Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07BUENOSAIRES520
2007-03-19 09:24:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Buenos Aires
Cable title:  

ARGENTINE GOVERNMENT WELCOMES AMIA DECISION

Tags:  PTER PREL PGOV KJUS AR FBI 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0001
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #0520/01 0780924
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 190924Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7584
INFO RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/FBI WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL PRIORITY
RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 000520 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

WHA FOR A/S SHANNON, DASDUDDY, AND DMCCARTHY, WHA/BSC FOR
BARNES, FRIEDMAN, AND BLAKENEY NEA/IR FOR HWOOSTER, S/CT
FOR VIRGINIA PALMER AND ARNOLD SIERRA, NSC FOR JUAN ZARATE
AND JOSE CARDENAS, FBI FOR CTD IRAN-HIZBALLAH UNIT AND OIO
AMERICAS UNIT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/05/2017
TAGS: PTER PREL PGOV KJUS AR FBI
SUBJECT: ARGENTINE GOVERNMENT WELCOMES AMIA DECISION
PRIVATELY, BUT QUIET PUBLICLY

REF: A.
C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 000520

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

WHA FOR A/S SHANNON, DASDUDDY, AND DMCCARTHY, WHA/BSC FOR
BARNES, FRIEDMAN, AND BLAKENEY NEA/IR FOR HWOOSTER, S/CT
FOR VIRGINIA PALMER AND ARNOLD SIERRA, NSC FOR JUAN ZARATE
AND JOSE CARDENAS, FBI FOR CTD IRAN-HIZBALLAH UNIT AND OIO
AMERICAS UNIT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/05/2017
TAGS: PTER PREL PGOV KJUS AR FBI
SUBJECT: ARGENTINE GOVERNMENT WELCOMES AMIA DECISION
PRIVATELY, BUT QUIET PUBLICLY

REF: A. 1. BUENOS AIRES 422 2) BUENOS AIRES 375 3)
BUENOS AIRES 312

B. 4) BUENOS AIRES 263 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: AMBASSADOR E. ANTHONY WAYNE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (C) Summary: On March 15, Interpol Executive Committee
(EC) recommended by consensus the issuance of Red Notices
against five Iranian officials and one Hizballah - Islamic
Jihad Organization (IJO) leader wanted in connection with the
July 18, 1994 suicide bombing of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual
Association (AMIA),but turned down the GoA's request against
three other former top Iranian officials, including former
President Hashemi Rafsanjani. Apart from press reports
quoting AMIA Special Prosecutor Alberto Nisman as saying "We
won", GoA reaction so far has been relatively quiet. Under
Secretary for Political Affairs Luis Cappagli told DCM the

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GOA did not intend to issue a press statement. He added that
the GOA fully expects the GOI to appeal the decision, but
that the unanimity of the EC decision would have a very
favorabe impact on a future vote by the Interpol General
Assembly in November. In a separate conversation, Vice
Foreign Minister Garcia Moritan called Ambassador to express
thanks for USG assistance in rallying Interpol EC support and
the judge in the case similarly expressed his sincere
appreciation for help.


2. (SBU) Local press coverage has depicted the Interpol
decision as a victory for the GoA, with two articles
criticizing the USG decision to support the EC's
reccomendation not to publish the Red Notices for top Iranian
officials. Reactions from the Jewish community were mixed,
with leaders from AMIA and the Delegation of Israeli and
Argentine Associations (DAIA) applauding the announcement but

expressing disappointment regarding Interpol's recommendation
to issue only six of the nine Red Notices. Meanwhile, on
March 16th First Lady Cristina Kirchner and four government
ministers attended a ceremony commemorating the 15th
anniversary of the terrorist bombing of the Israeli Embassy
in which Israeli officials repeatedly blamed Iran and
Hezbollah for the attack. Although President Kirchner did
not attend the ceremony, he stated that the bombing was "an
attack on the people of Argentina" and stressed that the GOA
would not back down on its commitment to investigate the case
to the very end. End Summary.

