Menem Rejects Spain’s Bid to Try Ex-Leaders
Argentine President Carlos Menem on Wednesday vehemently rejected a Spanish judge’s attempt to prosecute junta leaders who cracked down on leftists and dissidents during the past military dictatorship.
Menem defended his country’s jurisdiction in such cases, scrapping the warrants issued Tuesday against 98 former Argentine officers.
“This is totally out of the question and out of place,” he said.
The Spanish move--by the same judge pursuing former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in London--came as Menem is winding down his decade-long presidency. His tenure remains marked by his controversial decision in 1990 to grant amnesty to former officers blamed for “dirty war” atrocities.
On Tuesday, Judge Baltasar Garzon in Madrid charged the former officers with genocide, terrorism and torture in connection with a military dictatorship that lasted from 1976 to 1983. An official report said about 9,000 people died or disappeared during that period, though human rights groups put the figure as high as 30,000.
Menem said he will leave the conflict for the next government. He is to hand over power Dec. 10.
Aides to President-elect Fernando de la Rua said Argentina upholds its extradition treaty with Spain but doesn’t necessarily include the arrest warrants.
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