BUENOS AIRES, July 25 (UPI) -- Argentina is renewing efforts to solve the mystery surrounding a deadly bombing that killed dozens of people and has infuriated that nation's Jewish community for nearly a decade.
In recent weeks, newly elected President Nestor Kirchner has surprised Argentina's citizenry and officials with his decision to open what were once sealed documents recounting the government's take on the 1994 bombing of the Israeli-Argentine Mutual Association, called AMIA.
The blast that rocked downtown Buenos Aires killed 86 people when a van packed with explosives drove into the building and detonated its deadly cargo. The material for the bomb, according to Argentine officials, was procured in the notorious tri-border region where Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay meet. The area's large Arab population is the alleged home to many terror supporters and Islamic militants.
For years, the investigation into the bombing has been plagued by government stalling and the mysterious disappearances of witnesses, giving the South American nation's 300,000 Jews little hope that they would ever learn who targeted the center as part of a campaign of terror against the community during the 1990s.
Two years earlier, still unknown assailants bombed the Israeli Embassy in the Argentine capital killing 29 people.
Kirchner's commitment to disclose the file information -- restated this week during his U.S. tour of Washington and New York -- contradicts a policy upheld by his predecessors who seemed reluctant to reveal possible blunders made by Argentine intelligence officials in the days and weeks leading up the deadly AMIA blast and the subsequent investigation.
The Argentine president told U.S. and Argentine Jewish interest groups that investigation into the bombings of AMIA and the Israeli Embassy would be stepped up in the near future, as the sealed files are scheduled to be opened early next month.
Sergio Acevedo, secretary of Argentina's intelligence, told La Nacion newspaper on Thursday that the handling of the bombing's aftermath has "been a national disgrace" and that Argentina "must put and end to impunity ... fundamentally, the facts and government decision (to open the files) ... will regenerate trust in Argentine society."
Argentina's Jewish community has grumbled for nine years about what they alleged was shoddy handling of the investigation.
First in their crosshairs for condemnation is the country's State Intelligence Secretariat, known locally as SIDE, for mishandling the investigation, even alleging that the organization had received advanced notice that the AMIA would be targeted for attack some 48 days before the deadly bombing.
The documents could reveal that SIDE agents botched their handling of rumors regarding a bombing and open up further inquiries into whether the government was trying to cover up any intelligence errors along the way.
Prior to the Kirchner administration's decision to disclose the government's file, former President Eduardo Duhalde decreed that intelligence officials could not testify in any possible inquiry.
It is now expected that 14 SIDE agents will take the stand, including Hugo Anzorreguy, the head of the agency during the time of bombing.
Last month Miguel Nunez, a spokesman for Kirchner, announced the decision to "open the SIDE files on the AMIA bombing and place them at the disposal of investigators."
That's welcome news to AMIA President Abraham Kaul, who accompanied the Argentine leader on his U.S. tour. Kaul told United Press International on Friday that the president told him not only would the SIDE agents be held accountable for possible investigation blunders, but also the judges who heard testimony on the bombing soon after the 1994 blast.
"This is the first time that officials mention the possibility of ... judges being held accountable," Kaul told UPI, stressing that if any errors were discovered "the judge's could be removed from the bench."
While the Jewish community here is pleased with the Argentine government's decision to reverse its position on the bombings, the lack of a clear-cut perpetrator continues to nag many.
A widely held belief that the attacks on AMIA and the Israeli Embassy were carried out by the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group, which receives funding from Iran, lacks conclusive proof, though several suspects with alleged ties to the group and nation have been tried and held in Argentina.
In recent years, suspects connected to the 1992 and 1994 bombings have been extradited from Switzerland and picked up in Paraguay.
The U.S. State Department considers Hezbollah a terror organization and Iran a state sponsor of terror, designated by President Bush as a member of the "axis of evil" which included Iraq and North Korea.
Iran vigorously denies its involvement in the attacks and has refused repeated requests by Argentina to extradite any Iranian nationals to be tried for the bombings.
"Iran had no role in the Argentine incident and so far no evidence has been provided of Iran's involvement," said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi back in March. "We will hold talks with the Argentine government within the next few days, and if the Argentine government fails to make up for its mistake, Iran will adopt appropriate measures."
Kaul said that Argentine officials told him he would not be unnerved by Iran's lack of cooperation that "if they failed to comply (with extradition requests), Argentina will not hesitate to use strong diplomatic measures" -- though he did not specify exactly what Argentina was prepared to do.
