[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 101 (Friday, July 16, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1571]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     ON THE FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMIA BOMBING IN ARGENTINA THE 
    TERRORISTS BEHIND THIS VICIOUS ATTACK HAVE STILL NOT BEEN FOUND

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 16, 1999

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, five years ago this coming Sunday--on July 
18, 1994--the Buenos Aires headquarters of the Asociacion Mutual 
Israelita Argentina (Argentine Jewish Mutual Association), known by its 
Spanish acronym AMIA, was bombed and destroyed by terrorists. In that 
vicious and cowardly attack against the Jewish community of Argentina, 
86 individuals were killed and over 200 others were injured, many 
seriously. The victims included Argentinian Jews, but the majority were 
Argentinian citizens of other religious and ethnic backgrounds.
  Mr. Speaker, law enforcement officials have conducted in 
investigation into this horrendous act of terrorism, but five years 
after that event progress has been very limited. Five men, including 
four former police officers, have been arrested in connection with the 
bombing, and they are expected to go on trial ``soon.'' These 
individuals, however, are believed to be participants, but not the real 
perpetrators behind this heinous act. United States intelligence and 
criminal investigators believe that the Iranian government was behind 
the attack. Little information has been made public about the results 
of the effort to identify and arrest the real criminals who carried out 
this attack, and progress on the investigation has been painfully slow.
  Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, this was not the only, or even first such 
incident in Argentina. On March 17, 1992, just two years before the 
AMIA bombing, the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires and a nearby school 
and other buildings were destroyed in a car bomb blast in which 29 
innocent children, women and men lost their lives, and another 252 
innocent bystanders were injured. These victims included employees of 
the Israeli embassy and their families, children from a Roman Catholic 
primary school, women and men in a nearby Roman Catholic church 
shelter, a Roman Catholic priest, and a number of others.
  These unsolved crimes are a serious and sinister effort to intimidate 
the Jewish population of Argentina, as well as Jewish communities 
around the world, Mr. Speaker. The Argentine Jewish community numbers 
over 300,000 and is the largest Jewish community in Latin America. 
During the periods of military rule it was subject to severe anti-
Semitism, and the community feels particularly vulnerable to assault 
from external radical Islamic groups and from indigenous far right 
extremists in Argentina.
  Mr. Speaker, on this unfortunate fifth anniversary of the AMIA 
bombing I invite my colleagues to join me in extending our condolences 
to the families of these who lost their lives in this senseless act of 
terrorism. I also invite my colleagues to join me in denouncing this 
bigoted anti-Semitic action, and in urging the Argentine government to 
move more vigorously and with greater purpose to solve this tragic 
case. I also invite my colleagues to join me in extending our support 
and encouragement to the Jewish Community of Argentine. The American 
people support your struggle against racism and anti-Semitism, and we 
commend you for your commitment to human rights and the rule of law.

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