Argentina Tries "Dirty War" Leaders for Child Kidnapping
Former leaders of Argentina's 'Dirty War', the bloody military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983, went on trial Monday.
They are being charged in 34 different cases with kidnapping the children of their victims during a roundup of suspected leftist insurgents.
Former military leaders Jorge Rafael Videla and Reynaldo Bignone were among the accused.
Former military leaders Jorge Rafael Videla and Reynaldo Bignone were among the accused.
In their systematized crackdown, the Dirty War dictatorship tortured and killed as many as 30,000 people, many of them young activists with infants.
Soldiers scooped up children and army officials changed their identity, placing them in homes with military sympathizers.
Human rights groups have worked for years trying to uncover the stolen children, recovering 100 of them.
When democracy returned to Argentina in 1983, Videla was sentenced to life imprisonment for human rights crimes but was later acquitted.
A recent trial jailed Videla for life on charges of murder, torture and kidnapping.
Rosa Roisinblit is the vice president of the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo.
She explained that this is the first trial for kidnapping infants.
[Rosa Roisinblit, VP, Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo]:
"The oppressors have been tried for theft, rape, torture, and murder, but they've never been tried for stealing babies. At first we were bothered about it. We thought, 'what about our children?' But later we realized it gave us another advantage, the advantage of being able to try them again for the systematic kidnapping of children."
"The oppressors have been tried for theft, rape, torture, and murder, but they've never been tried for stealing babies. At first we were bothered about it. We thought, 'what about our children?' But later we realized it gave us another advantage, the advantage of being able to try them again for the systematic kidnapping of children."
Victoria Donda, a government representative who was at Monday's trial, is among the recovered children.
She was born in a secret prison and both of her parents were among the “disappeared.”
Donda discovered her true identity in 2003.
Donda discovered her true identity in 2003.
[Victoria Donda, Government Representative & Recovered Child]:
"It's also a demonstration that justice can be carried out even though time has passed, and the only things that heal societies are justice and truth. I think it's an example for other countries who are on this road of looking for justice, Spain, Germany, countries where children have also been kidnapped."
"It's also a demonstration that justice can be carried out even though time has passed, and the only things that heal societies are justice and truth. I think it's an example for other countries who are on this road of looking for justice, Spain, Germany, countries where children have also been kidnapped."
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