--------------
Interpol Decision
--------------


3. (SBU) On March 15, Interpol Executive Committee (EC)
approved by consensus the issuance of Red Notices for six of
the nine AMIA subjects as recommended by Interpol's Legal
Department. A senior GOA source reported that the only EC
representative who did not attend the March 15 vote was the
Brazilian representative, given possible GOB concerns over
complicating its relations with Iran. The Red Notices were
approved for five Iranian officials and one Hizballah -
Islamic Jihad Organization (IJO) leader wanted in connection
with the July 18, 1994 AMIA suicide bombing, which killed 85
people and wounded more than 150. The approved applications
included former Minister of Intelligence and current Assembly
of Experts member Ali Fallahijan, former IRGC Commander and
current Expediency Council member Mohsen Rezai, former Quds
Force leader and current Deputy Defense Minister Ahmad
Vahidi, former Iranian Embassy (Buenos Aires) Cultural
Attache Mohsen Rabbani, and former third secretary of the
Iranian Embassy Ahmed Reza Asghari (a.k.a. Mohsen
Randjbaran). The report named Hizballah terrorist leader
Imad Mughniyah as well. As expected, Interpol's EC denied
the GOA's request to issue Red Notices for Iran,s former
President and current chairman of the Expediency Council Ali
Akbar Rafsanjani, former Foreign Minister and current
Khamenei advisor Ali Akbar Velayati, former Ambassador of
Iran (Buenos Aires) Hadi Soleimanpour. Interpol EC decided
against issuing a Red Notice against Soleimanpour based on a
lack of adequate new evidence. Interpol's EC justified its
decision not to issue Red Notices against Rafsanjani and
Velayati because Interpol's mandate specifically prohibits it
from interfering in the internal political affairs of other

countries. We understand that the Red Notices will be
published on April 1 if Iran does not appeal the decision by
March 31. Iran's Charge in Buenos Aires, Mohsen Baharvand,
said the Iranian government would appeal the decision and
blames "USG political pressure" for the decision. Should
Iran appeal the decision, Interpol will hold the Red Notices
in abeyance until the matter can be voted on by Interpol's
General Assembly in November.


4. (C) GoA reaction so far has been relatively quiet;
Special Prosecutor Alberto Nisman's publicly stated that the
Interpol decision indicated strong support for the GoA
investigation. But the press carries no other GoA official
reaction to the Interpol announcement. Under Secretary for
Political Affairs Luis Cappagli told DCM that senior
leadership in the MFA and Interior Ministries were very
pleased with the outcome, but that the GOA did not intend to
issue a press statement. He added that the GOA fully expects
the GOI to appeal the decision, but that the unanimity of the
EC decision and the Legal Department's recommendation would
favorably impact a future vote by the Interpol General
Assembly in November. In a separate conversation, Vice
Foreign Minister Garcia Moritan called Ambassador to thank
him for USG assistance in rallying Interpol EC support. He
specifically expressed thanks to Secretary Rice and Under
Secretary Burns. The investigating judge in the case,

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Rodolfo Canicoba Corral, also told Ambassador how much he
appreciated U.S. support in the runup to Lyon. He said he
would have like to get all the Red Notices issued, but
understood U.S. concerns.

--------------
Press Mostly Positive, But Critics Accuse USG of
"Short-Sightedness" for leaving out Top Iranian Officials
--------------


5. (SBU) The Argentine media has given prominent coverage to
Interpol's ruling, largely depicting it as a victory for the
GoA, especially in light of Interpol's decision to rescind
Argentina's Red Notices in September 2005. Press reports
commonly describe Interpol's unanimous decision as
reaffirming the integrity and legitimacy of Argentina's
claim, even if it does not make certain that the bombing was
masterminded by the Iranian intelligence apparatus and
Hezbollah. One opinion piece cited progress on the AMIA case
as a direct outcome of improved U.S.-Argentine relations,
while others criticized the U.S. decision to support the EC's
reccomendation not to publish the Red Notices for top Iranian
officials. One article accuses the USG of
"short-sightedness" for prioritizing concerns that the USG
would be setting a precedent for rival governments to seek
the extradition of U.S. leaders by voting in favor of issuing
a red notice against former president Rafsanjani. Another
alleges that the arrest of top Iranian officials would be
inconvenient for Washington's Middle East strategy,
specifically describing Rafsanjani as a "key politician" in
U.S. efforts to counterweigh Ahmadinejad.

