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E-PAPER / FIKRUN STANISŁAWSTRASBURGER DALILA DALLÉAS BOUZAR ROBERT CHATTERJEE ROBERT ALBRECHT METZGER ALBRECHT ULRIKE CAPDEPÓN ULRIKE LOTTE FASSHAUER LOTTE GÖTZ NORDBRUCH GÖTZ MARTINA SABRA JUDY BARSALOU MARTIN GERNER HERBERT ZIEHM HERBERT PHILIPP SPALEK PHILIPP AHMAD HISSOU SONJA HEGASY SONJA PETER REICHEL PETER SIMONE FALK ANTJIE KROG

GOETHE-INSTITUT ART&THOUGHT/ FIKRUN WA FANN 98 COMING TO TERMS WITH THE PAST A GOETHE-INSTITUT PUBLICATIONA GOETHE-INSTITUT

Goethe-INSTITUT I UGHT ART&ThO / fikrun wa fann 98 1

This edition of Art&Thought / Fikrun wa Fann takes as its theme the different ways people find of re-evaluating and coming to terms with the past. We firmly believe it is essential that every modern society should be able to do this – by which, of course, we mean a critical re-evaluation that does not shy away from addressing difficult issues and, where possible, taboos as well; an appraisal that does not try to repress the past, but fearlessly looks it in the eyes.

Very few societies have the good fortune to boast a truly unproblematic, non-violent past. Dark corners are often found even in exemplary democ- racies that have not fought in wars. Switzerland is a case in point. Despite its neutral status during World War Two, its role in the theft of valuable assets by the Nazis was a highly problematic one. However, the Bergier Re- port was later exemplary in calling Switzerland to account for the part it played in assisting National Socialism.

Germans have acquired a reputation as both experts and model students in the discipline of coming to terms with the past. They have had to re-evalu- ate two very different histories under two different dictatorships: the Nazi era, culminating in the tragedies of the Second World War and the Holo- caust, and the Communist dictatorship under the Socialist Unity Party in East Germany. But if, as Germans, we can today take pride in the process through which we have come to terms with our past, and recommend it to

editorial the rest of the world as a peculiarly German export, we should not forget that the process of coming to terms with our past under National Socialism only really got underway in 1968, and that the re-evaluation of the history of the German Democratic Republic was simplified by the fact that the GDR and its apparatus of power rapidly fell apart. This re-evaluation therefore became the official policy not of the GDR but of a united Germany, in which the former West was dominant.

For most other countries, the process of coming to terms with the past when a despotic regime collapses, a civil war comes to an end, or a revolu- tion takes place is a more difficult one. If some kind of reckoning has not been made with those who were previously in power – and this reckoning is usually bloody rather than constitutional, as in the Russian and Iranian revolutions – then supporters of the new and old regimes must somehow find a way of living together, of reconciling their differing views and his- tories as peacefully as they can. Often this is only possible at a price: the past is not talked about, it is simply repressed. This, however, carries the danger that the old wounds do not truly heal, leading ultimately to more violent conflict at some point in the future, which is why it is so important to find effective ways and means of dealing and coming to terms with the past.

This edition of Art&Thought / Fikrun wa Fann aims to demonstrate how dif- ferent societies are going about this, with reference to examples from all around the world. We need only take a look at the Arab world to see how relevant this subject is today. Yet as we do so it is also apparent that every society has to find its own way of dealing with the past. Formulae that have worked in Germany or South Africa may prove useless in Egypt or Syria. Nonetheless, societies currently in a state of upheaval can undoubtedly earn from others’ efforts – and most especially from their failures.

We hope that the articles in this edition will help to encourage an open and fair re-examination of even the darkest corners of history in every part of the world where the past threatens to take the future hostage. 2 3

coming to terms with the past

peter reichel 4 coming to terms with the past through politics and the law

simone Falk 11 stumbling oVer memory the museum of the history of national socialism in cologne

stanislaw strasburger 15 what Form should remembrance take? poland: a Victim state coming to terms with its past

