New Argentine law curbs military
Over 18 years after being passed by Congress, the law regulating military activity was enforced yesterday via a presidential decree.
During an army day speech on May 29, President Kirchner had announced that his government would introduce a reform in the armed forces that would “establish civilian authority in the command of the defence policy.”
That day, Kirchner had also nagged at the army ranks following the participation of five officers in a demonstration to remember military and civilian victims of guerrilla subversion in the 1970s. The President said that the rally in Plaza San Martín on May 24 had “vindicated the state terrorism” of the 1976-83 dictatorship.
“As the President of Argentina I have no fear, I don’t fear you,” he said in the army day ceremony at the Military School in the Greater Buenos Aires town of El Palomar.
The move, which trims the powers of the heads of the armed forces, caps two weeks of tension between the government and the forces after the administration viewed a rally attended by some serving and retired officers as defiance of its pro-active human rights policy.
The National Defence Act centralizes control over the armed forces in the joint chiefs-of-staff, gives more power to civilians and bars the military from having a part in internal security affairs and in the fight against drugs, organized crime and terrorism.
The government said yesterday the law will contribute to modernizing the armed forces and making them more efficient. The law trims the power of the three heads of the armed forces, as most of their attributions are transferred to a centralized body led by the head of the joint chiefs-of-staff, which was until now a largely bureaucratic position. Defence Minister Nilda Garré said that a decentralized command led the forces to make "many mistakes," citing the 1982 Falklands/Malvinas war against Britain as an example.
Originally passed in April 1988 under the government of Radical president Raúl Alfonsín, neither Alfonsín nor subsequent presidents signed the decree with the small print of regulations which is necessary for the law to be enforced.
...
During an army day speech on May 29, President Kirchner had announced that his government would introduce a reform in the armed forces that would “establish civilian authority in the command of the defence policy.”
That day, Kirchner had also nagged at the army ranks following the participation of five officers in a demonstration to remember military and civilian victims of guerrilla subversion in the 1970s. The President said that the rally in Plaza San Martín on May 24 had “vindicated the state terrorism” of the 1976-83 dictatorship.
“As the President of Argentina I have no fear, I don’t fear you,” he said in the army day ceremony at the Military School in the Greater Buenos Aires town of El Palomar.
The move, which trims the powers of the heads of the armed forces, caps two weeks of tension between the government and the forces after the administration viewed a rally attended by some serving and retired officers as defiance of its pro-active human rights policy.
The National Defence Act centralizes control over the armed forces in the joint chiefs-of-staff, gives more power to civilians and bars the military from having a part in internal security affairs and in the fight against drugs, organized crime and terrorism.
The government said yesterday the law will contribute to modernizing the armed forces and making them more efficient. The law trims the power of the three heads of the armed forces, as most of their attributions are transferred to a centralized body led by the head of the joint chiefs-of-staff, which was until now a largely bureaucratic position. Defence Minister Nilda Garré said that a decentralized command led the forces to make "many mistakes," citing the 1982 Falklands/Malvinas war against Britain as an example.
Originally passed in April 1988 under the government of Radical president Raúl Alfonsín, neither Alfonsín nor subsequent presidents signed the decree with the small print of regulations which is necessary for the law to be enforced.
...
posted by Alice at
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
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