By Sovereign Hager

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay-Former dictator, Gregorio “Goyo” Alvarez was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison Thursday for thirty-seven homicides committed as a part of “Operation Condor” between 1973-1985. Alvarez was commander-in-chief of the army during the period and de facto president of Uruguay from late 1980 until shortly before the restoration of democracy.

Alvarez was accused of disappearing dozens of Uruguayan political prisoners seized in Argentina and secretly returned home as part of a cooperative effort by South America’s right-wing regimes to crush dissent. Alvarez said that he knew nothing about illegal abductions or forced disappearances. He has been detained by Uruguayan authorities since 2007.

The Court gave Navy Captain Juan Larcebeau twenty years in prison for twenty-nine homicides related to secret prisoner transfers in 1978.  Although the defense can still appeal the ruling, it is being hailed as “a very important step in clarifying” Uruguay’s past. The sentence came after an appeal successfully argued that charges for disappearances can be converted into murder charges, thus warranting heavier sentencing.

The sentence comes just days before a national election that includes a referendum on repealing a law that shielded members and agents of the military regime from prosecution for crimes such as kidnapping, torture and murder. The Supreme Court of Uruguay recently found those laws to be unconstitutional.

The prosecutor in Alvarez’ case persuaded judges that the crimes were not covered by the amnesty law because they stemmed from actions carried out under Plan Condor, a collaboration among various South American regimes to eliminate political enemies. It is estimated that about 150 Uruguayans disappeared in the secret flights from Argentina in the late 1970s and an additional twenty-nine people went missing in Uruguay.  The U.S. intelligence services provided help in “operation condor.

Current Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez has made human rights prosecutions a top priority and courts have detained a number of suspects. Juan Marie Bordaberry, in office from 1973-1976 is awaiting his sentence. “Goyo” Alvarez is considered one of the most representative figures of the military regime in Uruguay.

For more information, please see:

AP-Last Uruguayan Dictator Sentenced to 25 Years-23 October 2009

BBC News-Uruguay’s Ex-ruler Alvarez Jailed-22 October 2009

Latin-American Herald Tribune-Ex-Dictator Sentenced to 25 Years in Uruguay-24 October 2009

By Sovereign Hager

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay-The Supreme Court held that a law providing amnesty to military officials accused of murders, disappearances, and other human rights violations during the eleven year dictatorship is unconstitutional. The ruling comes just days before Uruguay goes to the polls in a national plebiscite to determine if the amnesty law should be overturned, as a part of the national elections.

The Supreme Court ruling was in the case of Nibia Sabalsagaray, a twenty-four year old literature professor and social activist who kidnapped, taken to a military base, and turned up dead on June 29, 1974. Sabalsagaray’s death was declared a suicide at the time, despite clear signs of torture.

A challenge to the law in the late 1980’s was upheld by the Supreme Court in a split decision. The government refused to change the law, despite pressure from the victim’s family.  The new ruling found that the amnesty law violated Uruguay’s separation of powers and was not passed by the required super-majority.

The ruling of the Supreme Court is tied to the facts of the case and therefore, the precedent coming out of the decision is unclear. A plebiscite, to be held on Sunday of this week, will determine whether the law is officially overturned. Current polls show the laws not being overturned, though there is hope that the Supreme Court ruling will turn the tide. A simple majority vote would overturn the amnesty law.

Amnesty laws were considered as key to enabling transitions from dictatorship to democracy in South America, but have been subject to increasing scrutiny. The Uruguay amnesty law was passed by a congressional majority in 1986 and reaffirmed in 1989 with fifty-four percent of the vote in a plebiscite. One argument for the law is that it balances against another amnesty law on the books for leftist guerrillas accused of attacks.

The amnesty law applies only to crimes committed in Uruguay. Individuals have been accused of rights violations in other countries as a part of Operation Condor, a joint campaign by military regimes to remove leftist movements in the Southern Cone. Former Dictator, Juan B. Bordaberry is currently under preventive detention in a case involving the murders of four Uruguayans in Argentina.

Amnesty International estimates that ninety-nine percent of political prisoners who were interviewed during the eleven year dictatorship claimed that they had been tortured. During the peak of political strife in Uruguay, the number of political prisoners was estimated to be 7,000.

The America’s Deputy Director of Amnesty International commented, “This law was designed as a get-out-of-jail-free card for those who tortured, killed, and disappeared people in Uruguay . . . now it is time for Uruguay to show that it will not permit impunity for these crimes.”

Brazil and Chile currently have similar dictatorship-era amnesty laws in force.

For more information, please see:

Amnesty International-Uruguay Must Annul Law that Protects Police and Military Torture Suspects-20 October 2009

AP-Uruguay Supreme Court Rules Out Dirty War Amnesty-20 October 2009

BBC-Uruguay Dirty War Amnesty Illegal-20 October 2009

Earth Times-Supreme Court Strikes Blow Against Uruguayan Amnesty Law-20 October 2009

By Sovereign Hager

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia – An inquest into the shooting death of Irishman Michael Dwyer, Eduardo Rozsa Flores, and Arpad Magyarosi by Bolivian police returned an open verdict this week. Dwyer, Flores, and Magyarosi were killed in a raid on a hotel on April 16 and are suspected to have links to a far-right group thought to be responsible for attacks on indigenous Bolivians, including a plot to kill Bolivian president, Evo Morales.

