TEXT OF LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF ARGENTINA, JULY 2003
H.E. N�stor Kirchner
President of the Argentine Republic
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Dear Mr. President:
We would first like to extend our congratulations on your election to the Presidency. As you begin your Administration, we look forward to working with you to ensure Argentina's continued economic recovery, and on other issues and challenges of mutual concern.
As you know, July 18 will mark a day of great sadness as the international community will commemorate the anniversary of the 1994 AMIA Jewish Community Center terrorist bombing, which murdered 85 Argentines. A great deal of progress has been made in recent years to achieve justice for the victims. We are pleased that the long process of investigating this heinous terrorist attack has led to the prosecution of twenty alleged accomplices to the crime. If these defendants are convicted, we fully expect that their sentences will reflect the gravity of the crime for which they stood trial. The successful conclusion of this trial, with sentences of appropriate length rendered, will be a solemn demonstration of the seriousness with which Argentina has joined the fight against terrorism. It will also send an unmistakable message that impunity will not prevail and the rule of law will not be deterred in Argentina.
The indictment of Iranian suspects Ali Fallahian, Moshen Rabbani, Barat Ali Balesh Abadi, and Ali Akbar Parvaresh was truly a watershed moment in the prosecution of the case and in the war on global terrorism. While we welcome this important step, the prosecution's evidence strongly indicates that these four mid-level government officials could not have carried out their heinous acts without their actions being sanctioned by the higher levels of the Iranian government and without the active collaboration of the Hezbollah terrorist organization, which we urge be designated as such by the members of the Organization of American States. We remain hopeful that all those responsible for the AMIA bombing, including those additional suspects that Judge Galeano named in his ruling, will be brought to justice and that a full accounting of the masterminding of this diabolical attack will soon come to light.
To that end, we particularly commend you, Mr. President, for your decision to open the classified report by Argentina's Secretariat of State Intelligence (known by its Spanish acronym, "SIDE") on the attacks, and to allow SIDE officials to testify at the trial. The troubling picture of extensive collaboration between the Iranian government and Hezbollah reportedly detailed in the SIDE files merits further investigation by appropriate authorities. It is essential that we combine clarity with vigilance in order to meet the grave threat of international terrorism in our Hemisphere and throughout the world. Your contribution to this effort, so early in your term, is noteworthy. The United States Congress will continue to monitor the trial closely and support your efforts to hold those responsible accountable for their actions.
We look forward to meeting with you when you visit Washington and working with you on this and other issues that will strengthen the deep bond between our two nations.
Sincerely,
if anyone feels to read it!
