Argentina Undue Obedience

By William E. Smith

Bombs exploded at the offices of the ruling Radical Civic Union Party in four Argentine cities one morning last week. No one was injured, and no one claimed responsibility, but Vice President Victor Martinez blasted both "the extreme left and the ultra-right." Both sides, he said, had trampled on the "state of rights" that Argentines have enjoyed since 1983, when Raul Alfonsin became the country's first elected President after almost eight years of military dictatorship.

The motive for the bombings was fairly certain. A day earlier, the five- member Supreme Court had upheld a law granting immunity to about 200 military officers accused of committing human rights abuses during the "dirty war" waged by the military against suspected leftists between 1976 and 1979. Under the law, which was signed by Alfonsin in early June, only about 50 Argentines, including former top government officials, military commanders and police chiefs, are subject to prosecution for crimes, such as murder, kidnaping and torture, that were carried out during the period. The law in effect grants amnesty to hundreds of lower-ranking officers on the ground that by following orders, they were merely observing "due obedience" to their military superiors.

Last week's court action centered on a legal appeal by three former aides to General Ramon Camps, the onetime police chief of Buenos Aires province. The court decision led to the immediate release of the three officers, along with scores of others who were being held on human rights charges. Camps, who was convicted last December, was not affected by the ruling, and will continue serving a 25-year sentence. Among the five former junta leaders already convicted are ex-President Jorge Rafael Videla and a onetime navy chief, Admiral Emilio Massera, both of whom are serving life terms.

The due-obedience law has been widely criticized, particularly by relatives of the 9,000 or more people who disappeared during the dirty war and are presumed dead. Declared Hebe de Bonafini, president of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, an organization of parents whose sons and daughters disappeared: "Obviously there was an agreement with the military. I don't think the government is with the people. It's like a dictatorship. Everything is fixed." Even Federal Prosecutor Julio Cesar Strassera, who led the government case against junta leaders two years ago, was quoted by a Spanish newspaper as calling the law an "error" and an "absurdity," adding that "society knows perfectly well what happened during those years." In Buenos Aires, a newspaper cartoon carried the caustic caption "To err is human, to forgive is divine, to approve due obedience is Argentine."

Alfonsin insists, however, that the government's concession was necessary to maintain the support of the armed forces. "I believe I have acted as would a good father in thinking of the future," he said last week during a visit to the U.S. "By being lenient instead of taking punitive measures, we have demonstrated that Argentines want peace, reconciliation and for all to live together under democracy." Alfonsin may indeed have been acting in a paternal manner, but the offspring are still restless. Only two months ago, the President, 61, put down an army rebellion by walking unescorted into the Campo de Mayo military base in Buenos Aires and talking the rebels into surrendering. After that, he took a series of steps that were clearly aimed at placating middle-level officers. He removed his loyalist chief of staff, shook up the army hierarchy by retiring 15 generals and approved the due-obedience law.

Since his election in 1983, following Argentina's disastrous defeat by Britain in the Falklands war, Alfonsin has made considerable progress in restoring civil liberties, reuniting the country politically and dealing with its daunting economic problems. The inflation rate, for instance, has been reduced from almost 700% in 1984 to around 120%. As Alfonsin said in a speech at Berkeley last week, he has embarked on the "difficult yet marvelous task of reconstructing a nation." Keeping the military at bay will be an important part of that task, more difficult than marvelous.

With reporting by Gavin Scott/Buenos Aires