götz nordbruch 23 conFronting the enemy’s sorrow arab responses to the holocaust

ART&THOUGHT Editorial Board: herbert Ziehm / albrecht metzger FIkRUN WA FANN manutshehr Amirpur 27 democracy is a prerequisite 51st (11th) year, no. 98 (no. 23), Ahmad Hissou For coming to terms with the past; 12I2012–06I2013 Stefan Weidner coming to terms with the past ISSN 0015-0932 is a prerequisite For democracy Copy Editor: ulrike capdepón Publisher: Charlotte Collins 31 dictatorship and human rights Goethe-Institut e.V. Violations in latin america Editor-in-Chief: Assistance with coming to terms with the past in and Stefan Weidner Photographic Material: antjie krog Simone Falk 37 some lessons learnt Publisher’s Address: the south african truth and reconciliation commission (trc) Goethe-Institut e.V. Art&Thought is a cultural Dachauer Str. 122 magazine published twice a sonja hegasy D-80637 münchen year by the German Cultural 44 looking back to the Future morocco struggles to clarify its post-colonial self-image Germany Centre Goethe-Institut e.V. in English, Arabic (Fikrun dalila dalléas bouzar / martina sabra Editor’s Offi ce: wa Fann), and Farsi (Andishe 49 the composite past oF the Future Stefan Weidner va Honar). an interview Art&Thought / Fikrun wa Fann Prälat-Otto-müller-Platz 6 You can order the printed philipp spalek with robert chatterjee 50670 köln edition of our journal 52 in the cellar oF the dictator how to deal with the legacy of dictatorship Germany Art&Thought / Fikrun wa Fann Front cover: View of the ‘Topography at the Goethe-Webshop: judy barsalou of Terror’ Nazi Forced labor Documen- e-mail: http://shop.goethe.de 58 the battle oVer historical memory in egypt tation Center in Berlin, viewed through fi [email protected] the historical remains of the Berlin Internet: art&thought e-PaPer ahmad hissou www.goethe.de/fikrun Wall. Photo: Stefan Weidner www.goethe.de/fi krun 63 challenges oF transition and the dangers oF a slide into ciVil war

the legacy of the ba’ath and the assad regime Prison cell doors in the basement of Design & Layout: the El-DE-Haus (museum of the History Graphicteam köln Bonn of National Socialism in Cologne). michael krupp AGD Photo: Stefan Weidner

Printing: miscellaneous Inside front cover: Anna Boghiguian: Werbedruck GmbH lotte Fasshauer Drawings exhibited at the dOCUmENTA Horst Schreckhase 69 between art and politics (13). Photo: Stefan Weidner arab positions at the documenta (13) Inside back cover: Anna Boghiguian: martin gerner 75 art in a war Zone Drawings exhibited at the dOCUmENTA why the kabul documenta was not what it wanted to be (13). Photo: Stefan Weidner 30 Goethe-INStItUt I ART&THOUGHT / FIkRUN WA FANN 98 COmING TO TERmS WITH THE PAST I UlRIkE CAPDEPóN 31

