[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16904-16907]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  CONDEMNING ATTACK ON AMIA JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER IN BUENOS AIRES, 
                        ARGENTINA, IN JULY 1994

  Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 469) condemning the attack on the 
AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in July 1994 
and expressing the concern of the United States regarding the 
continuing, decade-long delay in the resolution of this case.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 469

       Whereas on July 18, 1994, 85 innocent people were killed 
     and 300 were wounded when the Argentine Jewish Mutual 
     Association (AMIA) was bombed in Buenos Aires, Argentina;
       Whereas that attack showed the same cowardice and utter 
     disregard for human life as the attacks on the United States 
     on September 11, 2001;
       Whereas the United States welcomes Argentine President 
     Nestor Kirchner's political will to pursue the investigation 
     of the AMIA bombing, as demonstrated by his executive order 
     opening the archives of Argentina's Secretariat for State 
     Intelligence (SIDE), for raising the AMIA cause to national 
     status, and for emphasizing that there is no statute of 
     limitations on those responsible for this attack;
       Whereas it is reported that considerable evidence links the 
     attacks to the terrorist group Hizballah, which is based in 
     Lebanon, supported by Syria, and sponsored by Iran;
       Whereas the decade since the bombing has been marked by 
     efforts to minimize the international connection to this 
     terrorist attack;
       Whereas in March 2003 an Argentine judge issued arrest 
     warrants for four Iranian government officials who are 
     believed to have been involved in planning or carrying out 
     the attack against AMIA and requested that the International 
     Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) apprehend them;
       Whereas the four indicted Iranians are Ali Fallahian, a 
     former minister of security and intelligence; Mohsen Rabbani, 
     a former cultural attache at the Iranian Embassy in Buenos 
     Aires; Ali Balesh-Abadi, an Iranian diplomat; and Ali Akbar 
     Parvaresh, a former minister of education;
       Whereas Hadi Soleimanpour, Iran's ambassador to Argentina 
     in the 1990's, also has an international arrest warrant 
     pending against

[[Page 16905]]

