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Judi Lynn

(160,542 posts)
Fri Aug 22, 2014, 06:17 PM Aug 2014

theHandpuppet posted,Anthropology:Genocide of the Ache People of Paraguay Will Be Tried in Argentina

Indian Country
Genocide of the Ache People of Paraguay Will Be Tried in Argentina
Rick Kearns
8/18/14

The Ache people of Paraguay have filed a criminal complaint of genocide and crimes against humanity committed against their people by various citizens, military and officials in the Paraguayan government for their role in the displacement, murder, enslavement and rape of the Ache from the 1950s through the 70s.

Based on evidence provided by survivors as well as anthropologists, human rights advocate, attorneys, journalists, priests and others, the story of what happened to the Ache people of Paraguay was presented to the Fifth Federal Court in Argentina in April after Paraguayan officials refused to prosecute the case.

According to Aitor Martínez, a Spanish attorney who is on the legal team that had filed the charges on behalf of the National Ache Foundation, they are awaiting trial dates from Argentine Judge Norberto Oyarbide. Judge Oyarbide agreed to hear the case based on the legal principle of 'universal jurisdiction' that allows for prosecution of charges of genocide and crimes against humanity in a foreign court if the judicial system of the home country did not prosecute the case.

In a recent interview, Martínez said that then Paraguayan President Alfredo Stroessner was informed of the atrocities by Paraguayan activists, officials from the United Nations and others but President Stroessner did not take any steps to stop the violence; some testimony also alleges that Stroessner, a United States ally at the time, spent time with pre-adolescent indigenous girls who had been forced into prostitution....

Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2014/08/18/genocide-ache-people-paraguay-will-be-tried-argentina-156444

Anthropology:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/12291612
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theHandpuppet posted,Anthropology:Genocide of the Ache People of Paraguay Will Be Tried in Argentina (Original Post) Judi Lynn Aug 2014 OP
Alfredo Stroessner, the monster's Wikipedia: Judi Lynn Aug 2014 #1

Judi Lynn

(160,542 posts)
1. Alfredo Stroessner, the monster's Wikipedia:
Fri Aug 22, 2014, 06:22 PM
Aug 2014

Alfredo Stroessner Matiauda (Spanish pronunciation: [alˈfreðo strosˈner]; also Strössner or Strößner[citation needed]; November 3, 1912 – August 16, 2006) was a Paraguayan military officer who served as President of Paraguay from 1954 to 1989. He ascended to the position after leading an army coup in 1954. His 35-year-long rule, marked by an uninterrupted period of repression in his country, was the longest unbroken rule by one individual in the history of South America. His rule is ranked 14th-longest among other non-royal national leaders since 1870, and made him one of the world's longest-serving non-Communist heads of state.

In 1954, he ousted Federico Chávez, becoming president after winning an election in which he was the sole candidate. An arch anti-communist, Stroessner had the backing of the United States. His supporters packed the legislature and ran the courts, and he ruthlessly suppressed all political opposition. He kept his country in what he called a constant "state of siege" that overruled his democratic constitution, enforced a cult of personality, and used torture against political opposition. Membership in his Colorado Party was a prerequisite for job promotion, free medical care and other services. The constitution had to be modified in 1967 and 1977 to legitimize his six consecutive elections to the presidency. In 1988, he won an unprecedented eighth term on a majority, according to official figures, of between 90 and 98 percent of the registered vote.

During Stroessner's rule, Paraguay became a sanctuary for smugglers in arms, drugs and everyday goods such as whisky and car parts. Stroessner provided refuge for French-born international heroin dealer Auguste Ricord; strongmen such as Argentina's Juan Perón and Nicaragua's Anastasio Somoza Debayle (later assassinated in Paraguay); and war criminals, including Dr. Josef Mengele, the Nazi doctor known as the "Angel of Death" who performed genetic experiments on children. Stroessner was forced from power in 1989 in a military coup led by strongman General Andrés Rodríguez. Stroessner was forced into exile in Brazil, where he spent the last 17 years of his life. Following a bout of pneumonia, he tried to return to his homeland to die, but was rejected by the government. He died in Brasília on August 16, 2006 of complications from a hernia operation.

More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfredo_Stroessner

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