Berlin Wall memorial.  For more than two decades now, and in ter the military coups the relentless pursuit of Photo: Stefan Weidner countries around the world, increasing impor- opponents of the regime began, and excessive tance has been ascribed to the public reappraisal repression soon followed: political detention and of a dictatorial past. This is demonstrated by the , exile, exclusion from employment, exe- European states, for example, were afraid that if the numerous truth commissions and other initia- cutions and murder. Stasi were abolished it would mobilise underground. All tives for throwing light on human rights viola- In particular, the systematic ‘disappearing’ this can be democratically controlled: you don’t want to tions; by national and international courts of jus- of people as a clandestine form of repression exclude them. But whether that will actually happen in tice dealing with the legal investigation of state spread a social climate of terror, fear, and arbi- Egypt is something the society there has to decide for repression; by a multitude of local forms of re- trary punishment. According to the final report itself. Pressure from abroad is not good; it results in a membrance such as museums, anniversaries by the first and its successor corral mentality, where people get the impression that and monuments; and by intensive discussions organisation, the number of documented cases the know-it-alls want to show us how things should be in many societies about the interpretation of a of disappearances during the Chilean military done. I don’t think we’ll get very far with that. The conflict-ridden history. dictatorship amounted to 1,102, and a total of desire has to come from the heart of the nation. I latin America now has a wealth of experi- 3,197 people were murdered. In Argentina, more always think it’s interesting to compare the situation in ence in diverse political strategies for dealing than 12,000 disappeared have been registered Germany in 1945 and in 1989. After 1945 there was denazification, which was organised by the americans. That didn’t really work in Germany; that was imposed complex and diverse attempts at coming to terms with a violent past emerged on us from outside. In 1989 it was different: it came from latin america’s bloody experiences of military dictatorships and from the heart of society. civil wars during the second half of the twentieth century. these offer an exemplary model for other countries, not least in the arab world. Have there been enquiries from Egypt as to whether you ulrike capdepón can help it re-evaluate its history? People often get in touch, but at the moment it’s very quiet. but I think egyptian society itself must itself first dictatorship and human rights decide to do this, then contacts like this will come about of their own accord. Violations in latin america coming to terms with the past in chile and argentina mistakes are sometimes made. We’re seeing that at the If the Egyptians were to ask you whether you could help moment in Germany, where the intelligence service is them again, would you do it? experiencing one disaster after another. But that I would do it insofar as I am able to – yes, I think so. with the past. These not only make clear that if by name. Human rights organisations in both doesn’t mean it’s the wrong way. The optimism people exuded at the time – ‘We can do the past is not re-evaluated a potential for con- countries assume that the number of disap- Some things didn’t work as they should have done, this’ – I was infected by that. I hope that optimism is flict remains, they also offer a frame of refer- peared is actually much higher: at least 4,500 in but then there are other democratic institutions – and I still there. ence for other parts of the world. For instance, Chile and 30,000 in Argentina. The fate of most would also include the press in this – that expose things truth commissions were first deployed in latin of those who disappeared has still not been es- like this and raise these painful subjects. And politicians You give the impression of having no prejudices against the America and can be viewed as the regional proto- tablished even today, constituting an open who are prepared to take the consequences. Egyptians. You never talk about them as ‘Muslims’ or ‘Arabs’, type for confronting recent history. The Argen- wound and one of the most burdensome legacies whose culture might make it impossible for them to estab- tinian human rights movement has also opened of the two military dictatorships. Given that the conditions there are quite different, is there lish a democracy. You talk to them on a level. up new ways of countering legal immunity at the There are differences between the two coun- actually anything Egypt can learn from Germany about I believe that the preconditions in Egypt are good, national level through transnational jurisdiction. tries in terms of how long the military regimes coming to terms with its past? because it has already existed as a state for so long. Against the background of the current pro- lasted and in the paths taken in returning to de- I think it’s possible to learn that it’s a matter of abso- The state of Egypt has a certain stability on account of cesses of structural change following on from mocracy. When the military junta seized power lute necessity to re-evaluate what has happened under its long history, and the people identify with the the Arab Spring, and the urgent question of how in Argentina on 24th march 1976, a military dicta- a dictatorship, rehabilitate the political victims of this country, too. In Iraq, for example, ethnicity plays an the newly-emerging regimes should deal with torship had already taken over by force three dictatorship and compensate them. It is possible to give important role, but you don’t have that in Egypt. their authoritarian past, this article details the years earlier in neighbouring Chile. The transition the victims back their dignity. And it’s necessary to People there stand by their country and their state, and structures and experiences of the public reap- to democracy got under way in Argentina in show that crimes committed in the name of the state ultimately that makes me optimistic. praisal of dictatorships and human rights viola- 1983, whereas Chile remained under the dictator- will not be tolerated. The International Criminal Court tions in latin America by comparing the per- ship of until 1990. In Argentina, shows that we can’t act arbitrarily, we can’t write our spectives of the Cono Sur countries Chile and defeat in the Falklands/malvinas war and eco- own laws to suit ourselves. I think that the process of Argentina. nomic failure brought about the collapse of mili- re-evaluating the past is also a signal directed at the herbert Ziehm was for many years Deputy Head of the tary rule, so the armed forces initially exerted future. Information/Disclosure Division of the Stasi Archives in Berlin. the disappeared In the context of the Cold relatively little influence over the process of de- He has now retired. War the military dictatorships emerging in south- mocratisation. In Chile, on the other hand, after a So can Germany be of assistance in Egypt? Can it serve albrecht metZger is a Hamburg-based freelance journalist ern latin America with the direct or indirect sup- ‘negotiated transition’ the military was able to as a model? who specialises in middle Eastern affairs. port of the USA were linked by the same ideo- continue to dominate many spheres of political I think we can offer them legal assistance. We can show logical impulse: the ‘National Security Doctrine’, influence and thus determine the modalities of that you can also do things democratically. The Eastern Translation: Charlotte Collins directed primarily against leftist opposition. Af- this changeover. 32 Goethe-INStItUt I ART&THOUGHT / FIkRUN WA FANN 98 COmING TO TERmS WITH THE PAST I UlRIkE CAPDEPóN: DICTATORSHIP AND HUmAN RIGHTS VIOlATIONS IN lATIN AmERICA 33

