by Emilee Gaebler
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – As the 30 year anniversary of the Falklands war passes by, new tensions are brewing in the island community. Argentina’s President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is still asserting an Argentine claim over the archipelago, which goes against the current British governance that exists.
The 74-day war, for control of the Falklands, took place between Britain and Argentina from April to June of 1982. The war was brief but very violent; with 649 Argentinian soldiers being killed and 225 British soldiers.
A recent class action lawsuit was started by conscripted Argentine soldiers who fought in the Malvinas (what the Argentines refer to the Falklands as). Led by Nobel Peace Prize winner, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, the suit claims that human rights violations were committed by the Argentinian military commanders. Over 100 ex-soldiers are now part of the suit.
During the first week in April, the case made an Amicus Curiae presentation before the Argentine Supreme Court at the Tribunals Palace in Buenos Aires. Criminal Chamber Prosecutor, Javier de Luca asked that the court rule on whether the claims of torture and other abuses practiced on conscripted soldiers could be called war crimes.
The claims include stories of beatings, lack of food, psychological punishments and even being staked to the ground. Rubén Gleriano, one of the conscripted soldiers who is part of the suit, recalls that on May 27, 1982, he was caught stealing food. Gleriano says that he stole because he was starving. The only food he had received in the past two days was a chocolate bar on May 25, as a celebration of Argentina’s national day.
The punishment inflicted on Gleriano for this was staking him to the ground for a period of ten hours, from 4pm until 2am the next morning. The night was freezing cold and Gleriano almost died from hypothermia that night. He did not regain consciousness until 2 days after his fellow soldiers were able to sneak out and take him down from the stake.
Similar stories are repeated by the other conscripted soldiers who were forced to fight for Argentina. Rations were rarely provided, often soldiers were given a days worth of food and told they had to make it last for a week. Suitable clothing to protect against the cold was never provided and half of the weapons given to soldiers were not functioning.
Following the war, studies show that roughly 400 Argentine veterans have committed suicide. Soldiers who were released from their conscription were forced to sign a silence agreement that banned them from recounting the stories they had of the war, even to their own families. It is only recently that a true picture of the Falklands/Malvinas war has emerged. Much of this is attributed to the fact that the war was a point of embarrassment, something that Argentina wanted to cover up. Additionally, the acts were done during a brutal military dictatorship, something which the current government wants to distance itself from.
Despite this, the court ruled that the crimes had prescribed. Those involved in the case will still pursue their claims. A report that was commissioned shortly after the end of the war, the “Rattenbach Report,” was recently given to President Fernandez. The report was never released as it was considered to be “too crude and damning towards the commanding officers.” The ex-soldiers, abused in the war, hope that in the end justice will prevail.
For more information, please see;
MercoPress – Malvinas Veterans Revisit Scenes of War Where They Were Tortured by Their Officers – 20 April 2012
The Guardian – Falklands War: 30th Anniversary a “Day for Reflection” – 2 April 2012
Space War – Argentine Falklands Vet Sue for Abuse, Torture – 1 April 2012
Denver Post – 30 Years After Falklands War Visible Scars Remain – 31 March 2012
MercoPress – Legal Actions Against Argentine Officers who Tortured Conscripts During Malvinas War – 26 March 2012
