Saturday 25 July 2009

Paraguay: Victims' Remains Found

The bodies of at least two victims of the Stroessner dictatorship have been discovered on the site of a police station in Tacumbu, Ascuncion.* Working on tip offs from retired police officers and information from human rights activists, investigators found the remains in a 2.5 by 1m grave.

The Paraguayan Minister of the Interior, Rafael Filizzola, promised that the deaths would be thoroughly investigated. President Lugo also visited the site on Thursday.

There is a suggestion that one of the victims may be Argentine Oscar Luis Rojas, who disappeared in 1977. Having been jailed in Paraguay, he was supposed to be returned to his native country, but never arrived.

According to SDP Noticias, this is the first such discovery since the end of the Stroessner regime, despite the fact that an estimated 3,000 people were disappeared during the dictatorship, so this is quite a momentous event for Paraguay.

Grave of Suspected Torture Victims Found in Paraguay (CNN)
Seguiran busqueda de cadaveres tras hallazgo de osamentas en Paruguay (SDP)
Visita Lugo fosa clandestina en predio policial (CNN)

*Thanks to Lauren writing at The Latin Americanist for drawing my attention to this story.

No comments: