Posted on 03/10/2004 5:41:08 PM PST by NormsRevenge
BRASILIA, Brazil -
Brazil's army burned all documents about the suppression of a 1970s insurgency against the military dictatorship, the government said Wednesday, angering activists who had hoped that the papers would help them find the remains of missing rebels.
The revelation also effectively ruins activists' hopes of properly documenting the guerrilla movement, which was inspired by Fidel Castro (news - web sites)'s Cuban uprising. While insurgencies in other Latin American countries including Bolivia and Peru have been well traced, little is known about Brazil's Araguaia guerrillas.
It will also likely make any related prosecutions linked to the disappearances more difficult. Countries such as Argentina and Chile have used information on activities of former military governments in pressing cases against regime officials.
Defense Minister Jose Viegas said the papers were destroyed in the 1970s and 1980s in accordance with laws in force at the time and there had been no cover-up.
"All the documents were burned in accordance with the law," Viegas said in a statement published by the federal government's news service. "They were not destroyed in a clandestine manner; they were destroyed officially."
The announcement infuriated human rights groups including Torture Never Again, which has worked for more than two decades to document alleged kidnappings, killings and torture of political prisoners during Brazil's 1964-1985 military dictatorship. The period was the longest era of military rule in the country's history.
"I am appalled, perplexed and deeply pained by all this," said Paulo Henrique Fagundes, a lawyer for Torture Never Again.
The group said it felt betrayed because it was never told about the law, claiming that government officials had said for 25 years that more information would be forthcoming.
"They never said anything about a law permitting destruction of documents," said Fagundes. "The government position is incoherent. Viegas is being insincere."
It was not clear why Viegas made the announcement now, but President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's left-leaning government has been under increasing pressure since coming to power last year to reveal more about the 1970s war against the guerrilla movement.
In February, a judge authorized the opening of the army's guerrilla file, but the government overruled the order for state security reasons.
Human rights groups speculated that the Viegas may be trying to assure military leaders that few hard facts will be revealed about their activities in the 1970s. As defense minister, Viegas has had to be intermediary between Silva's government and the military.
The burned documents were believed to refer to the army's suppression of the guerrillas, which tried to foment a revolt against the country's military rulers from a base in the remote southern Amazon Basin state of Tocantins.
The revelation that the documents were burned comes just as the government has begun searching for the bodies of several guerrillas. It is doing so with the help of the army.
The Brazilian insurgency began in 1966 with about 70 people. By 1975, nearly all the insurgents had either been killed or imprisoned.
At least 300 people disappeared or were killed by government forces during the military dictatorship, according to Torture Never Again.
Efforts to find the bodies of guerrillas killed in the 1970s is being led by Brazilian Human Rights Minister Nilmario Miranda, who flew to the remote Amazon region earlier this month to underscore the government's commitment.
However, Wednesday, Viegas seemed to discourage such efforts, saying finding the remains would be difficult.
"Thirty years have passed," Viegas said. "We are hoping for good results, but we can't promise them."
Viegas said the destruction of the documents was authorized by a 1977 decree signed by then-President Ernesto Geisel, a former general appointed by the military. Geisel died in 1996.
According to Fagundes, the decree was overturned by Brazilian courts in 1997.
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