Newsgroups: alt.activism,talk.politics.misc,alt.desert-storm Subject: NPR: Apply Nuremberg Principles to Reagan/Bush admin. Distribution: world Keywords: [PeaceNet forward from AML (ACTIV-L) -- see bottom for more info] ------------------------------------------------------------------ /** reg.nicaragua: 103.7 **/ ** Written 7:47 pm Dec 28, 1990 by nicanetny in cdp:reg.nicaragua ** Nica News, December 1990 ------------------------------------------------------------------ GEORGE BUSH CALLS FOR NUREMBERG TRIALS (Commentary by Allan Nairn on NPR Weekend All Things Considered, October 20, 1990) President Bush said this week that Saddam Hussein is a war criminal who should be tried by a Nuremberg-style tribunal. The Nuremberg principles prohibit crimes against humanity such as mass murder and torture, and there is little doubt that Saddam and his accomplices are guilty of precisely such crimes. But if you are going to apply international law to one country, you have to apply it to them all, and that means being honest enough to take a hard look at the conduct of our own government as well. Since 1979 the Army of El Salvador has committed countless crimes against humanity and has done so in collaboration with the government of the United States. Washington has paid that army's bills, supplied its arms, quadrupled its size, trained its officers, picked its top commanders and stocked it with--at any given time--more than 150 Pentagon and CIA advisers. Yet Washington has continued to insist that each of the 40 thousand murders committed by that army has somehow fallen outside the responsibility of both the Americans on the scene who oversee its operations and the members of Congress and the executive branch from whom they take their lead. The Nuremberg decisions, however, say that those to be punished for crimes against humanity include not just "principals," meaning those who pull the trigger, but also accomplices--whether private individuals, public officials or statesmen. Criminal law is clear on the point that if you supply a gun to a murderer, and know what they intend to do, then you are an accomplice to the crime. And Washington knows exactly what the Salvadoran Army does. One Congressional Democrat said that the army has "murdered Salvadorans by the tens of thousands," and the Republicans wrote language into their bill which acknowledged that the army was involved in or supporting "secret detention, abduction, torture and murder." Yet despite admitting that the Salvadoran army is engaged in these crimes, Congress has never even seriously debated whether they should continue arming it; the only question has been how much money it should get. Congress has threatened to withhold some money unless the soldiers who killed the Jesuits are punished. But this means that in exchange for jailing one group of killers, Congress will support the rest of the Salvadoran army, which is responsible for tens of thousands of murders and is committing more by the day. And now Congress--which claims it wants to stop army murders--has passed a bill which gives the army 42 and a half million dollars, and double that if the guerrillas fail to meet Washington's terms. The Salvadoran army units that carry out death squad assassinations were actually organized by the United States in order to, as one AID memo put it, "detect ...subversive[s]... and neutralize their activities." The man placed in charge of the program, General Chele Medrano, worked for the CIA and explained to me in 1984, "When the troops find them, they kill them." The law prohibiting crimes against humanity means the same thing in Latin America as it does in the Persian Gulf. Applying that law would mean arresting Salvadoran officers and making them face judgement for their crimes. And it would also mean that American policymakers and operatives would have to face trial as well. ** End of text from cdp:reg.nicaragua ** ################################################################## Alan Nairn is author of "Behind the Death Squads", available from the ACTIV-L archives. For an index, send the command (no subject): INDEX ACTIV-L to LISTSERV@UMCVMB. To retrieve Nairn's article, send the command: GET BEHIND DEATHSQD ACTIV-L ################################################################## ################################################################## From: Amnesty International's publication: "El Salvador: ``Death Squads'' -- A Government Strategy": "The testimony of armed forces personnel, the details of thousands of case studies and other information examined by Amnesty International lead to the conclusion that actions attributed by authorities to "death squads" are routinely carried out by regular units of the armed forces which include the military and the security services, and by special intelligence units that incorporate civilian gunmen under their supervision and control." [Conclusions, p. 44] "Tens of thousands of people have been the victims of extrajudicial execution and "disappearance" by El Salvador's armed forces since 1980... None of