Rome tells junta it wants truth

Press, 6 May 1983, Page 6

Rome tells junta it wants truth

NZPA-Reuter Rome Italy has told Argentina that it is determined to pursue inquiries about thousands of people, at least 300 of them of Italian nationality or descent, who disappeared in Argentina in the 19705.

The Foreign Minister, Mr Emilio Colombo, told the Argentine Ambassador, Mr Rodolfo Luchetta, that Italy could not accept a “dis-

respectful” message to its President, Mr Sandro Pertini, from Argentina on Wednesday which accused him of interfering in its internal affairs.

Argentina officially declared last week that those missing after a military crackdown on Leftists should be considered dead. Mr Pertini accused the Argentine authorities of chilling cynicism and trampling

on human rights. The Foreign Ministry said yesterday that Italy rejected the Argentine message and would pressure Buenos Aires bilaterally, in international bodies and by any other means, to discover the truth.

The Argentine Government’s attitude had caused deep unease in Italy, it said. Pope John Paul stepped into the controversy yester-

day with a strong expression of solidarity with the missing people’s families. “The problem of the missing has always been and is now more than ever on my mind,” he told his weekly general audience. “I wish to renew my profound participation with the suffering of the families who feel in their heart so sharp a thorn for the fate of their loved ones, at a

moment when it seems that even the slight hope they still nourished has been extinguished.” It was his first personal comment since the Argentine declaration. As the Pope called for prayers for the families of the missing, representatives of some 300 missing Italians asked for his personal intervention on behalf of any remaining Argentine political prisoners.