Argentina’s Precedent

The verdict in the trial of nine former military leaders in Argentina is not satisfactory from a human-rights perspective. But, seen in the context of Argentine history, the judgment is an extraordinary step toward civilian control over the nation’s military caste.

A civilian court in Buenos Aires ruled Monday that five of the nine generals and admirals who ran Argentina from 1976 to 1982 were guilty of crimes committed by their governments. Two of those convicted were given life terms; three others were sentenced to prison for shorter periods. Of the four defendants acquitted, three must still face courts-martial for their conduct of Argentina’s disastrous South Atlantic war with Great Britain.

Argentine human-rights activists were unhappy with the divided verdict--a reflection of the revulsion that most people in the country feel over the terrible things that the military men who ran Argentina in the late 1970s did to win their “dirty war” against political terrorism. Testimony at the trial detailed a methodical campaign in which people who were even suspected of subversion were routinely kidnaped, tortured and killed. At least 9,000 people, and perhaps twice that many who were never accounted for, disappeared during the brutal repression.

But while the harshness of the military’s practices excited in many Argentines a thirst for revenge, the government of President Raul Alfonsin handled the issue in a calm, evenhanded manner. If nothing else, that was an astute political decision that kept Argentina’s military establishment off balance and defused the possibility of yet another military coup. While some may find Alfonsin’s approach cynical, they should not forget how often the Argentine military has overthrown civilian governments in the past, often with less provocation.

That reality will have to be kept in mind by Alfonsin when he pursues the court’s strong recommendation that the junta leaders’ trial be followed by efforts to prosecute the many middle-level officers who carried out their orders with such bloody efficiency. If handled cautiously, that effort will likely also come up with a mixed bag of results. But Alfonsin must continue his careful effort to bring the Argentine military under civilian control. Every step that he takes in the right direction is an important precedent for all Latin America.