The Inter-American Commission of Human Rights has called on Argentina’s government to fully investigate claims of police brutality during a pensioners protest earlier this month.
Around 45 people were injured and over 120 people were arrested last week in hours of running battles between riot police and hundreds of demonstrators, including numerous football fans, who turned out in support of pensioners protesting falling living standards.
In a statement expressing concern over violence at the March 12 demonstration, the IACHR on Wednesday called on President Javier Milei’s administration to guarantee freedom of expression and association and to put human rights at the centre of its security protocols governing the use of force.
Reminding the state of its obligations, the IACHR confirmed the use of tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons by the authorities, while citing two individuals who were seriously injured by security officers and the arrest of a 14-year-old boy, who was later released from detention on a judge’s orders.
“Direct attacks against journalists were also documented, including the case of a 35-year-old photojournalist who was seriously injured by a tear gas projectile and is currently in a critical condition, as well as other cases where journalists were threatened, physically assaulted and hindered in the exercise of their work,” said the IACHR statement.
“Social protest is an essential component in the functioning of democratic societies,” warned the body. “The exercise of the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly allows people to express their demands, opinions and dissent against public policies and government decisions.”
Slapping the Milei administration on the wrist for its aggressive approach, the IACHR said Argentina has “the obligation to respect, protect, facilitate and guarantee the full exercise of these rights, using force as a last resort.”
The IACHR also voiced concerns over government attempts to influence the Judiciary, citing complaints from the National Security Ministry against a judge who ordered some of those arrested at the rally be released.
“The State must guarantee the independent exercise of the judicial system, which can be inhibited by the filing of criminal complaints for decisions issued in the fulfilment of its mandates,” said the commission.
“The participation of some individuals in acts of violence during a demonstration cannot justify the delegitimisation of the entire protest or the restriction of the rights of those who demonstrate peacefully,” continued the statement.
“In these cases, security agents must act in a differentiated manner, isolating those who resort to violence, and using force only as a last resort, in an exceptional and proportional manner, and in strict compliance with international and Inter-American standards.”
Calmer protest
The statement was issued just hours after retirees and their backers again took to the streets Wednesday for the weekly “march of the pensioners.”
Football supporters again rallied behind the elderly, though in lower numbers than the previous week, along with trade unions, rights groups and leftist associations.
President Milei’s government had braced itself for another day of potentially violent protest, but the demonstration mostly passed off without incident.
Although there were some scuffles and struggles, as well as some attempts to knock down the barriers, the situation did not escalate.
More than 2,000 officers , including City police and federal forces, were deployed to Congress and its surrounding areas to contain the march, given the possibility that violence could flare up again.
A ring of steel was erected around Congress, with several streets cordoned off and metal grilles barring access to the building.
However, the security presence proved to be excessive, more akin to a military state.
– TIMES/NA/AFP
Comments