AMIA marked 19th anniversary of attack; ratified justice claims, anti-Iran stance

The AMIA authorities and victims’ families marked this morning the 19th anniversary of a deep-rooted wound among all Argentineans: the bombing of the Jewish community center that claimed the lives of 85 people and left 300 seriously injured. President CFK, absent. Criticism to the MoU signed with Iran stirred up.

As every year, a siren sounded loud at 9.53 with victims’ families bringing back the beginning of one of the saddest chapters in Argentina’s history.

AMIA head Leonardo Jmelnitzky, mother of one of the victims of the attack Sofía Guterman and TV and radio presenter Andy Kustnezoff were in charge of delivering the main speeches while journalist Ari Paluch hosted the ceremony that took place outside the AMIA building located in 633 Pasteur Street.

“What interest could have Iran when at the same time it employs the most absurd arguments to deny the murderer of millions of Jews under the Nazi regime? It makes us wonder about Iran’s truly intentions,” Jmelnitzky said as he opened the commemorative rally.

In that sense, the AMIA president accused Tehran of “rejecting to cooperate” with Argentina’s judiciary while he considered the recent 500-page indictment by the AMIA case special prosecutor Alberto Nisman denouncing Iran’s “infiltration” in Latin America an opportunity to “broaden the fight against terrorism also in the international scenario.”

Still, he also targeted the so called “local collection” and called to investigate those who “made” the “killing of 85 people” possible here.

“We tell the judge (Rodolfo Canicoba Corral) in charge of the case that since the ruling of the Supreme Court in 2009 that allowed the reopening of the case to probe the local connection we have witnessed no progress,” Jmelnitzky affirmed ratifying that the AMIA only demands the “complete clarification of the case.”

“19 years on, the wound remains open” has been this year’s motto marking a new anniversary of the tragic bombing that did not count with the presence of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner who flew to Colombia to meet her counterpart Juan Manuel Santos. In 2012, CFK did not attend the AMIA rally either.

Earlier this year, Argentina and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly probe the 1994 attack, a bilateral agreement which has been fiercely resisted by the opposition here, the AMIA and the Delegation of Israeli-Argentine Associations (DAIA in Spanish) and which became target of harsh criticism during today’s ceremony as well.