--------------
Mixed Reaction from the Jewish Community
--------------


6. (SBU) Reactions to the Interpol decision from the
Argentine Jewish community have been mixed. Luis Grynwald,
President of thr AMIA, and Angel Schindel, Vice-president of
the Delegation of Israeli and Argentine Associations (DAIA),
have applauded the announcement, stating that the unanimous
verdict proves the strength of GoA's case. Grynwald and
Schindel both expressed disappointment regarding Interpol's
recommendation to issue only six of the nine Red Notices, and
maintained that the GoA still has the option to appeal. They
stated that the decision was not a surprise, claiming that
Interpol never pursues high level officials. A few press
reports, on the other hand, indicated that family members of
victims of the bombing have criticized Interpol's ruling as
insufficient, since it does not include all nine suspects.

--------------
Kirchner: Israeli Embassy Bombing was "An Attack on the
People of Argentina"

--------------


7. (C) The Interpol decision was made on the eve of the
15th anniversary of the 1992 bombing at the Israeli Embassy
which killed 29 people. On March 16, First Lady Cristina
Kirchner, Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana, Defense Minister
Nilda Garre, Justice Minister Alberto Iribane, Education
Minister Daniel Filmus, and Buenos Aires Mayor Jorge Telerman
attended a ceremony commemorating the attack. In addition,
the Israeli Ambassador Rafael Eldad, Israel's MFA Secretary
General Aaron Abramovich, and the Israeli Ambassador to the
UN Dan Gillerman who lost his wife in the attack, delivered
speeches during the ceremony and blamed the Iranian
government and Hezbollah for the attack. They, along with a
representative from the Jewish community, mentioned
Interpol's recommendation to issue Red Notices in the 1994
AMIA bombing, describing the decision as a sign of
"international affirmation" for the pursuit of truth and
justice. FM Taiana also spoke at the ceremony, noting that
the Argentine Supreme Court decided in 2006 that there was no
statute of limitations for the case. He also emphasized that
the GOA will continue to pursue every individual involved in
the planning and execution of the bombing. President
Kirchner did not attend the ceremony, but expressed his
solidarity with the Jewish community from Patagonia three
hours earlier and in an indirect reference to his wife, noted
that he was sending a "penguina" to the event. (Note:
Kirchner often refers to himself and his inner circle as
"penguins.") Kirchner stated that the Israeli Embassy
bombing was "an attack on the people of Argentina" and
stressed that the GOA would not back down on its commitment
to investigate the case to the very end. FM Taiana
reiterated this sentiment in his speech. After the ceremony,
Vice Minister of Defense Ocampo told Ambassador that
Argentina is united behind the effort to seek justice in the
1992 and 1994 bombings, stating "We're all one." Later that
day, the press quoted the Ambassador, who described Taiana's
remarks as "a clear stance against terrorism" and that the
U.S. and Argentina share a common goal in fighting terrorism.


--------------
Comment
--------------


8. (C) Iran's likely decision to appeal Interpol's EC
recommendation will, ironically, keep the issue alive in the
Argentine press in the runup to a November Interpol General
Assembly vote. Kirchner's statement that the Embassy bombing
was an attack on the people of Argentina was suprising, as
many in and out of the GOA have often stated that the attack,
as well as the AMIA bombing, were only directed at the Jewish
community. Although the GOA's public rhetoric at the
commemoration ceremony for the attack on the Israeli Embassy
is positive, it remains to be seen whether the GOA will
follow through in pursuing justice for the attack.
Nevertheless, Christina's attendance at the event and her
upcoming visit to Venezuela on March 23-24 to meet with the
Jewish community there, foreshadows a likely Presidential bid
by the First Lady and signals to Caracas that Argentina will
remain firm in its commitment to pursue justice in the AMIA
case despite Venezuela's alliance with Iran. Unlike the
Chavez event, the ceremony was televised in its entirety.
WAYNE