The Navy School of mechanics (ESmA) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which is being turned into a place of remembrance. The 35 buildings on the campus have been handed over to various argentinian human rights organisations. Photo: Ulrike capdepón

Silence about the legacy of dictatorship has These findings were publicly announced in a been broken, once and for all, since the end of speech by Christian-Democrat President Alwyn, the 1990s. Discussion has got underway through- which was broadcast on all television and radio out the whole of society – sparked off, to a con- stations on 4th march 1991. The military leader- siderable extent, by the extradition procedures ship, however, rejected the Commission’s final initiated in madrid against Pinochet and numer- report as one-sided, and a few weeks later the ous Argentine military leaders, and by the arrest armed forces issued their own account, justifying of the Chilean ex-dictator in london in October the coup as a patriotic duty. The impression 1998. arose of truth without consequences: it was de- clared that human rights violations had been chile: between amnesty and public con- committed, but with no possibility of the perpe- Frontation Chile’s 1978 amnesty, decreed trators being brought to trial and sentenced. by the dictatorship, initially pursued a policy of Furthermore, people were confronted with two immunity from prosecution. Human rights organ- different interpretations of the country’s dicta- isations criticised the Chilean military’s self- torial past, with the result that, initially, the ma- exoneration as lacking democratic legitimacy, jority chose to go down the path of repression as well as for the inadmissibility of a self-serving and forgetting. amnesty, and, not least, as a violation of interna- Only , the former head of tional law. Ex-dictator Pinochet’s direct involve- the Chilean secret service, was explicitly exclud- ment in the process of democratisation as a po- ed from the amnesty decree following pressure litical power factor prevented any dismantling of exerted by the United States. He was charged the institutions of dictatorship during the first with responsibility for the murder of Orlando two legislative periods. As commander-in-chief letelier, a member of the Allende government, of the armed forces until 1998 and senator for in Washington in 1976. In September 1993 the life, Pinochet was to have crucial influence over Chilean Supreme Court condemned Contreras to the transition process. seven years in prison, but he refused to serve In 1990 Patricio Aylwin, the country’s first his sentence. During the years of his trial the democratically-elected president (1990-94), es- armed forces had several times made threaten- tablished the National Commission for Truth and ing moves and conducted emergency exercises by legal and civilian groups. The basis for this investigation tion the Round Table decided that information revealed Reconciliation (CNVR – also known as the Rettig in order to obstruct his imprisonment. Although was the universal jurisdiction anchored in Spanish law, al- about the disappeared would be treated as subject to pro- Commission after its chairman, jurist Raúl Rettig) the initial sentence was a lenient one, in June lowing worldwide pursuit of perpetrators of ‘crimes against fessional secrecy. The Association of Relatives of Disap- to investigate human rights violations and at 2008 Contreras was given two life sentences, the humanity’. A transnational network of human rights organi- peared Detainees (AFDD) therefore categorically rejected least to determine the fate of people killed under highest punishment imposed to date for human sations, NGOs, associations of exiles, victims’ and relatives’ the final document, although the military had made some Pinochet’s dictatorship. Thousands of witnesses rights violations under the dictatorship. That organisations, and citizens’ initiatives – established after concessions. were interviewed over a period of nine months, outcome was largely achieved by very active the end of dictatorship – quickly went into action. Chilean domestic politics changed after Pinochet’s re- and documents gathered by human rights organ- Chilean human rights and victim organisations The arrest of Pinochet in london and the intensification turn to the country, when he resigned as a senator and isations were evaluated. However, the names of with good international connections, which cam- of public attention – also internationally – led to renewed ceased to be a real factor in power politics. Public pressure the perpetrators were not publicly disclosed. The paigned consistently for the legacy of Pinochet’s dynamism in the public re-evaluation of Chile’s dictatorial exerted by human rights organisations and their ambitious Commission’s work was limited to clarification of dictatorship to be dealt with, and for an end to past. In August 1999, during the 503 days of Pinochet’s lawyers also led to the country’s being partial- the most extreme cases of violence, leading to immunity from punishment. house arrest in london, Edmundo Pérez Yoma, defence ly circumvented from 1998 onwards, so that sentence could death – meaning people who had been disap- minister under President Eduardo Frei (1994-2000), called be passed on guilty members of the military from the Pino- peared or executed. Initially, however, no atten- the arrest oF pinochet The arrest of ex- for the establishment of a ‘Dialogue Round Table’ (Mesa de chet regime. It seemed as if the tight corset of the amnesty tion was paid to the many who had been tor- dictator Augusto Pinochet in a london clinic dur- diálogo) on human rights, bringing together members of the law had been breached. Constitutional judge Juan Guzmán tured, or to other victim groups. The Commis- ing the night of 16th October 1998 attracted military, lawyers, and representatives of the churches. This Tapia’s new legal interpretation of ‘enforced disappearance’ sion’s final report was in three sections: along- worldwide attention. This process was initiated Round Table was intended to bring about clarification of the established itself to a certain extent as an accepted alterna- side an account of the human rights violations by a charge of genocide and ‘crimes against hu- fate of the disappeared, but the information provided by tive. By interpreting disappearance as ongoing abduction committed it also included recommendations for manity’ made in Spain in 1996 against Pinochet the military within the stipulated time turned out to be (secuestro permanente), the judicial authorities continued to compensation, and a list of the victims by name. and other members of the Chilean military junta flawed. Furthermore, in order to ensure military co-opera- regard disappearance as abduction, and the offence re- 34 Goethe-INStItUt I ART&THOUGHT / FIkRUN WA FANN 98 COmING TO TERmS WITH THE PAST I UlRIkE CAPDEPóN: DICTATORSHIP AND HUmAN RIGHTS VIOlATIONS IN lATIN AmERICA 35