     him by Argentine authorities for his suspected primary role 
     in the AMIA bombing;
       Whereas it is reported that suicide bomber Ibrahim Hussein 
     Berro, a Lebanese citizen, carried out the attack on AMIA;
       Whereas it has been reported that contact was made by the 
     Iranian embassy in Buenos Aires to Ibrahim Hussein Berro, who 
     lived in a mosque in Canuelas, Argentina, in the days before 
     the AMIA bombing;
       Whereas Argentine officials have acknowledged that there 
     was negligence in the initial phases of the investigation 
     into the 1994 bombing, including the destruction or 
     disappearance of material evidence;
       Whereas the first major criminal trial regarding the 
     bombing did not begin until September 2001, and those who are 
     currently on trial are former policemen and civilians who are 
     accused of playing roles only in the procurement and delivery 
     of the vehicle which was used in the bombing attack;
       Whereas the judge who had presided since 2001 over the 
     investigation and trial related to the AMIA bombing was 
     removed in December 2003 due to charges that he bribed a key 
     witness in the AMIA case;
       Whereas the new trial judge, Rodolfo Canicoba Corral, deals 
     with many other important cases and has few supporting staff;
       Whereas on March 17, 1992, terrorists bombed the Embassy of 
     Israel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, killing 29 people and 
     injuring over 200, and the perpetrators of the attack also 
     remain at large;
       Whereas the inability to extradite suspected Islamic 
     militants and Iranian officials has debilitated the efforts 
     of the Argentine government to prosecute masterminds and 
     planners of the 1994 AMIA bombing;
       Whereas evidence indicates that the Tri-Border area where 
     the borders of Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil meet is 
     suspected of harboring organizations which support terrorism, 
     engage in drug and arms smuggling and an assorted array of 
     other illicit, revenue-raising activities;
       Whereas the Government of Argentina supports--
       (1) the 1996 Declaration of Lima to Prevent, Combat and 
     Eliminate Terrorism, which refers to terrorism as a ``serious 
     form of organized and systematic violence that is intended to 
     generate chaos and fear among the population, results in 
     death and destruction, and is a reprehensible criminal 
     activity''; and
       (2) the 1998 Commitment of Mar del Plata which calls 
     terrorist acts ``serious common crimes that erode peaceful 
     and civilized coexistence, affect the rule of law and the 
     exercise of democracy, and endanger the stability of 
     democratically elected constitutional governments and their 
     socioeconomic development of our countries'';
       Whereas the Government of Argentina actively supports the 
     development of the ``Three Plus One'' (3+1) Counterterrorism 
     Dialogue with Brazil, Paraguay, and the United States;
       Whereas the Government of Argentina was successful in 
     enacting a law on cooperation from defendants in terrorist 
     matters, a law that will be helpful in pursuing full 
     prosecution in this and other terrorist cases; and
       Whereas the Second Specialized Conference on Terrorism held 
     in Mar del Plata, Argentina on November 23 and 24, 1998, 
     concluded with the adoption of the Commitment of Mar del 
     Plata, calling for the establishment within the Organization 
     of American States (OAS) of an Inter-American Committee 
     Against Terrorism (CICTE): Now, therefore, be it--
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) reiterates its strongest condemnation of the 1994 
     attack on the AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, 
     Argentina, and honors the victims of this heinous act;
       (2) expresses its sympathy to the relatives of the victims, 
     who have waited ten years without justice for the loss of 
     their loved ones, and may have to wait even longer for 
     justice to be served;
       (3) underscores the concern of the United States regarding 
     the continuing, decade-long delay in the proper resolution of 
     this case;
       (4) strongly urges the Government of Argentina to continue 
     to dedicate and provide the resources necessary for its 
     judicial system and intelligence agencies to investigate all 
     areas of the AMIA case, including by implementing Argentine 
     President Nestor Kirchner's executive order mandating the 
     opening of the archives of Argentina's Secretariat for State 
     Intelligence (SIDE), and to prosecute with due haste those 
     who are responsible for the bombing;
       (5) calls upon the international community to cooperate 
     fully with the investigation, including by making 
     information, witnesses, and suspects available for review and 
     questioning by the appropriate Argentine authorities;
       (6) encourages the President to direct United States law 
     enforcement agencies to provide support and cooperation to 
     the Government of Argentina, if requested, for the purposes 
     of deepening and expanding the investigation into this 
     bombing and suspected activities in support of terrorism in 
     the Tri-Border area where the borders of Argentina, Paraguay, 
     and Brazil meet;
       (7) encourages the President to direct the United States 
     Representative to the Organization of American States (OAS) 
     to--
       (A) seek support from OAS member countries for the creation 
     of a special task force of the Inter-American Committee 
     Against Terrorism to assist, as requested by the Government 
     of Argentina, in the investigation of all aspects of the 1994 
     AMIA terrorist attack; and
       (B) urge OAS member countries to designate Hizballah as a 
     terrorist organization if they have not already done so;
       (8) stresses the need for international pressure on Iran 
     and Syria to extradite for trial individuals and government 
     officials who are accused of planning or perpetrating the 
     AMIA attack, and to immediately, unconditionally, and 
     permanently cease any and all assistance to terrorists; and
       (9) desires a lasting, warm relationship between the United 
     States and Argentina which is built, in part, on mutual 
     abhorrence of terrorism and commitments to peace, stability, 
     and democracy in the Western Hemisphere.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Iowa (Mr. Leach) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach).


