Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09BUENOSAIRES869
2009-07-24 22:22:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Buenos Aires
Cable title:  

ARGENTINA: JEWISH COMMUNITY STILL SEEKS JUSTICE 15

Tags:  PHUM PTER PREL PGOV KJUS KTIP SNAR KCRM AR 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0002
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #0869/01 2052222
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 242222Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4131
INFO RUCNMER/MERCOSUR COLLECTIVE
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 1855
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC
C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 000869 

SIPDIS

DRL FOR SEAS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/24/2029
TAGS: PHUM PTER PREL PGOV KJUS KTIP SNAR KCRM AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: JEWISH COMMUNITY STILL SEEKS JUSTICE 15
YEARS AFTER AMIA TERRORIST ATTACK; FORMER PROSECUTOR FACES
NEW THREATS

REF: A. BUENOS AIRES 0286

B. BUENOS AIRES 0631

C. BUENOS AIRES 0831

Classified By: CDA Alexander A. Featherstone for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d
).

C O N F I D E N T I A L BUENOS AIRES 000869

SIPDIS

DRL FOR SEAS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/24/2029
TAGS: PHUM PTER PREL PGOV KJUS KTIP SNAR KCRM AR
SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: JEWISH COMMUNITY STILL SEEKS JUSTICE 15
YEARS AFTER AMIA TERRORIST ATTACK; FORMER PROSECUTOR FACES
NEW THREATS

REF: A. BUENOS AIRES 0286

B. BUENOS AIRES 0631

C. BUENOS AIRES 0831

Classified By: CDA Alexander A. Featherstone for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d
).


1. (C) Summary: The Argentine Jewish community commemorated
the fifteenth anniversary of the terrorist attack on the
Argentine Jewish Mutual Association (AMIA) with a small,
informal gathering on July 18. The CDA attended the
gathering, as did Chief Cabinet Minister Anibal Fernandez,
who afterwards told the press that the government would not
"give up" its efforts to bring to justice those responsible
for the attack. Local media and some victims' advocacy
groups, however, criticized the government for tolerating
impunity and decried the fact that not a single person has
been convicted for the attack which left 85 dead, and
hundreds more wounded. AMIA postponed to August 18 its
annual, large-scale official ceremony as a cautionary measure
against Argentina's H1N1 flu outbreak.


2. (C) In a separate incident, Claudio Lifschitz, a former
AMIA investigator-turned-whistleblower escaped unharmed from
the bullets of an unknown assailant. He claims that the
government's intelligence agency (SIDE) orchestrated this
incident, along with his March kidnapping (ref A),in an
effort to silence his vocal criticism of the government's
handling of the AMIA case. The press also reported on
Lifschitz's own links to criminal elements, which raises the
possibility that the attacks on Lifschitz may have sprung
from his association with criminal elements. End Summary.

Official Ceremony Postponed but Families Still Gather
-------------- -


3. (C) On July 18, family and friends of victims marked the
fifteenth anniversary of the 1994 terrorist attack on the
Argentine-Jewish Mutual Association (AMIA) in central Buenos
Aires with an unofficial and smaller-than-usual gathering

outside the former site of the AMIA headquarters. Due to the
H1N1 flu epidemic, as well as the fact that the anniversary
fell on the Sabbath, AMIA had postponed to August 18 the
official, annual, large-scale commemoration ceremony. The
CDA attended the July 18 event as did Chief Cabinet Minister
Anibal Fernandez, who afterwards told the press that the
government would not "give up" in bringing to justice those
responsible for the attack.

AMIA case is GOA "Debt to Society"
--------------


4. (SBU) Newly-appointed Minister of Justice Julio Alak said
that bringing to justice the perpetrators of the attack was a
"large debt owed to Argentine society." He added that "many
challenges remain; fundamentally, we need to help Interpol to
detain those responsible...and we must press Iran to identify
those responsible so that they can be tried." In contrast,
AMIA investigative judge Rodolfo Canicoba Corral acknowledges
that progress has been "slow and complicated" because
extradition of the international suspects "depends on
international policies that are out of the hands of
Argentina's judicial system and government."

