Looking to South America this week, and some brave steps forward on the part of countries still struggling with the past.
The BBC reported on 11 October that a former Colombian justice minister had been sentenced to 24 years in prison for his part in the murder of presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galan in 1989. Alberto Santofimio, formerly a political rival of Galan, had been an associate of infamous narco trafficker and Medellin cartel boss, Pablo Escobar. Arrested previously in 1995 for taking drugs money, Mr Santofimio was accused of ordering the hit squad that publicly assassinated Mr Galan during a public meeting in the town of Soacha, Cundinamarca province.
In a country where speaking out against the cartels and mafia bosses often means death, Mr Galan had courageously campaigned on an anti-drugs, anti-corruption platform, promising extradition to the United States of those involved in the illicit trade. The assassination and the subsequent silence had come to symbolise the repression and fear running through Colombian public life, and the high cost of speaking out against the political underworld.
The trial was watched by Colombians in their millions, and the outcome may yet prove to be an important political milestone in a country where corruption and shady deals still rule the day. A widow and family may now claim some sense of justice, and crucially the state seems ever more willing to address long-buried sins.
The Times of 10 October reported that a Roman Catholic Priest from Argentina had been sentenced to life imprisonment for his part in kidnappings, torture and murder during the so-called ‘Dirty War.’ In the period of brutal military junta rule in the country from 1976 until 1983, it was alleged Christian Von Wernich, 69, had abused his position as chaplain to the Buenos Aires police force by extracting ‘confessions’ from government suspects before handing them over to be tortured and in some cases murdered.
Jorge Rafael Vileda’s military government took power in Argentina after the coup d’etat in 1976, brandishing extreme repression and brutality as a ‘solution’ to perceived political instability. The junta’s fear of militarised left wing and communist groups translated into the widespread and often indiscriminate kidnapping and murder of political activists, professors, students, musicians and their families and friends, with the number of murders estimated to be 30,000.
Long a source of pain for Argentineans, the Dirty War and recent history remains a national burden. Despite some successes in bringing perpetrators to trial, much controversy has surrounded the politicisation of reconciliation and uncertainty over whether to bring the military fully to account. Progress has been made however: in 2006, 24 March (the thirtieth anniversary of the coup) was declared a public holiday, the Day of Memory, Truth and Justice, where people gather to remember the dead and look to the future. And in commenting on the case of Christian Von Wernich, Jorge Bergoglio, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires praised this latest attempt to deal with the past:
“We believe the steps taken by the justice system in clarifying the facts should help renew every citizen’s effort toward reconciliation and serve as a wake-up call to put impunity, hatred and bitterness behind us.”
The Guardian reported this week on new measures proposed by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. In a move designed to boost the profile of indigenous rights, school textbooks will be changed in order to emphasize opposition to the present view that the Spanish conquest of South America was “doomed but heroic.” This news came as it was reported the president had renamed the cable car system which passes over capital city Caracas as Warairarepano, “which means big mountain in an indigenous coastal tongue.”
The same paper also reported on October 12th that former World Bank chief economist Joseph Stiglitz has endorsed President Chavez’s plan to establish a pan-regional bank, designed specifically for the purpose of serving Latin American economies. Mr Chavez argues that such an institution, now equipped with start-up capital from seven nations, would promote more regional independence and signify a move away from the previously costly loans extended by western nations.