                             General Leave

  Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on H. Con. Res. 469, the resolution 
under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Iowa?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this past Sunday marked the 10th anniversary of the 
bombing of AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a 
terrorist act which killed 85 innocent victims and wounded 300.
  Though a decade has passed, the investigation into this brutal attack 
has yet to yield one major conviction. It has failed to focus on the 
credible evidence linking this heinous attack to the international 
terrorist group Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon, supported by 
Syria and sponsored by Iran. This lack of accountability should not be 
allowed to continue.
  We must work together to ensure that all those responsible for this 
horrific act are brought to justice, so that terrorists everywhere 
understand they will be held accountable for their violence.
  H. Con. Res. 469 is a bipartisan resolution which enjoys the support 
of over 50 cosponsors. It was introduced by the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Lantos).
  Among other provisions, this measure calls on the United States, the 
Argentine government, and international community to provide and 
utilize all necessary resources for a thorough, broad investigation of 
the AMIA bombing and other related activities in the Western 
Hemisphere.
  It further asks the international community to assist in the 
prosecution of the perpetrators of the AMIA bombing, including by 
extraditing to Argentina those who are suspected of carrying out and 
participating in the attack, as well as by providing access to 
witnesses and other evidence related to this terrorist act.
  H. Con. Res. 469, introduced by the Chair of the subcommittee and the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), focuses on the international 
connection to the attack, placing special emphasis on the role of 
Islamic militants and Iranian officials as the masterminds and planners 
of the AMIA bombing.
  It calls for the creation of a special task force of the Inter-
American Committee Against Terrorism to assist in the AMIA 
investigation and encourages all OAS member nations to designate 
Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
  In addition, it seeks multilateral cooperation in applying 
international pressure on Iran and Syria to immediately and permanently 
cease their affiliation with, and assistance to, global terrorists.
  For the sake of the victims and survivors of the AMIA attack, for the 
sake of hemispheric and global security, and

[[Page 16906]]

for the sake of justice, it is important that Congress recall what 
happened 10 years ago in this hemisphere.
  In this context, the staff of the committee has produced a chart. It 
is a chart of names, and we present this to the Congress for the sake 
of remembering that these are real people, with real histories and real 
lives; and if we think about philosophies, as well as terrorism, it is 
interesting to note that the first great philosophical tome on 
terrorism by a Harvard philosopher named Hannah Arendt pointed out that 
the great tragedy of the Holocaust was the effort by governments not 
only to take people's lives but to make them into numbers, to make 
people unknown in their own fates, to make them anonymous.
  So it is important when people are subjected to terrorist kinds of 
circumstances that it be understood that these are real people with 
real histories, and this is a real tragedy.
  It is always awkward in any sense of crime to think of statutes of 
limitations; but when it comes to terrorism, there should be no statute 
of limitation, and 10 years is a long time for no progress. It is the 
obligation of civilized people to remember the people and to remember 
that accountability is important.
  It is for that reason that this resolution has been brought before 
the House, and I urge its unanimous adoption.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I want to commend my good friend from Iowa for his thoughtful and 
serious comments. I also want to thank my good friend, the gentleman 
from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the chairman of the Committee on 
International Relations, and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-
Lehtinen), the chairman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and 
Central Asia, for their invaluable work on behalf of this resolution. I 
rise in strong support of the resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, on the morning of July 18, 1994, life in downtown Buenos 
Aires, Argentina, hummed along as it had on many previous mornings. 
Students headed off to school, and an electrician repaired faulty 
wiring on a building. Receptionists tapped at their typewriters, and 
then, suddenly, a suicide bomber slammed an explosives-laden vehicle 
into the Argentine Jewish Mutual Association building.
  The explosion which followed mercilessly killed 85 innocent men, 
women, and children and wounded over 300 others.
  Little Sebastian Barreiro's life ended that day. The 5-year-old had 
been holding his mother's hand as both of them had been walking in 
front of the building of the Jewish Community Center when the bomb 
ripped through that building.
  In addition to the terrible loss of life, the 1994 terrorist attack 
totally destroyed the seven-story building of the Jewish community in 
Buenos Aires and heavily damaged surrounding buildings. With the 
obliteration of the brick-and-mortar community center, a repository of 
100-year-old historical archives documenting the history of the Jews in 
Argentina, as well as the literary treasures of Argentinean Jewry and 
the community's cemetery records were all irreplaceably lost.
  Mr. Speaker, much like the horrific attacks on our own country just 3 
years ago, the brutal bombing in Argentina in 1994 was an international 
terrorist act. Among the 85 dead were six Bolivians, two Poles, and one 
Chilean.