Villa Grimaldi in Santiago, Chile, a former detention and torture centre, where there is now ing legal action against Pinochet. Chilean courts initially prosecution under the first democratic president, Raúl Al- a Park for Peace. The ‘wall of names’ commemorates the 226 disappeared of the approximately 4,500 declared the ex-dictator of unsound mind as a result of se- fonsín (1983-1989). The setting up of the Truth Commission people who were imprisoned here. Across the top is a verse by the Uruguayan poet mario Benedetti: nile dementia, but by 2006 several trials had successfully (CONADEP), charged with discovering what had happened ‘oblivion is full of remembrance’ (‘el olvido está lleno de memoria’). Photo: Ulrike capdepón been initiated. He stood accused of murder, enforced disap- to the disappeared; the distribution of its final report Nunca pearance, torture, abduction, money laundering, tax eva- Más (Never Again), which recorded only a fraction of the sion, and other crimes. Four hundred charges were under human rights violations that had been committed; and the investigation against Pinochet, who remained under house prosecution of leading figures from the dictatorship: all arrest until his death on 10th December 2006. This put an these laid an important foundation for social condemnation end to the numerous attempts to sentence him for his re- of human rights violations during the military dictatorship. mained punishable as long as no body sponsibility for and human rights violations However, when a number of junta members were sen- had been found. legal processes could in Chile. legal prosecution of Pinochet certainly resulted in tenced during trials held in 1985 and the armed forces once not be abandoned and neither could in- a lasting diminishment of his prestige among his followers, again made threatening moves, the Argentine parliament fringements of human rights be amnes- but there are still those, particularly among the country’s passed the and the in tied. elite, who support the dictatorship. 1986 and 1987, which assured soldiers under investigation The arrest of the ex-dictator may not that they would enjoy extensive impunity. This was met have resulted in his actual sentencing places oF remembrance The symbolic representa- with massive protests from the Argentinian human rights under criminal law abroad, but it did in- tion of the dictatorial past in places of remembrance is also movement. Then the Peronist President Carlos menem fluence the Chilean courts’ legal dealings of fundamental importance. In Chile there are now many (1989-1995) pardoned members of the military who had al- with human rights violations by the dic- museums and memorials – like the mausoleum for the Dead ready been sentenced, including leading members of the tatorship and affected the international and the Disappeared Victims of Dictatorship established in junta found guilty during the historic trials of 1985. When application of worldwide jurisdiction. In 1994 at the main cemetery in Santiago, and the place of re- criminal prosecutions came to a standstill, associations of Chile there was renewed debate about membrance in the grounds of the , a former victims and their relatives (including the mothers of the Pla- the legacy of the Pinochet dictatorship, torture centre, where a ‘Park for Peace’ was created. One of za de mayo, who to this day walk round and round the and repressed memories were set free, the most important measures taken during the presidency square in front of the presidential palace in Buenos Aires, generating intensive discussion within of (2006-2011), herself a victim of the demanding justice for their disappeared children) broke off society. The outcome in Chile was a con- dictatorship, was the introduction in 2007 of 30th August as all co-operation with the government and sought greater siderable increase in the sentencing of National Day of the Disappeared (Detenido Desaparecido). support from international human rights organisations. members of the military brought before The Bachelet government also initiated the establishment of The outspokenness of the naval captain Adolfo Scilingo the courts, and the amnesty law was the museo de la memoria as a human rights centre in San- in a 1995 interview with journalist Horacio Verbitsky made called into question and circumvented. tiago, archiving the documents assembled by the two Truth public detailed information about the system of repression, That was partly a result of changes in political When President lagos made known the findings Commissions. In addition, a museum has been set up as a in particular about the from which disap- groupings within the country, but a decisive role of this report, he recognised the state’s role as memorial site at the former londres 38 torture centre in peared political prisoners were thrown, still alive, out of was played by transnational activities