Loyalist Argentine Troops Crush 3rd Mutiny Against Alfonsin; One Officer Slain

Loyalist troops used mortars and rifle fire Friday to crush the third mutiny against the civilian Argentine government in 19 months, leaving one officer dead and at least two wounded, officials said.

Vice President Victor Martinez declared late Friday night that the uprising had been suppressed and that the mutineers would be prosecuted. But the rebels remained in the army infantry school where they revolted early in the day, and it was unclear why they were not taken into custody.

A disgruntled right-wing colonel led the takeover of the school at the nation’s largest military base, Campo de Mayo, 20 miles northwest of Buenos Aires.

The mutineers demanded an amnesty for officers convicted of human rights abuses committed during the previous military regime and pardons for the leaders of the previous two revolts.

Authorities Act Quickly

In contrast with its response to the previous revolts, the government of President Raul Alfonsin moved with speed and force to crush the uprising, deploying tanks and anti-aircraft guns around the infantry school. A brood of helicopters ferried supplies. After negotiations failed, loyalist army units opened fire with mortars and small arms at 4:30 p.m. on a steaming day in the Southern Hemisphere’s late springtime.

The rebels shot back and refused to surrender, however, and were said to have mined roads and dug trenches around the school. News reports indicated that some units sent to crush the mutiny had in fact joined the mutineers.

Negotiations continued during the evening after the gunfire subsided and, despite Martinez’s announcement, there was speculation that the situation had not been completely resolved. Luis Caceres, a member of Parliament for the ruling Radical Civic Union, said near midnight local time that “I am not totally convinced” that the problem had been resolved.

The leader of the insurrection was Col. Mohamed Ali Seineldin, a combat veteran of the Falklands War against Britain in 1982 who was recently denied promotion to general. Claiming to command 450 mutineers, he told reporters, “This is not a coup against the government but a fight to restore military honor to the army and review the trials that punish the just and promote the guilty.”

Most Troops Stay Loyal

Defense Minister Jose Horacio Jaunarena said that the great majority of the armed forces had remained loyal to the elected government. Only the infantry school within the vast army base had taken part, he said, and other installations at Campo de Mayo and at bases elsewhere nationwide remained loyal to the government.

Campo de Mayo, covering several square miles of fields, barracks and military schools, has been the birthplace of rebellion for generations. Six military coups and four ousters of military presidents by other generals have occurred in Argentina since 1930.

Despite periodic military unrest, most analysts expect Alfonsin to reach the end of his term next December and hand over power to an elected successor in the first constitutional transition in 61 years. That is regarded as a crucial milestone in a country that needs a record of political stability to encourage the investment required to cure a profound economic crisis.

Alfonsin’s office said that the president would shorten by 12 hours a visit he was making to the United States and return home today. On Friday, Alfonsin, who had attended Thursday’s inauguration of President Carlos Salinas de Gortari of Mexico, delivered a scheduled speech to the U.N. General Assembly in New York and met with President-elect George Bush in Washington. That was interpreted as a sign that Alfonsin did not perceive the insurrection to be a threat to his government, although he acknowledged in his U.N. address, “I speak to you with my heart in my hands because of events my country is experiencing.”

Soldiers recently have complained about low pay and the continuing trials of a handful of officers accused of human rights abuses during the military regime that ruled from 1976 to 1983. During those years, at least 9,000 disappeared and were presumed killed in armed forces’ “dirty war” against left-wing subversion.

Seineldin was an instructor and confidant of Lt. Col. Aldo Rico, who led the two earlier revolts--in April, 1987, and last January--to press a demand for a general amnesty. Those actions ended without shooting.

Military officials said there was a brief attempt Friday at rebellion at Magdalena military prison, southeast of Buenos Aires, where Rico is in custody awaiting court-martial. Five former military leaders, including former President Jorge R. Videla, are serving life prison sentences there for human rights crimes. Three other top former officers are serving long prison terms for botching the Falklands War.

Videla’s son and namesake, an army captain, was reported to be among the rebels.

Martinez, acting president in Alfonsin’s absence, said the events were “episodes that can occur in a society that needs greater reflection and maturity.”

Back From Panama?

Seineldin apparently returned this week from Panama, where he had been serving as military attache, and slipped into the Camp de Mayo base to lead the revolt. Described as a charismatic leader, he was sympathetic to Rico and had been his commander in the Falklands War. Argentina’s defeat in that war humiliated the armed forces, speeding the downfall of the military government and the return to civilian rule.

Rico’s first revolt produced an agreement by the government to limit prosecutions for “dirty war” human rights abuses, absolving all but a handful of senior officers. But Gen. Jose Dante Caridi, commander of the army, began a purge of Rico’s sympathizers. A number of senior officers were denied promotion, Seineldin among them.

Since the return of democratic rule, the government has slashed military spending in half and reduced the standing force from about 100,000 to 50,000. Austerity measures have cut salaries and funds for equipment, prompting widespread dissatisfaction in the services.

A handful of bystanders gathered outside the gates of Campo de Mayo, where the barracks are badly in need of a coat of paint. Unlike the previous incidents, there were no crowds shouting in defense of democracy, yet those who were present were disgusted with the rebels.