JOURNALIST ENRIQUE JARA COMMENTS ON HIS CAPTIVITY AND FUTURE PROSPECTS - 1977/05/04

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Argentina Declassification Project - The "Dirty War" (1976-83)
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06626851
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: April 3, 2019
• Document Release Date: April 12, 2019
• Publication Date: May 4, 1977

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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
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AMEMASSY BUENOS AIRES
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CONFIDENTIAL
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Journalist Ehrique Jara Comments on his Captivity and Future
Prospects
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CONFIDENTIAL BUMS AIRES 32,3
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REF: Buenos Aires 3260
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POL3/P 1. SUWARY. Jara was released from detention without any charges
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lodged against him. During his captivity he discovered that "La
Opinion's" publisher Jacob� Timerman had kept certain crucial
facts from his senior stafEwhich he had a. moral obligation
to reveal. These included the ownership of the newspaper and
former Economy Minister Gelbard's undue influence over the
paper's editorial policy. Nevertheless, Jara sees Timerman
as the victim of antisemitiam and an attempt to throttle
the free press. Jara believes "La Opinion's" failure is
imminent. The Timenman family has dismissed Jars as a result
of Jara's breaking with Jacob�. Jara is anxiously awaiting
the final decision as to whether he will be hired for a key
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E jab in the OAS Human Rights Commission. He fears the OAS �1
comnission members are not made of solid stuff and will not
wish to hire an individual who has been detained by the
through
security forces of a member state even thoug0ho fault of
his own. END SUMMARY.
2. In conversation with Emboffs, Enrique Jara discussed his _
understanding of the genesis and current status of his can-
didacy for position of Secretary General of OAS Hunan Rights
Commission. He said that Deputy Permanent US Representative
Robert White, whom he had first met during the latter's
last visit to Buenos Aires, evidently had played an instrumental
role in presenting his name for consideration. He had not
sought the job and the offer had came as a surprise. Same
weeks ago he was called to Washington where he met Orfila,
White and other members of the commission to discuss the
prospect of his taking the job. Before agreeing to his
candidacy, Jara consulted the Argentine and Uruguayan
ambassadors to the OAS and Admiral Mendia (who he described
as the unofficial eyes and ears of the armed forces in the
Argentine diplomatic community in Washington) to determine
Tothedver there might be any objections perceived by either
government. As none were expressed and some of those con-
sulted even said they viewed his candidacy with sympathy,
he then filled out the necessary forms, including insurance
papers.
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r 3. Jara said he felt somewhat disconcerted by Orfila's
remarks, as reported in the press) following Jara's arrest)
which gave the impression that Orfila knew nothing
about Jara's candidacy and bore no responsibility in the
matter. Jara also said he could not help feeling that the
manner in which the Human Rights Comnission eventually dis-
posed of his nomination (i.e. their final decision in this
matter) in the light of his detention and subsequent re-
lease (without any charges ever having been lodged against
him by Argentine security forces) was a small test of the
conmission's degree of commitment and sincerity with
respect to the human rights issue. He did not have a very
high opinion of the OAS to begin with, nor of the way de-
cisions were reached in that institution, and he feared
that the camfission would now back away from approving his
nomination. Now that he had resigned effective Apr 29 fran
the staff of "La Opinion" at the request of the Timerman
family, he had a very real interest in taking the OAS job
and he would not make any other plans regarding his future
until the committee met next week and made its decision.
4. Jara also discussed his imprisonment at considerable
length. The woman& group that took him from his halm
told his wife that they were Montoneros as they ripped out
the telephone wires. Shortly after the commando group
departed from Timerman's house, Jara was blindfolded and
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r-- remained that way for several days. His blindfold was not --1
removed until he was taken fraa his initial place of
captivity to La Plata (about an hour's drive away). His
captors gave him no food or water the first day and a half
He does not krxm7 where hews held during this initial
period. During this period his captors applied electric
shock to several parts of his body while interrogating
him. (MYEE: This is the single most sensitive element of
his testimony and we promised that it would be held in
strictest confidence.) The questions they asked of him
appeared to be diverse, they came in no logical order and
lent the impression that the interrogators were basically
on a fishing expedition. Not all the questions were related
to the Graiver case or the newspaper's alleged connections
with Graiver or with subversion. For example, the interro-
gators had some knowledge about his nomination for the OAS
post and wanted to know more about it.
5. Jara said that Col. Camps, the Chief of the_Buenos Aires
Provincial Police, told him, both during his captivity and
follaqing his release, that the police had gone over every
inch of his life and were convinced that he had a. perfectly
"0.eml"moral and political record. Camps even apologized
for the treatment he had received, stating that the police
regretted having to use such methods, but they were a
necessary evil. There was a war on, and sometimes errors
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were committed in wartime. In Jara's case there was no
question but that he had been detained by error, and Camps
was sorry. If there were anything he could do for Jara to
rectify matters, Jara should just let him know. Jara fur-
that
ther stated/while he had suffered during his captivity, he
viewed the experience as the supreme test of his life and
he was satisfied that he had come through his ordeal with-
out having betrayed his ideaLs or his professional
colleagues.