the armed forces officers responsible have been brought to justice, most remain in positions of command." [Conclusions, p. 44] "All sectors of Salvadorian society have been the target of ``death squad''-style killings...in a great many cases the choice of victim has been indicator of who lies behind the ``death squads''. Those targeted have been members of groups perceived to be in opposition to the government, or to represent a nucleus around whom such opposition could coalesce, including students, trade unionists, members of cooperatives, church workers and peasants." [Page 25] "Amnesty International has concluded that the Salvadoran `death squads' are simply used to shield the government from accountability for the torture, `disappearance' and extrajudicial executions committed in their name. The squads are made up of *regular army and police agents*, acting in uniform or plain clothes, *under the orders of superior officers*." [emphasis added] [Who Runs the ``Death Squads''", pp. 8-9] "The Salvadorian Government maintains that `death squad'-style killings are the work of extremist groups beyond its control. However, there is overwhelming evidence to suggest that the squads are made up of regular troops and police -- that they form an intrinsic part of the security apparatus" [Back cover] [For the report, send $5 for this 50 page report to: Amnesty International, Publications, 322 Eighth Ave., New York, NY 10001 Ask for "El Salvador: ``Death Squads'' -- A Government Strategy" or call Amnesty at: (212)807-8400 (ask for "publications") No Credit Card necessary] ################################################################## ################################################################## Former U.S. Ambassador Robert White [New York Times]: "The history of El Salvador bears consistent witness to the greed and brutality of men who look on compromise as weakness and who regard torture and murder as routine and acceptable methods of coping with dissent. The failure of US policy makers to press for a negotiated end to the war in El Salvador has placed our country in league with a clique of assassins masquerading as an army... "...to the Salvadoran military, the [rebel offensive] came as a gift, an opportunity to wipe out not only insurgents but also priests, labor union organizers, peasant leaders and thousands of poor citizens who support change. On November 16, armed, uniformed men dragged six Jesuit priests and two servants from their beds. They tortured the priests for close to an hour, then executed all their captives... "Day after day, the world watches with horror as modern engines of war supplied by the U.S. strafe, bomb and burn the shantytowns of San Salvador, maiming and killing thousands of innocent civilians. They do little damage to the pockets of mobile guerrillas armed only with hand-held weapons. The Government has denied Red Cross requests for a cease-fire to evacuate the wounded... "President Bush described the Salvadoran revolutionaries as `terrorists' and the Salvadoran Government as `a democracy'. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Wrong on both counts. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ "The revolutionaries took up arms only after the military and economic elites of El Salvador had rejected all avenues of peaceful change for more than half a century. No competent observer doubts that ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ the Salvadoran revolution is home grown, authentic and enjoys wide popular support... [the revolutionaries'] demand that the military purge itself of its most notorious abusers of human rights was derided as `absurd, ridiculous and impossible' [by the government] "..The outdated security doctrine that guides Bush Administration thinking demands the subordination of El Salvador's need for social and economic justice to our supposed national security requirements. This has meant the establishment of a veneer of democracy in El Salvador, where the armed forces, with U.S. acquiescence, decide with deadly force who can and cannot participate in political life. In El Salvador, the fundamental duty of a democratic government to protect its citizens has been stood on its head. People are tortured, disappear and are killed at the whim of security forces that enjoy absolute immunity from legal action..." --Former U.S. Ambassador Robert White, in the New York Times, Nov. 21, 1989 ################################################################## ################################################################## For more information about ACTIV-L or PeaceNet's brochure, send inquiries to harel@dartmouth.edu ################################################################### # Harel Barzilai for Activists Mailing List (AML) # ################################################################### To join AML, just send the message "SUB ACTIV-L " to the address: LISTSERV@UMCVMB.BITNET; you should then receive a message confirming that your name has been added to the list. 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