TERRORISM REVIEW 13 OCTOBER 1983[SANITIZED] - 1983/10/13

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Argentina Declassification Project - The "Dirty War" (1976-83)
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 05360561
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 26
• Document Creation Date: April 3, 2019
• Document Release Date: April 12, 2019
• Publication Date: October 13, 1983

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Directorate of
Intelligence
MASTER FILE CO
DI NIT GIVE OUT
OR MARK ON 1
EO 13526 3.5(c)
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3.5(c)
Terrorism
Review
13 October 1983
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3.5(c)
'ecret
GI TR 83-021
13 October 1983
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3.5(c)
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Terrorism
Review
13 October 1983
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Argentina: The Politics of Counterterrorism
(OGI)
3.5(c)
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Comments and queries regarding this publication may be directed to the Deputy
Office of Global Issues, telephone
3.5(c)
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3.5(c)
� 3.5(c)
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Argentina:
The Politics of Counterterrorism
The amnesty and antiterrorism laws just issued by
Argentina's military government are viewed by many
civilian leaders as self-serving and are, in our judg-
ment, likely to be the focus of debate within the
civilian congress when it convenes in 1984.
The new amnesty law (officially, the Law for National
Pacification) is designed to protect the armed forces
from punitive action by the civilian government fol-
lowing the upcoming October elections. It covers the
period from the beginning of the last constitutional
government in May 1973 to the installation of Presi-
dent Bignone in June 1982. The law specifically
exempts from prosecution police and military person-
nel who participated in the violent campaign against
leftists during the 1970s: Moreover, the decree is
sweeping: it orders that all ongoing investigations into
the hundreds of deaths and more than 6,000 political
disappearances be immediately dropped if they in-
volve members of the police or armed forces.
In contrast, the law is much more exclusive in its
treatment of subversives and benefits only those who
have not yet been legally charged with antigovern-
mental activity. In addition, it leaves the door open for
future legal action against some of the more notorious
terrorist leaders by excluding from its amnesty provi-
sions those subversives living abroad. The decree also
exempts from amnesty those suspects who have shown
their "intention to continue" their association with
guerrilla or terrorist organizations and those already
convicted of terrorism.
Interservice disputes among the armed forces�over
who should be covered, the date of issuance, and the
period of time that should be covered by the amnes-
ty�delayed the amnesty decree for months. Many
officers opposed the amnesty on the grounds that it
implicitly acknowledged that the military had com-
mitted crimes. Some junior officers also opposed the
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3.5(c)
law because actions taken during the "dirty war"
were in response to orders from superior officers, and
they had believed this would be a justifiable defense
of their actions.
Promulgation of the amnesty was quickly followed by
presidential signature of another law assigning special
antiterrorist powers to the military. The government
intends the antiterrorist law (officially, the Law for
the Judgment of Subversive Acts) to streamline the
judicial system and provide a legal apparatus for
"preventing and punishing subversion and terrorism."
It grants police broad powers to tap telephones, open
mail, search houses, and make arrests without a
warrant. The law also allows police to detain terrorist
suspects incommunicado for up to 48 hours, if a judge
is notified of the detention, and for up to 15 days with
a judge's permission. Terrorist and subversive acts
committed by civilians will no longer be subject to
military law, but are to be decided by the Federal
Court of Appeals, whose decisions cannot be ap-
pealed.
3.5(c)
3.5(c)
Public reaction to the amnesty and antiterrorism laws
has been swift and harsh: leading civilian politicians,
lawyers, and churchmen have denounced the laws as
unconstitutional and reactionary and predict their
repeal once a civilian congress convenes. Several trial
judges have termed the amnesty law invalid, stating
that, because the current government seized power in
a coup, it does not have the constitutional authority to
decree political laws such as the amnesty. Two judges
have already refused to forward political disappear-
ance cases to the Federal Appeals Court for possible
dismissal as is required by the terms of the amnesty.
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Se 0
Repeal of the laws�a time-consuming and legally
difficult process�seems unlikely, though some at-
tempts at modification by the new congress can
probably be expected. According to Embassy report-
ing, there appears to be a general consensus among
political leaders that a strong legal apparatus is
needed to deter terrorism. In addition, most politi-
cians recognize that the new civilian government
could be destabilized were it to attempt to prosecute
military officials.. Human rights activists, however,
will continue to protest both the abridgment of civil
liberties inherent in the antiterrorism law and the
denial of military culpability in the amnesty law.
3.5(c)
In the final analysis, the future of the new amnesty/
antiterrorism package will largely depend on the
outcome of the October national elections. Although
leaders of both major political parties have publicly
predicted the repeal of the laws, the Radicals have
been more strident than the Peronists in their con-
demnations. One of the first orders of business for the
new civilian congress, therefore, is likely to be a
debate on how best to modify the new antiterrorism
program to finally close the "dirty war" chapter in
Argentina's history, while at the same time guaran-
teeing a modicum of civil liberties. 3.5(c)
3.5(c)
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