[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 98 (Thursday, July 18, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1303-E1304]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




ARGENTINA MUST TAKE ACTION AGAINST TERRORISTS WHO CARRIED OUT THE 1994 
                              AMIA BOMBING

                                 ______
                                 

                               TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 18, 2002

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, eight years ago today--on July 18, 1994, a 
car bomb exploded at the AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, 
Argentina, leaving eighty-five people dead and leveling the building. 
Now, eight years later, the trial of a handful of suspected accessories 
to the crime has only barely begun, and the masterminds behind the 
horrific attack are still unidentified and at-large.
  While we recognize that Argentina is currently struggling with 
serious political and economic crises, the government of President 
Duhlade must remain focused on the investigation of the AMIA bombing 
and the trial of the accused. The resolution of this case is critical 
to demonstrate that Argentine society fully embraces the rule of law 
and is moving toward the fulfillment of justice. The AMIA case presents 
Argentina with the opportunity to send a message to the world that 
terrorism does not pay and that known terrorists will be prosecuted.
  Mr. Speaker, the trial has been long in coming and has faced many 
obstacles, some of which Fernando de la Rua and current President 
Eduardo Duhlade have addressed. There

[[Page E1304]]

is speculation about why the case was not tried and closed years ago.
  First, fifteen of the twenty suspects are former Buenos Aires police 
officers who have been linked to a ring of automobile thieves. Although 
these are not the individuals who ordered and carried out the attacks, 
they may have supplied the vehicle used for the bombing, knowing that 
it was to be used in an attack on the Jewish Community Center. The most 
prominent of these suspects are former senior police commander Juan 
Jose Rebelli and local stolen-car dealer Alberto Telleldin. Both were 
formally charged with multiple homicides in July 1999 in connection to 
the bombing and are currently standing trial.
  Second, the physical evidence from the bombing was handled extremely 
poorly. Most of the evidence from the crime scene, including personal 
identification and the remains of the victims, was stuffed haphazardly 
into bags and abandoned at an open dump for three years before being 
tossed into the Rio de la Plata. One investigator estimates that less 
than five percent of the material evidence remains today. Also, a 
renovation project to make the courtroom large enough to accommodate 
the anticipated press consumed many months.
  After the public trial began on September 24, 2001, the prosecution's 
case has plodded through a seemingly interminable procession of 
witnesses. Over 1500 witnesses were called to testify in the trial. 
Yet, there still has been no clear identification of those responsible 
for the AMIA bombing. The main question of the trial remains whether 
the police who were involved with selling the vehicle knew that it 
would be used for the bombing. So far, the police have denied all 
charges of wrongdoing.
  A number of other anti-Semitic incidents since the 1994 bombing 
indicate the importance of a prompt and decisive resolution in the AMIA 
bombing case. After the AMIA Jewish community center was rebuilt, 
several telephoned bomb threats against the new building, as well as 
against a Jewish country club and a Jewish theater, have been received. 
Once again, no one has claimed responsibility, no evidence has been 
found, and the Argentine authorities have not produced results from 
their formal investigations into these bomb threats. In August 1999, 
two Jewish families were threatened with unidentified bomb threats. One 
month later, unidentified individuals fired gun shots at a Jewish 
school. There have been no developments in the investigations of either 
of these cases as well.
  Mr. Speaker, Argentina faces numerous challenges today, including 
pursuing both the domestic and international dimensions of the AMIA 
bombing case. Some of these investigative leads may take Argentine 
prosecutors to the highest reaches of their society and to state 
sponsors of terrorism in the Middle East. We in the United States 
Congress must continue to demonstrate our support for the efforts of 
non-governmental organizations, such as B'nai B'rith, which are 
actively working to bring complete closure to the AMIA bombing and 
other cases of anti-Semitism.
  Mr. Speaker, resolution of the AMIA bombing is an integral part of 
our fight against terrorism. It is essential that the government of 
Argentina know and understand that the United States government 
continues to expect appropriate action against all of those who were 
responsible for perpetrating this outrageous crime.

                          ____________________