                              {time}  2000

  The perpetrators are suspected of having received financial and 
logistical support from terrorist individuals and groups operating in a 
nefarious triborder region between Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. And 
the cowardly bomber himself was an accomplice of Hezbollah, a U.S.-
designated foreign terrorist organization headquartered in Syria.
  In fact, just days after this brutal and cruel bombing, a Hezbollah-
based organization based in Lebanon claimed responsibility for this 
heinous crime. Despite this claim of responsibility 10 years ago, the 
families and friends of the victims and the entire Jewish community in 
Argentina were left to ask when justice will finally be served.
  Mr. Speaker, the initial phases of the investigation into the bombing 
were botched by Argentinian authorities. A criminal trial of 20 alleged 
local accomplices, finally begun in September 2001, over 6 years after 
the commission of this horrific crime and the investigation, 
unbelievably, is still ongoing.
  In March 2003, the presiding judge issued arrest warrants for former 
Iranian Government officials who are believed to have orchestrated the 
terrorist bombing of the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, but 
these Iranian officials have yet to be arrested and sent to Argentina 
for trial.
  Mr. Speaker, justice cannot wait any longer. The families of the 
victims and the larger Jewish community in Argentina deserve to know, 
after 10 agonizing years, who is responsible for this horrendous 
terrorist act.
  Our resolution, which I sponsored with my good friend and colleague, 
the chairman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Asia, the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), urges the administration, 
our administration, and the Government of Argentina, the Organization 
of American States, and all of our allies, to pursue the international 
culprits of this monstrous bombing, even if they are still hiding in 
Iran.
  Mr. Speaker, we have known for many years that Iran, working through 
their Hezbollah stooges, commits wanton acts of violence against 
civilized society; and we strongly suspect that the Iranian Government 
was involved in this mass killing, just one of the many terrorist acts 
perpetrated by the ayatollahs in Tehran and their accomplices.
  I thank all of my colleagues for their hard work on this important 
resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  First, I would like to thank Yleem Poblete for her work on the 
subcommittee on this resolution, and I want to reraise this plaque of 
names. We are obligated to remember the victims of the AMIA bombing. We 
are obligated to remember the men, the women and children whose names 
are listed here, whose lives were abruptly ended by a terrorist assault 
simply because of their beliefs. We have no choice except to 
demonstrate our commitment to help bring murderers to justice.
  I urge unanimous support of this resolution of the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Lantos) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-
Lehtinen).
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne).
  Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne).
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlemen for yielding me this 
time.
  I rise in support for H. Con. Res. 694 condemning the attack on the 
AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in July, 1994, 
and to express the concern of the United States regarding continuing, 
decade-long delay in the resolution of this case.
  I think it is important to remember that whenever we see injustice 
anywhere, it is an attack on injustice everywhere. I think with the 
horrendous act in July of 1994, and with the lack of support or urgency 
of the Organization of American States, without the pushing of 
international organizations, that we leave a message that people can do 
what they feel like they want to do and get away with it. So I strongly 
urge that organizations responsible for seeing that justice is done 
worldwide would focus their attention on this.
  It was 10 years ago that the genocide was going on in Rwanda. While 
we celebrated 10 years of independence for South Africa, we looked 
around with other terrible things happening.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) and the

