[Dryerase] AGR Cops riot in Buenos Aires; protesters killed

[Shawn G]

Asheville Global Report (www.agrnews.org)

Cops riot in Buenos Aires; protesters killed
By Vero Perez and Buzzard Gilmore

Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 7 (AGR)— Everyone knew something was going to 
happen. Ten days ago, the government had decided to apply “mano dura” (hard 
hand), putting an operation into action that would put 2,000 more police on 
the street and clearly showed that piqueteros blockades of the Federal 
District would not be tolerated. So when the piquetero organizations 
gathered to blockade the Pueyrredon Bridge, which connects the capital to 
Avallaneda, in the south side of the city, on June 26, they did it advising 
participants to leave the kids at home.

At 9am, the Bloque Nacional Piquetero, made up of various groups, including 
the movement’s most radical organizations, began to gather at the 
intersection at the foot of the bridge. The groups with the greatest 
presence that day were the Coordinadora Anibal Veron of the Movimiento de 
Trabajadores Desocupados, the Movimiento Teresa Rodriguez, the Movimiento 
Independientede Jubilados y Desocupados, and the Movimiento de Liberacion 
Territorial. This bridge is blockaded every week, but one had never seen so 
many boots and uniforms of such varying colors. The federal police, the 
naval police, and the national guard were all present.

The repression began at 12pm. The protesters left running and many entered 
into the train station, looking for refuge, without realizing that it was a 
fatal trap.

“I saw Darío [Santillán] arrive, who came over and tried to get him [a 
wounded demonstrater] to move. After, he told us to go, to get the hell out 
because he would stay,” the witness continued. “I got out of the station and 
crossed the Avenue. The police were already close; the cloud of teargas came 
rushing down the street. I started to run, made it a few meters and heard 
shots.”

At that point the police entered the main hall and shot at least four of the 
protesters, under the command of Commissioner Franchiotti. Santillan 
continued trying to help Maximiliano Costeki, then raised his hands, asking 
not to be shot. He got up to run away and fell. The police swept through the 
station shooting and hitting people. One woman was strangled to 
unconsciousness, and the police continued beating her. One of these officers 
was later photographed grinning over Costeki’s corpse. The same officers 
dragged Santillan, still alive, from the back of the station out to the 
sidewalk.

Outside, the repression continued for more than 15 blocks from the bridge 
with teargas, bullets, and police raids. The first place they raided was a 
storefront of the Communist Party. They shot teargas into the building, and 
the people inside jumped over the walls out back to escape to adjoining 
houses. Police kicked the door in and handcuffed those they found inside, 
separating the people who manage the space and shooting them point blank 
with rubber bullets. One was shot point blank in the head, leaving a pool of 
blood and cerebral fluid on the floor. The raids continued in the 
surrounding blocks. The police hauled in people they claimed were 
piqueteros. In the end, 188 people were arrested and more than 50 wounded, 
20 of whom were shot with lead bullets. Two were killed: Maximiliano 
Costeki, 22, and Darío Santillán, 25. Three of the hospitalized remain in 
critical condition.

“This thing is really complicating things for us,” said president Duhalde 
while watching the repression on TV, although he is the same who decreed 
that no more blockades would be tolerated. At first, the official version 
was that the protesters had fought among themselves. This is not a new 
tactic; the same explanation was given by the Governor of Salta when Anibal 
Veron was killed on Nov. 10, 2000 in the blockade of Route 34, a case that 
remains unsolved.

Little has changed except for the amount of attention paid to the riots and 
shootings, due to the location in capital and the fact that it is the 
Minister of Interior giving the explanation instead of the governor of a 
remote province. According to the Minister of Interior, Jorge Matzkin, the 
police were justified. The next day, Matzkin’s statement left no room for 
doubts: “Their (the piqueteros’) actions constituted a plan of organized and 
systematic struggle, which could come to threaten and replace the formula of 
consent which the majority of Argentines have elected because there are 
others who prefer the language of violence.” This speech reminded many of 
the communications of the last bloody military government. He made no 
reference to the police’s actions. Matzkin made this statement supported by 
the SIDE’s (State Intelligence Service) findings that affirm that the 
piqueteros want Duhalde out of office.

However, photos taken by media and human rights organizations depicted a 
very different picture from the one painted by Matzkin. The images showed 
that the police were the instigators of the violence. Immediately and 
clumsily, given the irrefutable evidence, the government has changed its 
tone to accuse the police.

Since midday June 26, leftist political parties, student groups and the 
neighborhood assemblies have taken to the street. Some went directly to the 
1st precinct in Avellaneda to demand the freedom of the arrestees and others 
began to march to the Plaza de Mayo, where the Pink House (which houses the 
executive branch) is located. The Legislative Palace had been evacuated “for 
security reasons” and the turnout of security forces was enormous, with 
infantry, water-cannon trucks and gas throwers everywhere within a few 
blocks around two locations. The climate was very tense and the repression 
from Congress was rapid. There were around 200 people protesting when the 
first gas was fired. In the Plaza de Mayo, the around 1000 protesters had 
better luck, and stayed without disruptions. For the following day word 
traveled fast and the call sign was clear: fill the Plaza de Mayo to protest 
the repressive government and demand the punishment of the murderers and 
those who gave them the orders.

Unemployed, workers, students, leftist parties and neighborhood assemblies 
marched from congress to the Plaza de Mayo chanting against the government 
and the police. More than 12,000 turned out to sing: “I see it already, 
tonight we’re all piqueteros” and “I knew it, I knew it, the police killed 
the kids.” Everybody screamed “Murderers, Murderers” in the faces of the 
police the march passed, who numbered more than 200 between Federal Police, 
National Guard, and Naval Police. In spite of the fear of a worse 
repression, the march filled the plaza and clearly showed that the 
unemployed piqueteros of the urban region, the students, members of the 
leftist parties, the human rights organizations, and the middle class are 
united.

Following the deaths and subsequent protests, several government and police 
officials resigned, including: the Minister of Security and Justice of the 
province, Luis Genoud. The Buenos Aires chief of police and subchief, the 
Superintendent of Security, General Commissioner Ricardo Degastaldi, and his 
subordinate, the general commissioner Edgardo Beltracci followed. On Friday, 
the police involved in the killings, including Alfredo Franchiotti, were 
arrested.





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