MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Cristina Fernandez meets Greek leaders, cuts short European tour: no Oxford visit

Argentine ex president Cristina Fernandez met with Greek parliament speaker Nikos Voutsis

Argentine ex president Cristina Fernandez met on Monday with Greek parliament speaker Nikos Voutsis and Prime minister Alexis Tsipras, as part of the first leg of her trip to Europe where she travelled following authorization from magistrates, and depositing a significant bail, since she has been indicted in several cases.

 The meeting in the Greek parliament was open to the media and the two leaders spoke of their political experiences and the recent controversial ruling from the Argentine Supreme Court which set free a notorious official who was jailed for human rights violations during the Argentine dictatorship, appealing to a 2x1 benefit (every year in jail counts for two) and which could open the way for another 700 potential cases.

“The ruling violates the Constitution, international treaties and previous jurisprudence, allowing some 700 repressors jailed for crimes against humanity, to be set free”, warned Cristina Fernandez.

The ex president said that “human rights violations are an affront to the citizens of Argentina, to the citizens of the world, to humanity, because human rights are not right or left, they are simply human rights that we must all respect”.

Cristina Fernandez later held a private meeting with Prime minister Tsipras, only open for pictures, and who said he was interested in talking about events in Latin America since despite the distance, “Greece and Latin America share the same mentality”.

Later in the evening Cristina Fernandez was scheduled to give a conference on “Capitalism and Neo-liberalism. The crisis of democracy. The South American experience”. While in Greece the Argentine leader is the guest of the ruling party Syriza.

The second leg of Cristina Fernandez trip is Brussels, where the agenda includes meeting European parliament officials and several speeches on women's rights, human rights and political situation in Argentina.

The final leg of the European incursion was to be in Britain and allegedly she was scheduled to address The Oxford Union, but at last moment desisted from crossing the channel. The ex president alleged the very serious situation in Argentina following the 2x1 Supreme Court ruling referred to human rights, meant she had to return to Buenos Aires.

In a letter addressed to Michael Li, president of the Oxford Union, Cristina Fernandez apologized and “postponed” her visit and at the same time was extremely grateful for all the praise she and her deceased husband received as well as for the policies they implemented as presidents.

Further more in rather surprising terms the former president said that not only the Supreme Court ruling but also the serious economic and social situation, “each day worse for the great majority of the Argentine people” forces her to cut short her trip and return.

“Very serious things are happening in my country which require of my presence” underlined the ex president in a strange wording.

However Federal Judge Julian Ercolini, when Cristina Fernandez requested authorization for a trip to Europe, which was granted, and included Greece, Brussels and Britain, said he was surprised about The Oxford Union invitation, and was planning to write and confirm the schedule.