imple- an institutionalised instrument of repression in the centre of Santiago. planes above the Río de la Plata. This led to a wave of con- mented by relatives’ groups and human rights the systematic use of torture during the Pinochet Representation of history and the mediation of memory fessions by other members of the armed forces, which pro- organisations. The increasing impact of interna- dictatorship. The victims received a right to state in schoolbooks are also important with regard to the estab- vided more explosive material for public discussion about tional law and the extradition process against Pi- compensation and special treatment in the lishment of a minimal consensus on the condemnation of the legacy of the Argentine dictatorship. nochet were also of importance. health and education systems. Furthermore, in a the military dictatorship. In march 2010 the centre-left Con- major demonstrations in march 1996, on the twentieth historic statement accompanying publication of certación government was replaced (for the first time since anniversary of the military coup, revived demands for truth no tomorrow without yesterday Posi- the the commander-in-chief of the the end of the Pinochet dictatorship) by a neoliberal-right- and justice in Argentina. In that context the Spanish legal tive changes resulted from President Ricardo army, Juan Emilio Cheyre, recognised the mili- wing alliance which included followers of Pinochet. In Janu- system also devoted attention to the disappearance of lagos’ (2000-2006) speech on the thirtieth an- tary’s institutional responsibility for the human ary 2012 Sebastián Piñeras’ government announced the de- many people of Spanish nationality. Judge baltasar Garzón, niversary of the military coup, entitled ‘No To- rights violations. letion of the term ‘military dictatorship’ from history books, who had taken over these investigations, issued interna- morrow Without Yesterday’ (No hay mañana sin With the establishment of the Truth Commis- to be replaced by the euphemistic ‘military government’. tional warrants for the arrest of ninety-six high-ranking ayer). In this he presented the basic elements of sion, which was exclusively concerned with the This led to immediate criticism by human rights organisa- members of the Argentine military. his human rights policy and announced the es- issues of political imprisonment and torture, the tions. It is clear that there is still no agreement about the in- tablishment of a commission for the investiga- lagos government opted for a new kind of strat- terpretation of the dictatorial past and the causes of the ‘truth trials’ Even though the amnesty laws meant it tion of political imprisonment and torture. In Au- egy (unprecedented not only in latin America) Chilean military coup. That is also reflected in Argentina’s was no longer possible to bring perpetrators to justice in gust 2004 the socialist president set up the Va- for re-evaluating the past, one that made an im- re-evaluation of dictatorship and human rights violations. Argentina, many relatives of victims called on courts of ap- lech Commission. With this, thirteen years after portant contribution towards clarifying the dicta- peal to investigate how their disappeared relatives had dictatorship came to an end, the problem of its torship’s repressive practices. Viewed overall, argentina: between cloSure and (belated) juS- died. The Inter-American Commission of Human Rights ac- political prisoners and numerous victims of tor- the Rettig and Valech commissions assembled a tice members of the Argentine junta also hoped they corded victims the right to know the truth, and so-called ture made it onto the political agenda. complex image of repression, but the where- would be able to escape legal investigation into human ‘truth trials’ were initiated in a number of the country’s The Commission presented its report in No- abouts of many of the disappeared remains un- rights violations by way of an amnesty law they had passed courts. These contributed to the clarification of human vember 2004. It documented the statements of known. in 1983, and arranging for incriminating evidence to be de- rights violations, but were unable to impose any punish- 35,865 witnesses, recognised 28,459 named Attempts to bring human rights violations be- stroyed. Nevertheless, the collapse of military rule and its ments. persons as former political prisoners, and un- fore the courts repeatedly intensified the discus- moral delegitimation in the eyes of the public initially en- It was only with the kirchner government (2003-2007) covered 802 prison camps and torture centres. sion about Chile’s dictatorial past, and about tak- couraged far-reaching steps towards investigation and that a fundamental change took place in Argentina’s policy 36 Goethe-INStItUt I ART&THOUGHT / FIkRUN WA FANN 98 COmING TO TERmS WITH THE PAST I ANTJIE kROG 37

