More on Iran's Guilt in the AMIA massacre in Argentina in 1994

All the News that's Fit to Print
[that is, we print all the news that fits our line]
The masthead motto of the New York Times

Since most of the English-language media works by the policy of the New York Times, that is, they publish only the news that fits their policy, then it is likely that otherwise well-informed readers dependent on English-language media will not know of the latest developments in the case of the AMIA massacre of 1994. In that year Iranian agents used a truck bomb to destroy the AMIA Jewish Community center in Buenos Aires, murdering 86 people. This followed by two years a similar bombing at the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires which killed fewer people, only 29 for a total of 115. After years of investigation, Argentine investigators determined that Iranian agents --including the Hizbullah master terrorist `Imad Mughniyyah-- had blown up the AMIA building and the embassy.

Argentina went so far as to give Interpol a list of eight persons who ought to be arrested on international arrest warrants. Former Argentine president Nestor Kirchner spoke about the AMIA affair in his speech to the UN General Assembly in the fall of 2007. However, neither Kirchner's speech nor the fact that Argentina had demanded arrest of the perpetrators through the Interpol got coverage suitable to the importance of the story in English-language "news" media, although it got much more coverage in Spanish-language media. That is, depending on English-language media will leave one ill-informed.

June 15, 2009
Wiesenthal Center Applauds Arrest Warrants Against Leading "Local Connection" Suspect of the AMIA Bombing

The Simon Wiesenthal Center applauded the decision by Argentine judge Rodolfo Canicoba Corral to endorse the indictment issued two weeks ago by State Prosecutor Alberto Nisman, the head of the AMIA Bombing Investigation Unit, demanding the arrest of Colombian-born Lebanese-resident Samuel Salman El Reda, who is accused of coordinating the logistics for the deadly bombing of the AMIA Jewish Center in 1994.

Nisman's indictment shows that El Reda established himself in Argentina in 1987. He cooperated with Mohsen Rabbani (former Iranian Cultural Attaché in Buenos Aires who has an INTERPOL's "Red Notice" warrant pending against him), and was responsible for coordinating the "operative group" that arrived from abroad in order to carry out the attack in Buenos Aires. El Reda later facilitated the escape of those involved in the blast. The indictment also states that El Reda was in contact with a person known under the alias of André Marqués, who supervised the attack from Foz do Iguazu, on the Brazilian side of the Triple Frontier [where Argentina, Brazil & Paraguay meet]. El Reda left Argentina in August, 1994 (a month after the attack) and went to Lebanon, where he has been living since then.

"We welcome this new decision which strengthens the work of Prosecutor Nisman and the efforts to bring the Iranian-backed terrorists to justice," said Dr. Shimon Samuels, Director for International Relations of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

"The warrant against El Reda lives up to the recent statement by the Argentine Supreme Court: impunity is not an option in the AMIA bombing. Truth and justice must prevail," added Sergio Widder, the Center's Director for Latin America.

For further information contact Shimon Samuels at +336 09770158, or Sergio Widder at +54911 4425-1306.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400.000 members. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the OAS and the Latin American Parliament.

El Centro Wiesenthal apoya el pedido de captura contra la persona acusada de ser el líder de la "conexión local" del atentado contra la AMIA

El Centro Simon Wiesenthal apoyó la decision del juez Rodolfo Canicoba Corral, quien dio lugar al pedido de arresto contra Samuel Salman El Reda, acusado de ser quien coordinó la logística para llevar adelante el atentado contra la AMIA en 1994. El arresto de El Reda había sido requerido dos semanas atrás a través de un dictamen emitido por el fiscal Alberto Nisman, titular de la Unidad de Investigación AMIA.

El dictamen del fiscal Nisman explica que El Reda, de origen colombiano, se estableció en Argentina en 1987, fue colaborador de Mohsen Rabbani (ex Agregado Cultural de la embajada iraní en Buenos Aires, sobre quien pesa un pedido de captura internacional con "Notificación Roja" de INTERPOL), tuvo a su cargo la coordinación del "grupo operativo" encargado de llevar a cabo el ataque terrorista en Buenos Aires, y facilitó luego el escape de los involucrados en el mismo. El dictamen establece, también, que El Reda estuvo en contacto con una persona conocida con el alias de André Marqués, quien supervisó el ataque desde Foz do Iguaçu, en el lado brasilero de la Triple Frontera. El Reda se fue de Argentina y se estableció en El Líbano en agosto de 1994, donde reside hasta el presente.

"Apoyamos esta nueva decision que fortalece el trabajo del fiscal Nisman y los esfuerzos para conducir a los terroristas que contaron con el apoyo de Irán ante la justicia", señaló el Dr. Shimon Samuels, Director de Relaciones Internacionales del Centro Simon Wiesenthal.

"El pedido de captura contra El Reda está en sintonía con el reciente pronunciamiento de la Suprema Corte de Justicia: la impunidad no es una opción válida en la causa del atentado contra la AMIA. Deben prevalecer la verdad y la justicia", agregó Sergio Widder, Director para América Latina del Centro.

Para mayor información, comunicarse con Sergio Widder al 4802-1744 o bien (15) 4425-1306. Si llama desde fuera de Argentina, + 5411 4802-1744 ó + 54911 4425-1306.

