MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina's Kirchner blasts defenders of military regime

President Nestor Kirchner said at Monday's Army Day ceremonies here that his government will not tolerate military personnel who act as apologists for the “state terrorism” inflicted on Argentina by the 1976-1983 dictatorship.

"Let it be clear: I'm not afraid nor am I afraid of them," the president said at the end of an address in which he announced plans for a "rational" reform of the Argentine armed forces and defense establishment.

Kirchner was reacting to a rally staged last Wednesday in Buenos Aires to commemorate the soldiers and civilians killed by leftist guerrillas in the 1970s.

During that gathering, attended by about 3,000 people, speakers criticized the human rights policy of Kirchner's administration and insulted army chief Gen. Roberto Bendini, calling him a traitor.

While an estimated 2,500 people were slain by guerrillas in the mid-1970s, the military regime's "dirty war" against the left is blamed for anywhere from 10,000 to 30,000 deaths, depending on the source. The army punished six soldiers with up to 40 days arrest for taking part in last Wednesday's event.

Kirchner said that the rally included "a vindication of state terrorism bordering on a justification for crime," and also referred to revelations about illegal domestic-spying operations at an airbase in southern Argentina.

"They are deeds that don't help" the armed forces' ongoing process of reform, the president said sharply.

He contrasted the army founded by the heroes of Argentine independence with "that of those who murdered their brothers: the army of (Jorge) Videla and (Leopoldo) Galtieri," two leaders of the 1976-1983 regime.

"There is a new country," Kirchner said, adding that Argentina's armed forces have pulled back "definitively from state terrorism." In that vein, he said that the defense ministry and military services were at work on "a revision, a comprehensive conversion" of Argentina's defense apparatus.

Without offering any details, he said the new approach will aim for "sustainable budgets," and cited what he called "very promising results" in his administration's push to revive a domestic defense industry that was largely dismantled by privatization in the 1990s.

Kirchner hailed Argentina's joint production with Brazil of the Gaucho military vehicle and spoke of plans to give his country a home-grown source of advanced technology for the air force.

The president left the ceremony right after his speech, declining to stick around for a parade by 5,000 soldiers and accompanying maneuvers by helicopters and aircraft to mark the 196th anniversary of the founding of the Argentine army. Buenos Aires' La Nacion newspaper reported Sunday that Kirchner's government plans to "reduce the power" of the armed forces chiefs as part of the military restructuring. The chiefs of the various branches "will not be able to make decisions on promotions, purchase materiel or authorize training exercises" under the proposed reforms, according to the newspaper.

The joint general staff will "assume the majority of the powers" now held by the heads of the army, navy and air force, La Nacion said, citing military sources. The daily described the new system as similar to that employed in the United States.