on its past. Shortly after taking office, Néstor kirchner took derpinned by amnesty laws intended to block long-term the south african truth and reconciliation commission, set up to address the the symbolic step of receiving the mothers of the Plaza de any legal prosecution for human rights violations. Truth crimes committed (on all sides) during the apartheid era, is considered all over the mayo in his presidential palace. The Argentine parliament commissions at least managed to uncover and document world to be a model. however, it encountered numerous problems during its countermanded the amnesty regulations in August 2003, the extent of these crimes, but without any systematic legal existence, and was only partially successful. the renowned south african poet and and the annulment of these laws was confirmed by the Su- pursuit of the perpetrators in either country. activist antjie krog explains how things could have been done better, and preme Court in June 2005. These moves were the outcome The experience that hardly anything had changed in the what other states that find themselves in similar upheaval can learn from the trc. of changes in the internal balance of power and in public new democracies in terms of social and economic depriva- antjie krog awareness – and also of mounting international pressure, tion led to disappointment among parts of the population, through applications for extradition, accompanied by the mingled with bitterness about the ongoing impunity en- ratification of international norms in criminal law. In August joyed by the military. Alongside their traditional demands some lessons learnt 2003 kirchner signed the UN Convention on the Non-Appli- for truth and justice, human rights organisations such as Ar- the South african truth and reconciliation commiSSion (trc) cability of Statutory limitations to War Crimes and Crimes gentina’s mothers of the Plaza de mayo or the Association Against Humanity, thereby making it possible for pardons of Disappeared Detainees in Chile increasingly positioned previously granted to the military to be declared unconsti- their protest within a greater social context of neo-liberal introduction what was the difference between freedom of tutional. In addition, he set up a Human Rights Secretariat economic policy, privatisations and social exclusion, high- It is the year 1995. my country’s first democrati- speech and hate speech; what did integrity of the as part of the government, with far-reaching responsibili- lighting the historical continuities with the dictatorship. cally elected parliament opens with trumpets, jets body mean, or productive rights? ties for clearing up crimes committed under the dictator- The Chilean amnesty law is still formally in force, but of triumph and a vintage Nelson mandela speech. ship. viewed over the longer term it is apparent that what were I am there. I am reporting – as part of the new a new Vocabulary Those of us working in There followed an intensive resumption of trials involv- long thought to be unalterable regulations are in fact de- radio team reporting our ‘new’ parliament in all our mother tongues had to find terms for these ing human rights abuses. Not long ago two former Argentin- pendent on current discourse, changed circumstances, and its languages to the nation. (Yes, we used words new-to-us concepts. I remember how the head of ian dictators, and Reynaldo Bignone, different power constellations. Its overall social legitimation like ‘nation’ and are both thrilled and perplexed the Reserve Bank during a radio interview had to were sentenced to life imprisonment. In July last year, Fed- can once again be publicly called into question, and immu- as we taste it on our tongues for the first time.) find Venda words to explain interest rates and eral Court No. 5 in Buenos Aires held them responsible for nity from punishment can potentially be rescinded. The in- There are eight of us; keen and multilingual, we the Gini coefficient. He left the radio booth the abduction of the babies of women imprisoned for op- fluence of increasingly interconnected human rights move- work under editor Pippa Green, and our voices, bathed in sweat. One of my colleagues reported posing the government. The babies were then given under ments across the world played a decisive part in this energised by the wealth of potential all around us, on hearings on the legislation around pornogra- false names to military families who supported the dicta- transformation in public dealings with dictatorial pasts. are regularly heard across the country. phy. ‘what is pornography in Xhosa?’ asked Pippa torship. Investigation of the Escuela Mecánica de la Armada Both in Chile and in Argentina the struggle to combat impu- Parliament, under the leadership of Nelson Green. ‘I made a word which basically means (ESmA), the military junta’s notorious detention and torture nity succeeded in bringing about legal proceedings at the mandela, wasted no time. It prioritised two tasks dirty pictures,’ he said. ‘You can’t use that be- centre where thousands of people disappeared, had been international level at a time when efforts to address the that would influence the country for decades to cause it already contains a value judgement. let’s broken off in 1987, but was resumed in December 2009. crimes of dictatorship seemed to be blocked nationally. The come: the drafting of a new constitution to pro- phone somebody who works on the Xhosa dic- Women prisoners in the ESmA had given birth to their ba- human rights movements in both countries have made in- tect and guide a young democracy, and legislation tionary?’ we were learning, our languages were bies in a secret delivery ward, only for them to be raised creasing use of international instruments against such im- which would establish a body to deal with the learning, and everybody was catching up. under a false identity by families loyal to the regime. In Oc- punity, thereby making an important contribution towards past by giving amnesty and listening to victims. The third thing I remember about these times tober 2011 the man known as the ‘Angel of Death’, Alfredo the further development of universal jurisdiction. Transna- The Justice Portfolio Committee chaired by ANC was the intensive consultative process around Astiz (a former naval captain and a symbolic figure in the tional pursuit of serious infringements of human rights was activist and workaholic Johnny de lange was as- the TRC legislation. For months on end different military junta), and eleven other ex-officers were given life to be highly significant for these two countries. However, it signed to become my beat. groups, individuals, societies, representatives ap- sentences for their participation in human rights violations has also become clear that the long-term consequences of In my memory of these times, several things peared before the Commission putting their re- committed in this former naval school. the military dictatorships are still present in both Argentine stood out: the first was that everything was pos- quests and formulating their fears. All political The handing over of the ESmA site to human rights and and Chilean society, and there is still considerable potential sible – every good thing. There was an upsurge of parties were represented in the portfolio commit- relatives’ organisations in 2004 was thus of great symbolic for social conflict over how the experience of dictator- goodwill, of pride, of Nelson mandela founding, tee and we personally reported how they were significance. After navy personnel had finally left it became ship and human rights violations should be remembered creating our most beautiful face, our best face. accommodated. The draft bill was distributed to a memorial, the most important place of remembrance in in future. Secondly, we were, suddenly, a ‘country-in-train- non-governmental organisations all over South Argentina. Debates within society about the establishment ing’. It felt like we had to learn a completely new Africa; seminars and workshops were held to help of this memorial and its future organisation repeatedly ex- vocabulary. For our reports we regularly looked people understand the philosophy behind the pose the opposing interpretations of history promoted by for someone to explain never-heard-before or Commission; the findings of these workshops and the various political allegiances. ulrike capdepón is writing a doctoral thesis on coming never-understood-before terms in ordinary lan- seminars were made available to the people to terms with the past in Chile and Spain, at the Institute guage: what actually was a ‘human right’, a bill of working on the bill; thousands of booklets ex- shiFts in coming to terms with the past As de- of latin American Studies, part of the Hamburg-based rights; what was the difference between interro- plaining the main ideas of the Commission were tailed above, after the Chilean and Argentine dictatorships German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA). gation and torture; when was something a crime distributed; and also a number of radio pro- had come to an end, the processes of democratisation that against humanity; what were the implications grammes on the TRC were broadcast [Boraine got under way were initially characterised by impunity, un- Translation: Tim Nevill when parliament was no longer the highest au- 2000: 50]. thority but instead subject to the Constitutional I remember how one of the civil servants who Court, so it was no longer a question of Salus rei worked through the night to turn the day’s dis- publica suprema lex est – the law of the state is cussions into draft legislation complained about the highest law – but something entirely differ- the cumbersomeness of the consultation process: ent; what was the difference between amnesty ‘If I was allowed to draft this law we would have and indemnity; what precisely was pornography; been finished long ago with a short slick piece.’