[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 108 (Friday, July 17, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1835-E1836]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               REMEMBERING THE VICTIMS OF THE AMIA ATTACK

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. RON KLEIN

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 17, 2009

  Mr. KLEIN of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. 
Con. Res 156, a resolution condemning the attack on the AMIA center in 
Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1994.
  Let me begin by thanking the gentlelady from Florida, the ranking 
member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, for 
her steadfast leadership on this issue.
  I am proud that we have worked together in a bipartisan manner on 
issues in the Western Hemisphere and on anti-terrorism issues, such as 
this resolution.
  Fifteen years ago, Hezbollah terrorists affiliated with Iran killed 
85 people and wounded 300 others in the bombing of the Argentine Jewish 
Mutual Association, known in Argentina as AMIA.
  And, for the past fifteen years, the people of Argentina have been 
waiting for justice to be served. Though the international police, 
Interpol, has issued warrants for several individuals, these 
individuals remain at large in places such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and 
Syria.
  While holding the perpetrators accountable will not bring back their 
loved ones, it could give some closure of justice to the victims' 
families.
  On this anniversary, I would urge the government of Argentina to 
remain committed to seeing justice for this horrible tragedy and 
moreover, I would urge those countries who are holding the perpetrators 
of these attacks to hand over these individuals immediately and let 
justice be served.
  The timing of this resolution is crucial. For the past several years, 
in my opinion, we have not been as engaged as we could have been in 
issues in Latin America.
  During that time period, other countries have come in to fill the 
void. Iran's growing relationship with some countries in the region, 
including multilateral agreements on energy and industry worth billions 
of dollars, could be dangerous because of Iran's ominous history in the 
area, including their involvement in the AMIA attack.
  Eliminating the threat of terrorism and its state sponsors is not 
just in the best interest of the United States. The United States and 
Central and Latin America have an aligned interest to make our 
hemisphere safer.
  For that reason, I believe it is important to highlight one crucial 
provision of this legislation. Currently, very few countries in the 
Western Hemisphere have acknowledged the danger that Hezbollah poses to 
our region. According to the New York Police Department and several 
anti-terrorism experts, Hezbollah could pose a bigger threat than Al 
Qaeda. I join the gentlelady from Florida, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen in urging 
governments in the Western Hemisphere to adopt legislation designating 
Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and punishing those who provide 
support for their terrorist activities.
  I hope that this resolution serves as a signal to our friends and 
neighbors in Central and Latin America that the United States is 
committed to a safer hemisphere, free from the mutual threat of 
terrorism.
  I congratulate the ranking member of the Committee, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen 
for her commitment to a safer hemisphere, and of course, I send my 
condolences to the Argentine people and those who lost loved ones 
fifteen years ago in the AMIA bombing.

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