New row over Italians missing in Argentina

Press, 26 November 1982, Page 16

New row over Italians missing in Argentina

From

PETER JAROCKI,

in Milan

A political row has blown up in Italy over the fate of 300 Italians who disappeared in Argentina during the “dirty war” against terrorists in the late 19705. '

and diplomatic levels? The Ministry replied that the names have been kept secret in order to avoid repirsals. The Foreign Office also claims that Italian diplomacy, and particularly the Embassy in Argentina, has .worked steadily and patiently trying to do its best to resolve the problem.

The reputable daily, “Cor-’ riere della Sera,” started the fuss by publishing a list of the 300 “missing” Italians; and. public concern has been mounting with the realisation that the various mass graves being discovered near Buenos Aires might contain the remains of some Italian victims.

The hollowness of this defence became apparent when the Italian authorities reluctantly confirmed an earlier Argentinian Government statement that it had “never received a formal request regarding a list of Italians who have so-called disappeared.” The Italian Ambassador in Buenos Aires said that the Embassy had only now been instructed to lodge a formal protest with the Argentinian authorities. .

Meanwhile, the Italian Foreign Ministry has been strongly attacked by a large section of the press and by the Communists and the Socialists for its years of inactivity, and 1 its excessive timidity towards the Argentinian junta. The 300 young Italians — the majority held dual Italian-Ar-gentinian. nationality — who opposed the military regime disappeared between 1975 and 1978 at the height of the repression. The Italian Embassy in Buenos Aires and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have admitted that they have known for' almost four years their names. This has led the critics to ask. why the names have not been made public and what, if ' anything, have the Italian authorities done at the political

Previously, the Embassy did next to nothing. It wbuld “Verbally” ask the Argentinian Government whether they knew anything about a particular individual reported to have disappeared and, hot surprisingly, the Argentinian reply was always “no, nothing at all.” After 18 months, the ritual would be repeated and the diplomatic steps ended at that. •

After four years of reserve and caution, the Government, in the form of Prime Minister.

Giovanni Spadolirii, and Foreign Secretary, Emilio Colombo (who ignored the subject during his official visit to Buenos Aires in August) has suddenly discovered intrepidity. The tone towards the junta has now become insistent apd threatening. The official explanation for this change is the discovery of the graves and the “change of political climate in Argentina,”,

The Italian Ambassador tin Argentina from 1977 to 1980, Enrico Carraro, was a well known sympathiser, of the junta arid had little time for any opponents of the regime whatever their citizenship.

Some of the relatives of the desaparecidos claim that (Foreign Ministry officials told them that it was not worth bothering the Argentinian Government for the sake of 300 or 400 Italians when this meant running the risk of losing huge business contracts, The case has snowballed and has caused a familiar Italian political row. The accusations and recriminations are somewhat reminiscent of the Falklands days when Italy decided not to renew economic sanctions against Argentina. That decision is now haunting the country’s conscience. Copy- . right, London Observer Service.