BUENOS AIRES (AFP) -
President
Barack Obama will on Thursday tackle one of the most troubled periods
of US history with Argentina, visiting a memorial to victims of the
country's murderous US-backed dictatorship.
Obama will visit the
Parque de la Memoria near Buenos Aires, a monument to the estimated
30,000 people who were killed or went missing from 1976-1983, and
deliver a speech.
Obama's two day visit coincides with the 40th
anniversary of a right-wing military coup, which the US government
condoned and which ushered in the dictatorship.
During his visit, Obama has tried to present a softer side of the hemisphere's preeminent power.
He
joked about tasting Argentina's national beverage mate for the first
time and about trying to meet football superstar Lionel Messi, while
fondly recalling reading books by Argentine writers Jorge Luis Borges
and Julio Cortazar.
He even had a go at tango -- with a pro, at a state dinner, no less.
Looking
relaxed while practicing a few steps with dancer Mora Godoy, while his
First Lady Michelle Obama gave it a whirl with dancer Jose Lugones, the
Obamas held their own on tango's home turf.
But the past has never been far away.
In
2002, Washington declassified 4,000 diplomatic cables which showed US
officials, including then-secretary of state Henry Kissinger, encouraged
the military junta's purge of leftists.
While acknowledging
"moments" in American foreign policy "that were counterproductive" Obama
pushed for reconciliation during his first full day in Argentina
Wednesday.
In a strategic gesture, Obama agreed to declassify sensitive military and intelligence records linked to the "dirty war."
The
intelligence and military documents could shed new light on the depth
of US involvement in the coup and in the purges which followed.
"Prior
US government releases have detailed human rights abuses and US
policymaking in Chile, Guatemala, El Salvador," said Carlos Osorio at
the National Security Archive.
They may also shed more light on
the extent of US involvement in "Operation Condor," a plan among secret
police agencies across the Southern Cone to target communists, leftists
and dissidents.
"We all need and we are entitled to know what the
truth is," said Argentine President Mauricio Macri, who had asked for
the documents to be released.
Obama's visit has angered some victims' groups. Several have called on Obama to apologize for US support of the military regime.
Adolfo
Perez Esquivel, 84, an Argentine human rights activist who, like Obama,
is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, recalled that US military academies
trained troops from Argentina and other Latin American regimes in
torture techniques.
"It would be good to have a public recognition of United States interventionism," Perez Esquivel said.
- Closer ties -
Obama is on his first visit to Argentina hoping to nurture a new regional ally.
He
also offered a warm embrace of Macri, the country's charismatic
centrist and pro-business leader, praising him as a "man in a hurry" who
wants to create jobs and mend the underperforming economy.
The
White House is keen to help bolster the new president, spotting a chance
to put Argentina on a firmer financial footing and create a new ally in
the region.
Macri won elections in November, ending 12 years of
leftist and crisis-ridden rule by the late Nestor Kirchner and his wife
Cristina who reveled in political enmity with Washington.
Obama's visit has also seen an effort to neutralize another point of contention between the two countries -- finance.
A
$100 billion default in 2001 made Argentina a financial pariah,
effectively shutting it out from international capital markets.
Macri
has tried to quickly clear billions' worth of remaining claims from
holdout bond holders, who are predominantly from the United States.
A deal has been agreed but has yet to be ratified.
Until the issue is resolved, Argentina is frozen out of the International Monetary Fund, making investment difficult.
Obama
praised Macri's "constructive approach" in reaching a deal with
creditors and said it had led to the "possibility of a resolution."
The Obamas are scheduled to leave Argentina on Thursday night after a quick recreational trip to Patagonia.
by Andrew Beatty
© 2016 AFP
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