Americas Features
Argentine Nobel winner denounces threats to witnesses of brutality
By Jan-Uwe Ronneburger
Nov 25, 2006, 9:00 GMT

Buenos Aires - Argentine Adolfo Perez Esquivel - the winner of the 1980 Nobel Peace Prize - is set to turn 75 on Sunday.

But age has not kept the human rights activist from a campaign to denounce threats against witnesses in human rights cases in the South American country that date back to the times of brutal dictatorship.

Across Latin America, nations are increasingly examining the decades of oppressive rule in which tens of thousands of political opponents disappeared or were killed.

In Argentina alone, more than 30,000 people died from 1976 to 1983, human rights organizations say, and since amnesty was revoked for the crimes, some of the suspects have been brought to trial.

In an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, Perez Esquivel expressed concern about a new disappearance - that of Jorge Julio Lopez, 77, who was last seen on September 18 after having contributed a key testimony for the conviction of former police chief Miguel Etchecolatz in cases of torture and murder.

'Although we are moving forward, there are serious problems, because one of the witnesses has been missing for over two months and there are also threats against many witnesses and organizations,' Perez Esquivel said.

'The trials have to continue, and many witnesses have serious doubts about whether or not to testify. There is fear, insecurity,' said the Nobel Peace Prize winner.

An architect, sculptor and teacher, Perez Esquivel got involved in peace movements linked to Christian social activism in the 1960s.

In 1971, this devout Catholic was among the founders of the Service for Peace and Justice (SERPAJ), now an umbrella organization for Latin American human rights organizations.

In the 1970s and 1980s he risked his life travelling across a subcontinent that was plagued by ruthless military dictatorships. He devised development programmes for indigenous communities, workers' movements and other people in need. He was jailed in 1975 in Brazil, and the following year in Ecuador. In Argentina he was detained and tortured for 14 months in 1977-78.

Perez Esquivel welcomed Argentina's revocation of amnesty laws for human rights violations committed during the last dictatorship because the revocation opened the door for the recent restart of trials - and an anticipation of justice.

The activist insists that no democracy can be built without justice.

Perez Esquivel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work against the Argentine dictatorship and in favour of human rights in Latin America.

The prize made it impossible for the Argentine dictatorship to continue to persecute him, or even to prevent him from publicly demanding to know the destiny of thousands of people kidnapped by the authorities.

Since then, he has been in the limelight of the fight for the investigation of the crimes of dictatorships.

To this day, he continues to speak against the 'still active sediments of the dictatorship and its accomplices in the police.' He says US President George W Bush is 'brutal' and he demands reform in the United Nations.

'We have to change this, to change international policies, to put an end to this right that the five great powers have given themselves in order to prevent progress in the democratization of the United Nations and the world scale,' he stressed.

However, age is starting to take its toll on this small-built man with glasses.

'Slowly the time is coming to pass on the staff to a new generation,' he admitted.

'We have to keep working with strength and hope, because we have to build a better world,' he added.