Friday, October 16, 2009

Haiku 101609

she ducks
behind wild bushes
delay of game

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Recently, we read the following:

San Francisco Chronicle: “Uruguay Supreme Court rules out dirty war amnesty” by Raul O Garces (AP)

"Uruguay's Supreme Court on Monday declared unconstitutional a law that has provided amnesty to military officials accused of murders, disappearances and other human rights violations during the country's dictatorship.

"Ruling in the case of a young communist detained and slain by the military in 1974, the justices said the amnesty law violates Uruguay's separation of powers and failed to pass by a required supermajority — arguments sure to be made in other dirty war prosecutions.

"The law remains on the books, but the ruling could swing voters in favor of overturning it altogether in a plebiscite being held Sunday along with presidential elections. Until now, polls have shown the plebiscite failing.

"Former vice president and constitutional scholar Gonzalo Aguirre told The Associated Press that the ruling 'supports the conviction that on Sunday the law should be annulled by popular vote and that this will lead to the reopening of dozens of cases that could not be prosecuted because of the amnesty…'

"Amnesties for human rights violators were key to enabling democracies to emerge from the dictatorship era in South America, but they have been increasingly challenged recently…"

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And we thought:

… Human rights violators who had run brutal dictatorships like Uruguay back in the 70s and 80s cannot be allowed to duck behind anomalous laws passed to shield them from prosecution. For the people of Uruguay to realize peace and progress, justice and democracy must be allowed to play out at some point. Reason dictates that the process of justice and democracy cannot be delayed indefinitely...



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