http://pdf.reuters.com/htmlnews/8knews.asp?i=43059c3bf0e37541&u=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20130625:nBw256150a Ad helps raise awareness of Argentina`s increasing defiance of internationallaws and normsWASHINGTON--(Business Wire)--Insert quotes around the statement by ATFA Executive Director Robert Raben. The corrected release reads: ATFA AD EXPOSES THE TRUTH ABOUT ARGENTINA`S DEAL WITH IRANAd helps raise awareness of Argentina`s increasing defiance of internationallaws and normsToday, the America Task Force Argentina (ATFA) placed a full-page ad in TheWashington Post exposing the inconsistencies and outright falsehoods thatArgentina continues to spread in defense of a recent pact between Argentina andIran. The pact would reopen the question of Iranian culpability for a deadly 1994terrorist attack in Buenos Aires - even though independent Argentine prosecutorshave already determined that Iran was responsible. A growing chorus of voices,including members of Congress from both parties and representatives of thevictims of the attack, has characterized the deal as both a miscarriage ofjustice and a dangerous form of aid and assistance to one of the world`s leadingstate sponsors of terror. ATFA, an alliance of organizations united for a just and fair reconciliation ofArgentina`s unpaid debts, has joined this chorus as part of its broader campaignto raise awareness of Argentina`s increasing defiance of international laws andnorms. Regarding the growing and troubling cooperation between Argentina andIran, ATFA Executive Director Robert Raben made the following statement: "ATFA believes there needs to be greater awareness of Argentina`s dramatic andincreasing disassociation from the international community of law-abidingnations. One of the most recent and alarming examples is Argentina`s growingalliance with Iran. "Argentina's detachment began with its self-imposed isolation from internationalcapital markets a decade ago, which was a direct consequence of its refusal toconduct good-faith negotiations with creditors to resolve its outstanding debtobligations. Over the last few years, holders of U.S. court judgments againstArgentina have repeatedly asked its leaders to sit down and negotiate asettlement. In each instance, Argentina has refused. Why is Argentina willing tonegotiate with Iran, but not with its law-abiding creditors?"Argentina will likely persist in its defiance of creditors as long as theUnited States government continues to offer the country unnecessary legalsupport against creditors` attempts to assert their contractual rights in U.S.courts. The best way to achieve a positive outcome for Argentina and itscreditors is for U.S. policymakers to take a unified, zero-tolerance approach toArgentina`s increasingly rogue behavior. "Once Argentina settles its outstanding debts, we believe its re-integrationinto the international community - both economically and politically - canbegin." A Duplicitous DefenseArgentina`s ambassador has recently attempted to defend its pact with Iran byarguing that it would give Argentine prosecutors a chance to interrogate thesenior Iranian officials that have been charged with the crime. But as today`s ATFA ad makes clear, Iranian officials have emphatically declaredthat under no circumstances would the Iranian government permit any Iranianofficials to be interrogated. Argentina`s central defense of its deal with Iranis simply false.Further undermining Argentina`s defense is the fact that Iranian officials havepraised the pact by claiming that it would reveal the bombing to be a "Zionistplot" designed to impede Iran`s influence in the United States` backyard. So what is the truth about Argentina`s deal with Iran? In fact, it has nothingto do with discovering the truth about the 1994 attack on the Asociacion MutualIsraelita Argentina (AMIA), which left 85 dead and hundreds wounded. That truthhas already been established through an exhaustive investigation by Argentineprosecutors that left no doubt about Iran`s complicity. Rather, the truth about the deal is that the administration of CristinaFern?ndez de Kirchner, like the government of Venezuela, has aggressivelypursued an economic partnership with Iran - and re-writing the history of theAMIA attack is crucial to that partnership. According to The Economist:"Argentina`s interventionist policies have forced it to import ever-greateramounts of energy. And Iran is likely to offer generous terms to any countrywilling to thumb its nose at the West and buy Iranian oil." (January 29, 2013) The agreement to deny