[[Page 16907]]

gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) for this resolution. We must 
continue to be vigilant because injustice anywhere is an insult to 
justice everywhere.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, this past Sunday marked the tenth 
anniversary of the deplorable terrorist attack against the AMIA Jewish 
Community Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Eighty-five innocent human 
beings, including frail little girls and boys were killed, and 300 were 
wounded, by elements linked to the global terrorist network. Today, 
sorrow, despair and frustration still permeate the air, as justice 
remains an elusive, abstract concept for the victims and survivors of 
the AMIA bombing. This cannot and must not continue.
  For this reason, the resolution I drafted with the Ranking Member of 
the International Relations Committee, Mr. Lantos, renews and redirects 
international attention to the AMIA bombing, in order to ensure that 
justice is finally served--to ensure that the terrorists are held 
accountable, and that they are no longer allowed to roam freely, 
enjoying virtual impunity for this horrific act.
  It was clear from the onset that the AMIA attack and the earlier one 
on the Israeli Embassy, were part of a campaign of violence targeted at 
the Jewish community in Argentina and throughout the world, by radical 
militant groups in the Middle East. Considerable evidence now supports 
this linkage, attributing the bombing to the terrorist group Hizballah, 
based in Lebanon, supported by Syria, and sponsored by Iran.
  Argentine authorities shave issued various arrest warrants for 
Iranian government officials who are believed to have been involved in 
planning or carrying out the attack against AMIA. Among these are the 
former Iranian minister of security and intelligence; a former cultural 
attache at the Iranian Embassy in Buenos Aries; an Iranian diplomat; a 
former minister of education; and the Iranian Ambassador to Argentina 
during the 1990s. It is further reported that one of the suicide 
bombers responsible for the murder and injuries of hundreds in the AMIA 
attack, had contact with the Iranian embassy in Buenos Aires in the 
days prior to the bombing.
  Additional evidence indicates that the tri-border area, where 
Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil meet, was used to channel resources for 
the purpose of carrying out this terrorist attack. We now understand 
the importance of this critical piece of information, as the tri-border 
area is today widely reported to be a cesspool of Islamist terrorist 
activity. Yet, despite this growing evidentiary record, the decade 
since the AMIA bombing has been marred by negligence in the initial 
phases of the investigation, and by efforts to minimize the 
international connection to this second attack by the global terrorist 
network in our own Hemisphere.
  The resolution we are considering today seeks to address this problem 
by, among other things: (1) Urging the Government of Argentina to 
dedicate the necessary resources for its judicial system and 
intelligence agencies to fully investigate and prosecute the AMIA case; 
(2) Calling upon the international community to cooperate fully with 
the investigation, including making all parties and information 
available to Argentine authorities, and, in particular, by honoring 
extradition requests for former Iranian officials who are now in third 
countries, such as Great Britain.
  Notably, H. Con. Res. 469: (1) Encourages the President to direct 
U.S. law enforcement agencies to provide support and cooperation, if 
requested, to the Government of Argentina to ensure a resolution of the 
AMIA case; (2) Calls for the creation of a special task force of the 
Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism to assist Argentina in 
investigating all aspects of the AMIA attack, particularly the 
international connection; and (3) Urges OAS member nations to designate 
Hizballah as a terrorist organization if they have not already done so.
  My colleagues, the wounds will not begin to heal until the 
investigation in to the AMIA bombing is pursued with vigor and 
determination, and until effective action is taken by all to ensure 
that justice is served. The scars will serve as a constant reminder of 
the need for vigilance in our Hemisphere, of the need for democratic 
countries to unite in condemning such horrid acts and work together to 
protect the right of every citizen, in every society, to live in peace 
and liberty free from the threat of terrorism.
  This resolution is an important first step toward achieving that 
goal. It is a call to action. It sends an unequivocal message to all 
that the United States considers the resolution of this case to be a 
priority, that it is prepared to take the necessary steps to ensure 
this end, working both with regional neighbors, as well as with the 
Argentine government.
  Ten years have already passed. We cannot wait any longer. It is time 
for the rule of law to be seen and to be heard in this important case. 
We cannot allow justice to be held captive by inaction.
  I thank the over 50 co-sponsors of this resolution for their support, 
and would especially like to thank the House Leadership and Chairman 
Hyde, for allowing this measure to move expeditiously to the Floor, and 
ask my colleagues to render their overwhelming support by voting 
``yes'' on H. Con. Res. 469.
  Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hensarling). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 
469.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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