Comision de Prensa
AAPDH - Madrid
Editor responsable: Equipo Nizkor
http://derechos.org/aapdh

This report was written by a Buenos Aires Human Rights organization. It 
is compilation of news about La Plata.

REPRESSION IN LA PLATA

On Thursday 14, University of La Plata students had stopped members of 
the Superior Council of that university from entering the university. The 
Council was going to review the statute of the university to make it 
comply with the new higher education law. Students are opposed to this 
law, among other things, because it authorizes the university to charge 
tuition and it limits student participation in university government.

On the 19th, the authorities of the University of La Plata met with the 
judges Manuel Blando (Federal Bench) and Guillermo Labombarda (provincial 
criminal bench) so that they "arrange security means so as to guarantee 
the normal development of the February 20th meeting." Judge Blanco asked 
then for the "cooperation of the Buenos Aires police", who, it seems, 
gave it very willingly... About 700 officers, both in and out of uniform 
(sometimes carrying Itakas) made themselves present in the area of the 
meeting; there were armored cars, assault cars and hydrant trucks. Their 
work: Hebe de Bonafini hurt, a cameraman from Channel 13, Hernan Ramos, 
was shot with 6 rubber bullets fired at close range in his legs, beatings 
to defenseless people, 237 people arrested, numerous people injured, 
agents in civilian clothes and/or wearing masks mixed with the demonstrators,
cars without plaques threatening journalists, tear gas bombs thrown at 
waist height... Everything was shown on TV.

Early on the 20th, la Plata was almost in a state of siege. The police 
made true "preventive" raids, arresting people under the only pretest to 
check their police record, so as to stop the students from getting near 
the University Library, where the University Assembly was meeting. The 
Assembly at no point stopped its meeting and changes in the statutes. By 
the morning hours there were already 237 people arrested (15 minors). In 
response to this Hebe de Bonafini, the president of the Mothers of the 
Plaza de Mayo, and militants from several leftist organizations went to 
the the Infantry Headquarters to demand the liberation of the arrested. 
Hebe went in with some journalists and they violently repressed. A while 
later, the police dispersed the demonstrators with tear gas.

Later, at about 7:30 PM, a group of demonstrators did a sit-in on the 
doors of the Infantry Regimen, the police reinitiated the repression, 
firing rubber bullets and tear gasses to the people doing the sit-in. 
There were more arrested, more journalists beaten up and injured... The 
repression was very, very strong according to everyone who was there. The 
Buenos Aires security secretary, Alberto Piotti, said he had open an 
internal administrative summary procedure against the "Infantry chief 
and the Security Director. He said it wasn't a political decision, but an 
operative one.  

The Peace and Justice Service (Servicio Paz y Justicia, Serpaj), the Liga 
Argentina por los Derechos del Hombre, the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, 
founding line, and the Families of the Disappeared, asked for a meeting 
with Duhalde, the governor on Buenos Aires, and Piotti the same day. 

There were more contradictions than official explanations. First they 
justified the repression, later (after seeing the TV footing), they 
announced an investigation, and no authority (national or provincial) 
would explain the motives for the repression. A repression that reminded 
many about the past...  The Duhalde government was made to announce 
measures against the security personnel who injured the journalists. The 
Peace and Justice service sent a press release at about 10 PM on the 
20th. This information has been compiled from the newspapers Clarin and 
Pagina 12 of February 21st. La Nacion, the officialist newspaper, 
essentially says exhaustively that the protest ended up in a 
confrontation between the (trotskist) group Quebracho and the police. 
There has been talk about this group since last year, mostly by La 
Nacion. La Nacion states that in a release, Piotti confirms the seizure 
of explosives (according the La Nacion, 2 molotov bombs and 3 others, in 
addition to sling-shots and sticks), that people not connected with the 
university problems, like Hebe de Bonafini, Sergio Schoklender and 
members of FREPASO and other leftist organizations, were seen. He said 
that among the arrested was the well known leader of the Quebracho, 
Carlos Persico, 43 years old,  also names other Quebracho dealers, he 
reminds that this group acted violently several times last year, etc.
That's where we are now.