A lawyer for the Dwyer family has called the Bolivian police reporting on the raid and nature of the deaths into question.  The Bolivian police initially reported that the men died in a shoot out and that Dwyer was shot six times.  However, the an autopsy performed in Ireland revealed that Dwyer was shot just once in the heart. The inquest heard reports that the men were asleep when the shooting took place. The Irish government has requested an international investigation into the deaths.

Bolivia’s ambassador to the UK, Beatriz Souviron said told the inquest that Dwyer’s plain ticket to Bolivia was paid for by a businessman who was subsequently arrested for being a part of a separatist terrorist movement.  According to Souviron, the three men were under investigation for a bomb attack at the home of a Bolivian cardinal and the discovery of a cache of arms and explosives.

Dwyer reportedly went to Bolivia to take classes in personal security and protection, but decided to stay after the classes ended because he found work.  Rozsa and Magyarosi are Bolivian citizens of Hungarian and Romanian decent. Rozsa holds dual citizenship with Croatia and Magyarosi holds dual citizenship with Hungary.

Dyer’s parents believe that he came under the influence of Rozca after meeting his supporters while doing security work in Ireland.Flores, a known anti-semite, joined Croatian forces when war broke out in the former Yugoslavia. He led an armed group that attracted many foreign right-wing elements.

In an interview in April of 2009, Flores said he had been called to Bolivia to to set up a militia to protect Santa Cruz. He claimed to be ready to proclaim independence and create a new country.

Evo Morales commented that he would be happy for a “transparent” investigation to take place.

For more information, please see:

The Guardian – Irishman Michael Dwyer Killed in Bolivia was Linked to Bomb Attack, Inquest Told – 14 October 2009

Belfast Telegraph – Bolivia to Allow Probe into the Death Riddle of Shot Irishman – 14 October 2009

Irish Times – Parents Learned of Dwyer’s Death from Journalists – 14 October 2009

Irish Times – Dwyer Inquest Returns Open Verdict – 13 October 2009

By Sovereign Hager

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTÁ, Colombia – Organizations representing under-served sectors of the Colombian population and a group of thirty-one experts and activists from twenty countries met for a peace summit created by Bogotá’s leftists mayor and Father Francisco de Roux, head of the Jesuit Order in Colombia. Throughout the four day summit, experts made proposals for resolving the current humanitarian crisis and the armed conflict in Colombia.

The summit was created to spawn a “citizens’ movement” for peace, and culminates with the adoption of the “Bogota Manifesto for World Peace” and the presentation of a petition to nominate the indigenous communities from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains for a Nobel Peace Prize.  The meeting was held in Colombia because, according to Bogotá Mayor Zaragoza, in Colombia “force needs to be replaced with words and negotiation.”

Colombia has been in a state of civil war for almost fifty years and the day that the Summit began, twenty-six FARC guerrillas were killed in a bomb attack by the air force and the army in the central province of Tolima.  An undetermined number of peasant families were killed trying to flee the attack.

Civilians are often trapped in the crossfire, accused of siding with either side of the conflict and rights organizations estimate that approximately ten percent of the population of Colombia has been displaced by the war. Despite this, Colombia is the largest recipient of U.S. military aid in the americas and the third largest recipient in the world, receiving more than five billion dollars since 2000.

The activities of indigenous “peace communities” were highlighted at the summit. Videos showed the suffering that the people from San José de Apartadó, Tiquisio, Cavida and Toribio had endured over the last two decades. This included “mass murders, displacement, years living in places like stadiums and later the return (to their village) as a peace community, where (they) have faced forced disappearance and harassment.” Peace communities have declared themselves neutral in all armed conflict.

A principle concern among experts and citizens is the proliferation of military power in Colombia and globally occurring alongside situations of extreme poverty. “We have to fight to assure a progressive change from this unbridled, disproportionate military spending to investment in a renewable energy and food production”, said Bogotá Mayor Zaragoza.

Experts recognized American President Barack Obama’s decision to cancel the anti-missile shield project in Europe and to take the lead in nuclear disarmament as a vital step towards peace. However, concern remains over the use of Colombian military bases by U.S. soldiers.

Experts in attendance urged the world to recognize that such steps towards toward peace will facilitate a shift towards sustainable world development, via the United Nations and a multilateral system in which all countries, not only the most powerful, are taken into account.

Mayor Zaragoza stated that, “we will build peace, because it is the greatest legacy that we now have to bequeath to future generations.”

For more information, please see:

IPS: COLOMBIA: Talking About Peace in the Middle of War – 5 October 2009

Pressenza – The World Peace Summit Condemns the “Colossal Military Expenditure Throughout the World – 11 October 2009

La Cumbre Mundial – La Cumbre Mundial de Paz Reúne en Bogotá a Expertos y Activistas de 20 Paises – 30 September 2009