The New York Times
March 17, 1998
 
Spanish Probe of Argentine Terrorism Widens
 

          MADRID, Spain -- The names of 9,000 people who disappeared
          during the Argentine military dictatorship were presented to a
          Spanish judge Monday, sharply widening his inquiry into
          state-sponsored terrorism that until recently listed a much smaller fraction
          of the estimated 30,000 people who died.

          Six leaders of the Argentine Workers' Central, that country's second-largest
          trade union, gave the judge the expanded list of victims.

          The union leaders also submitted the names of 896 military officers whom
          they blamed for the kidnappings and killings of leftists during military rule
          from 1976 to 1983.

          A person close to the investigation by the judge, Baltasar Garzon, said the
          new list, if fully verified by the court, would represent an important advance
          in the case, "since the Argentine authorities won't cooperate" in identifying
          the victims.

          Argentine amnesty laws in the 1980s tried to halt criminal inquiries. The
          Argentine government reported that at least 9,000 people were killed or
          disappeared during military rule, but human rights groups put the number of
          deaths at 30,000.

          In 1996 Garzon began investigating the disappearance or killing of Spanish
          citizens in Argentina, starting with a list of 40 names. It gradually increased
          to 600 names, including descendants of Spaniards, and the University
          Federation of Argentina later gave the judge a list of 2,200 teachers and
          students who had disappeared, said victims' lawyers.

          The Argentine government and some Spanish officials have contended that
          Spain has no jurisdiction. But since the judge issued international arrest
          warrants for 11 former Argentine military officials in October, it is risky for
          them to travel outside Argentina, Spanish lawyers said. The judge has also
          charged about 100 other former and active Argentine military and police
          officers.

          The union leaders said they presented documents to the judge Monday
          alleging that a half-dozen large companies, including a Ford automobile plant
          near Buenos Aires, had been used at times as detention centers for
          workers considered dissidents. The unions said 68 percent of the
          dictatorship's victims were workers.