Victims Group Holds Alternative Ceremony
--------------


5. (C) Despite GOA efforts to extradite the international
suspects and reopen an investigation into the so-called
"local connection" (ref B),not a single person has been
convicted for the attack, which left 85 dead and hundreds
more wounded. As a result, many victims' family members have
reproached the government for the attack's impunity. In a
July 17 commemoration ceremony, leaders of the radical
advocacy organization "The Association Seeking to Shed Light
on the Impunity in the AMIA Massacre" (APEMIA) denounced the
GOA for not doing more to bring to justice the perpetrators
of the attack. During the event, APEMIA founder Laura
Ginsberg said, "The worst pandemic is impunity...We denounce
(President) Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's efforts to
organize...an international campaign to close the AMIA
investigation with the objective of exonerating the Argentine
state from criminal responsibility. For years, we have


maintained that this was a crime covered up by the state, and
for this reason those responsible should be brought to
justice."

Press Reaction
--------------


6. (SBU) Under the title "AMIA: 15 years of Impunity," paper
of record "La Nacion's" lead editorial on July 17 criticized
the government for the lack of progress in investigating and
clarifying the 1994 AMIA attack as well as the 1992 bombing
that leveled the Israeli Embassy and killed 29 persons. "In
15 years, Argentina's judicial system has not completed its
double mission of uncovering the truth of what happened and
punishing everyone who is guilty," it said. Judicial
inaction and tolerance for impunity has made Argentina even
more vulnerable to terrorism, it argued, as would-be
terrorists will view the country as a safe-haven in which
they can operate without fear of being caught and brought
before justice. The editorial called on the Argentine
government to redouble its efforts to investigate the "local
connection" in the case, including looking into the alleged
irregularities committed by government officials in former
President Carlos Menem's administration. In addition, it
urged federal judge Canicoba Corral to launch an
investigation into the kidnapping of former AMIA
investigator-turned-whistleblower Claudio Lifschitz. (Note:
As reported in ref A, Lifschitz claimed last March that he
was kidnapped, tortured, and threatened by men who identified
themselves as SIDE agents.)

Former AMIA Investigator Faces New Threats?
--------------


7. (SBU) Lifschitz now claims to have been the target of an
assassination attempt on July 18. He told the press that at
2:40 in the morning, an unknown assailant fired three
unsuccessful shots at him as he and his federal police
bodyguard were driving in the Buenos Aires suburb of Merlo.
He credits the bodyguard for saving his life by pulling him
down and returning fire, which prompted the assailant to flee
the scene. Lifschitz and his bodyguard immediately went to
the police station to file a report in which police officers
classified the incident as an attempted murder.

Ties to Criminal Activity?
--------------


8. (SBU) Although Lifschitz blames Argentina's intelligence
agency, SIDE, for the incident, others speculate that his
possible connections to narcotrafficking and prostitution
rings led to the attack. Local daily "Clarin" reported that
Lifschitz's ex-wife said he was an associate of former SIDE
agent Raul Luis Martins, who reportedly has been indicted on
prostitution and related charges in Mexico for owning
cabarets in Cancun, Mexico. (Ref C referred to a "Raul
Martes", who is reportedly an ex-SIDE official involved in
trafficking Argentine women to Mexico. "Raul Luis Martins"
appears to be the same man. Martins reportedly also owns
nightclubs in Buenos Aires.) Although press reports indicate
that Lifschitz provided legal counsel to Martins, Lifschitz
denies that he is involved in any criminal activity and
claims that his ex-wife has been "manipulated by intelligence
officials." Lifschitz maintains that these incidents have
been orchestrated by the government and SIDE in an effort to
silence him, as he has been and continues to be a vocal
critic of the government's handling of this case.


9. (C) Comment: For many, the 15th anniversary of the AMIA
bombing marks another year of judicial impunity and
demonstrates the deep flaws in Argentina's judicial system.
Most Argentines already doubt the effectiveness of their
judicial system, and the court's inability to convict a
single person in the deadliest terrorist attack on Argentine
soil reinforces the perception that politics will always
trump justice. The bulk of evidence points to Iranians who
masterminded and perpetrated the attack, and they are far
removed from the reach of Argentine authorities. Many of the
victims' families contend, however, that more could be done
to clarify the attack and illuminate the role of the
attackers' local Argentine connections.
FEATHERSTONE