César Milani after being promoted by the president (Photo: Tito La Penna/Télam/dsl)
According to the statement, Milani’s request is based on “strictly personal reasons”.
Milani was proposed as the new head of the army by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in June 2013, with his appointment eventually ratified by the Senate the following December.
His appointment was controversial due to claims that he was involved in crimes against humanity during the last military dictatorship.
Specifically, documents gathered by human rights groups and presented by the Centre of Social and Legal Studies (CELS) link Milani to the disappearance of conscript Alberto Ledo in Tucumán in 1976, as well as the illegal detention of Pedro and Ramón Olivera in La Rioja in 1977.
Milani has always denied any involvement in these crimes, but CELS challenged the decision to promote him and called for a complete investigation into his past. A report published in December 2013 stated: “We don’t affirm that [Milani] tortured people, but we find his claims that he did not know others were doing so unacceptable. For that reason, we believe that he does not deserve the confidence that a democracy should have in its army chief.”
The government defended its decision, stating that Milani had not been charged with any crime and must be presumed innocent until that changes.
So far there has been no official response to Milani’s request.
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