Iranian involvement in the attack on the AMIA is by mostaccounts one element in a persistent design over the last several years toincrease economic cooperation between the two countries. As the U.S. governmentand others have focused on isolating Iran, Argentine exports to Iran haveincreased dramatically in recent years, rising from a few hundred million in2007 to over $1.5 billion by 2010. In March of 2011, Perfil reported that Argentine Foreign Minister HectorTimerman met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in January of that year todiscuss dropping the AMIA investigation in exchange for deepening economicrelations between Argentina and Iran. Perfil quoted a classified memo from AliAkbar Salehi, the Iranian foreign minister to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, assaying, "Argentina is no longer interested in solving these two attacks, butwould rather improve its economic relations with Iran." And according aWashington Postreport on the AMIA pact, "In 2011,Timerman toldThe Washington Post that he believed that a `hegemonic power` - meaning theUnited States - had historically blocked efforts to unite Latin America and theMuslim world. He said Argentina was energetically seeking to build such ties."(April 5, 2013) A Growing Chorus of Concerned VoicesAFTA`s ad highlights the growing concern of U.S. policymakers. Members of theU.S. Congress from both parties have written letters expressing grave concernthat this agreement will undermine U.S. policy toward Iran, because it presentsa clear opportunity for Iran to secure a finding that exonerates its seniorofficials: "We fear this downgrade to a 'Commission' will lead to a dismissal of chargesand the whitewashing of this heinous crime." Letter from Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Mark Kirk, March 29, 2013"We are concerned the real purpose of this 'Truth Commission' may be toexonerate Iran." Letter from Members of Congress Matt Salmon and Ted Deutch, May 20, 2013"The actions of Argentina and its President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner willonly encourage Iran's accelerating support for murderous dictators, pursuit ofnuclear weapons, and sponsorship of global terrorism." Letter from Members of Congress Grace Meng and Trey Radel, May 29, 2103The deal has also been roundly condemned by groups representing the victims ofthe attack: "To ignore everything that Argentine justice has done and to replace it with acommission that, in the best of cases, will issue, without any defined deadline,a 'recommendation' to the parties constitutes, without doubt, a reversal in thecommon objective of obtaining justice." Joint statement by Delegation of Israelite Argentine Association (DAIA) and AMIA"Iran is an unreliable interlocutor that finances and promotes terrorism." Julian Schlosser, DAIA"How will it be possible to close the case by collaborating with those who havedenied any part in the bombing? Furthermore, how can Argentina trust atotalitarian regime with absolutely no respect for human rights?" Sergio Widder, Latin America director for the Simon Wiesenthal Center."Like asking Nazi Germany to help establish the facts of the Kristallnacht." David Harris, executive director of the American Jewish CommitteeIn light of the widespread outcry and concern that Argentina`s deal with Iranhas generated - and the implications of that deal for ATFA`s mission - ATFA willcontinue to raise awareness of Argentina`s dalliance with Iran and its broaderdefiance of international laws and norms. More InformationThe American Task Force Argentina (ATFA) is an alliance of organizations unitedfor a just and fair reconciliation of the Argentine government`s 2001 debtdefault and subsequent restructuring. Our members work with lawmakers, themedia, and other interested parties to encourage the United States government tovigorously pursue a negotiated settlement with the Argentine government in theinterests of American stakeholders. ATFA is led by Executive Director Robert Raben, a former Assistant AttorneyGeneral at
the U.S. Department of Justice, and co-chaired by The HonorableRobert J. Shapiro, former Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs inthe Clinton Administration, and Ambassador Nancy Soderberg, Ambassador at theU.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York from 1997 to 2001. For additionalinformation on ATFA's activities, please visitwww.atfa.org, or contactmedia@atfa.org or +1-888-662-2382. America Task Force Argentina (ATFA)+1-888-662-2382media@atfa.orgwww.atfa.org Copyright Business Wire 2013