El Centro Simon Wiesenthal es una organización judía internacional de derechos humanos con más de 400.000 miembros en todo el mundo. Tiene status de ONG ante la ONU, la UNESCO, la OEA, la OSCE, el Consejo de Europa y el Parlamento Latinoamericano.

The above report from the Wiesenthal Center is only an update on a long story.

The reason why so little attention has been given to these two atrocities in Buenos Aires is probably that the US and UK governments have desired all along to protect the image of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which broad knowledge of Iranian involvement in these two atrocities would have besmirched. If these Buenos Aires crimes had been more widely known, the US and UK might have had to take a stronger line against Iran obtaining the Bomb, which apparently these two powers want the Iranian ayatollahs to have. Note how mild Obama's first remarks were in regard to the violent, brutal suppression by the ayatollahs of the anti-regime demonstrators in Iran in June of this year.

The Important Story Hardly Reported -- Argentine President Demands Iran Hand Over Suspects

UPDATING BELOW

Fairly often, important news stories get little attention from the major international "news" networks. One such is the call of Nestor Kirchner, President of Argentina, for Iran to hand over terrorism suspects to the Argentine investigating judges. Kirchner made his appeal on the same day --Tuesday, 25 September 2007-- that Ahmadinejad spoke at the same venue, the UN General Assembly in New York. Among the suspects for whom an Argentine judge has issued an international arrest warrant is former Iranian president Rafsanjani, considered a "moderate" once upon a time.

Iran has done nothing to clarify

the attacks on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires in 1992 and the AMIA Jewish cultural society in the same city in 1994, which together murdered more than a hundred people. Kirchner also asked the INTERPOL to intercede in capturing the eight suspects [according to La Nacion, Buenos Aires].

We are making an appeal here for the General Assembly to ratify these measures and we hope that Iran, on the basis of international law, will accept and respect the jurisdiction of Argentine justice and will cooperate with the Argentine judges to bring them to justice.

An Argentine judge issued the warrants for the Iranians and one Lebanese, probably a Hizbullah operative, in November of 2006. Since then, Iran has not complied with these warrants. Kirchner pointed out that Iran

has not facilitated the full cooperation requested by Argentine justice.
We request that the secretary-general [of the UN, Ban Ki Moon] and all the nations of the world intercede with the Islamic Republic of Iran so that they take the relevant steps.

He added that the commitment of the Argentine government had to do with

respect for the memory of the victims . . . [and] the hope that the Islamic Republic of Iran will apply international law and cooperate so that the truth can be known, nothing more and nothing less.

Fat chance of Iran cooperating but I share Kirchner's hope. Now, the highly significant question is why his speech was generally overlooked in English speaking countries. I did see a report of it on France24 in English. But France of course is not an English-speaking country. And France24 seems to have let the matter drop.

What did Kirchner's speech mean? First, he showed that Iran's barbarism is not theoretical or speculative. It involves concrete mass murerous acts in the past -- and outside the Middle East. Somehow, if an Arab or Islamic atrocity takes place in the Middle East, many people excuse it or minimize its significance. Either That's-how-those-people-are or The-victim-deserved-it or the perpetrators had-right-and-reason-on-their-side. These acts of terrorist slaughter took place in Buenos Aires, a city of old Western cultural traditions and a civilized life style, sorely tried to be sure by the increased poverty of recent decades and military juntas, etc. Secondly, the speech showed a Latin American country complaining about Iran, not a European state. Latin America is often considered "third world" [whatever that means] and it simply would not do, it seems, to show Americans that a "third world" country is also against Iran and Ahmadinejad. Thirdly, the speech emphasized Iran's violation of international law under the mullahs' regime, whereas the usual fake "human rights" and "peace" outfits [& NGOs] are often reported to be denouncing Israel for violations of international law [as if these "NGOs" really cared about international law]. Hence, it probably simply will not do to show that Judeophobic Iran violates international law.

The big question still remaining --we repeat-- is why the speech of the Argentine president before the UN General Assembly, openly connecting Iran with crimes of mass murder outside the Middle East, has gotten so little world attention.

The BBC may have had another reason not to report Kirchner's speech. He also brought up Argentina's claim to the Falkland Islands [called "las Malvinas" in Spanish]. Reports on the speech appeared in El Universal [Mexico], Clarin [Argentina], La Nacion [Argentina], etc. The fact that Kirchner's speech has gotten so little attention relative to its importance demonstrates once again that when examining the bias and propaganda character of the press and media, one must ask not only how the publication or broadcaster is lying or distorting a news story, but what stories may be left out altogether without the reader or listener or viewer being aware of the deliberate omission.
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UPDATING
Bloomberg did cover the speech but Bloomberg is not part of the MSM. Although respectable, it focusses on business and economics, and therefore is not mainstream. It works for a different audience. See reports in Buenos Aires Herald [in English], Wiesenthal Center site, IRN news, the BBC in Spanish (and aqui) [but not in English, because they obviously don't want the English-speaking world to know about Kirchner's charges against Iran. However, the Spanish-speaking world already knows the story --if well informed-- from other Spanish-language media. Therefore, it can't be hidden from them anyway; avoiding the story on BBC-Spanish would only make BBC-Spanish lose credibility among its target audience].
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Coming: A Jewish artifact in the hands of the Institute of the Arab World in Paris, a British journalopropagandist loves walt-mearsheimer, Jews in Hebron, Jerusalem, the Land of Israel, peace follies, propaganda, etc.