6. Jara regretted he could not say the same for 'Timerman.
Jara confirmed that he had broken definitively with Timerman.
Not only had Timermsn never told him about Graiver 's inter-
ests in "La Opinion," but Timerman had downright lied when
Jara questioned him sometime in the past about rumors then
circulating to that effect. During one of the several
crossexamination sessions in which l'imerman, Jara, Casasbellas
and Mrs. Graiver were c:arpelled to participate, Timermsn
adirdtted the Graiver interest in the enterprise when
Graiver's widow confronted him with her shares in hand.
Even assuming that Graiver did have Montonero connections,
a question about which Jara said he had no information at
all to contribute, he doubts that Timerroan would have
known that. It was inconceivable to him that Timerman
would knowingly link up with somebody who had Montonero
Lties, given Timarman's clearcut position against terrorism
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r of any political stripe. However, Timerman had a m3ral �1
obligation to level with his senior staff about such a
critical factor as the ownership of the newspaper and
Timerman had lied by nhintaining that the enterprise was
wholly owned by his family. This point was of paramount
importance because each member of the editorial staff had
assumed a great personal risk when they agreed to join
Timerman in the noble venture of printing a truly free and
Independent newspaper of a quality theretofore unknown in
Argentina. Even rse, Jara was convinced that Timerman
had betrayed the paper's - - by accepting bribes from
Gelbard in order to mislead the public with regard to the
Aluar scandal.. (Jara denied that this was cam= practice
44.1 0C41"4
among Argentine newspapers.) Jara said he felt doubly be-
trayed on this point because he had explicitly made the
point to Ilmerman when he joined the paper that "La
Opinion" had to maintain a specially high standard in this
regard if it were to remain free, and Tiaerman had said
at the time that he was in total agreement. Most despicable
of all, Jara said, was Timirman's atteapt during his
interrogation tto *slough off responsibility for "La Opinion's"
editorial line to other senior members of the staff.
Timerman, for ample, called Casasbellas a marxist, which
Jara denied.
7. Jara suspected that Timerman had received the same kind
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Eof treatment which he had suffered. He overheard the �I
guards yelling epithets of "dirty Jew" at Tinerman At
one point Tiroerman was asked whether he and Celbard were
members of the same religious sect. Timerman's response
that he was a practicing Jew whereas Gelbard lived outside
his faith did not seem to please the guards, who evidently
were searching for proof of some "sinarchic plot" afoot.
Jara believed that the basic elements of the eventual
charges against Timrman would be: (a) defrauding Graiver
of his shares; (b) accepting bribes from Gelbard; and (c)
subversive connections�if the investigators can garner
sufficient proof that Graiver indeed was involved with
terrorists. Jara had no doubt that "La Opinion" would
fold before the end of the current month on account of
the financial and psychological strains it was undergoing.
Advertising already had fallen off sharply and the staff
was quitting. Jara agreed with our observation that the
outside world would view the bankruptcy of "La Opinion" as
proof that Timerman had been the victim of antisemitism and
a deliberate attempt against freedan of the press, and
in Jere' s view such an interpretation would be justified.
8. Nevertheless, he regretted having given a recent inter-
view to a Uruguayan newspaper. He was interviewed in a
weak moment, having just been released from captivity,
Land his psychological defenses were .0 � The paper, be
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later discovered, was only interested in doing a hatchet �1
job on'Thnerman, quoting only Jara's critical comments.
9. Jara was eloquent in his statement that he nag had
violations
become an instant expert in human rights/as a result of
his recent experience. Having survived the auto-da-fe
prepared for him by the Argentine security services, he
reiterated, it would be ironic if he were turned down for
the OAS post as a result of his arrest. If that were to
happen, it would tend to substantiate his suspicions'
y about theAgZof the OAS. He emphasized that no
charges had been lodged against him and that he would not
have been released had there been the slightest shred of
suspicion against him He felt his faith inhumanity
would suffer a serious reverse if it turned out that he
could not find any job because of the unjust detention he
had suffered.
10. COMMENT: We were pleased to have had the opportunity
to talk with Jara and were impressed by his candor. His
interview with the Uruguayan jo lent itself to the
possible interpretation that his captors had somehow per-
suaded him to turn against Timerman publicly and attack
him gratuitously, dishonestly and unfairly. We think Jara
gave a satisfactory accounting and explanation of his
changed views regarding Timerman in his conversation with
although we reserve judgment on some of the judgments he made.
uss/ On the basis of this limited observation, we Would
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say he came through as a man of rmral integrity and strong
character.
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