeat the errors of the past it is important to recognise the wrongs on both sides, before and after the dictatorships. The policies of the left in the 70s would have and did perpetuate poverty on the continent. Many normal people here suffered persecution for not being card-carrying members of the socialist party in Allende’s day, not to mention theft of property. I am not saying that justified what followed. We suffered, but we have moved on.
If, as you say “One is so stuck in the past” you run the risk of not noticing the dangerous polarization that is taking place again. Chavez is the new Castro and his troops showing up in Uruguay and his meddling in Paraguay have worrying parallels to Cuban forces deploying to Chile. This is bad news for democracy and bad news for the continent.
There are things one does not forgive nor forget.
Only time we live in the past is when it comes to our desaparecidos.
Otherwise we are light years ahead our oligarchs :)
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