Cabinet Chief Marcos Peña met yesterday with representatives of human rights organisations led by Estela de Carlotto, president of the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, at the Casa Rosada to discuss the new government’s stance on human rights issues.
Noticeably absent from the meeting was President Mauricio Macri, whose presence was requested in early January. The president declined to attend, stating that he had no time.
His absence left a bad impression with the human rights organisations. “It is consistent with his attitude,” Carlotto said about the president’s decision, “but his response hit us pretty badly. It’s impolite.”
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Representatives of human rights organisations met with government representatives (photo courtesy of Marcos Peña)
While the exchange was described as “productive,” both side expressed moments of disagreement.
A document signed by the organisations which took part in the meeting —Abuelas, Madres de Plaza de Mayo Línea Fundadora, HIJOS, and the Centre for Social and Legal Studies (CELS), among others— outlines the four main points they raised during the meeting.
State policies of Memory, Truth, and Justice were addressed – asking for the continuity of human rights trials and the search for those who disappeared under the dictatorship – as well as the right to work – referring to the recent mass lay-off of state workers.
The docment also included the issues of the right to social protest, and respect for democratic institutions and the parliamentary way – citing explicitly the arrest and detention of Milagro Sala, the establishment of a Security Emergency, and the executive decrees signed recently, while Congress remains closed. The Cabinet Chief was angered by the organisations’ comparison with the dictorship, when they pointed that the lack of debate “takes us back to periods to which all 40 million Argentines have said ‘Never Again’”.
After the meeting, represenatives of the human rights organisations expressed they were left with a feeling of insincerity from the government, with Taty Almeida of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo-Linea Fundadora comparing their rhetoric to a cassette tape; whereas on the government side, the feeling was that the organisations were overstepping.
Justice Minister German Garavano, who also attended the meeting, stated that many of the organisations raised political issues, beyond the realm of human rights. When argued that administrative decisions could mean a change in policy, he responded that it was the duty of the government to decide and administer public policy.
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