Forthepastfiveyears,IhavecloselyfollowedArgentina’shumanrightstrialsforanupcomingbook.During2009and2010,Iattendedmostofthehearingsofacriminalcaseagainst18officersfromArgentina’sNavalMechanicsSchool(EscuelaSuperiordeMecánicadelaArmada,ESMA),sometimescalledtheAuschwitzoftheSouth.Everyday,Isawthistensionplayoutinthecourtroom.

Onenotableexampleillustratesthepoint.InNovember2010,JorgeMarioBergoglio,nowPopeFrancis,wascalledtotestifyabouttwoJesuitpriestswhoweredisappearedinMay1976whenhewasheadoftheJesuitorderinArgentina.Thepriests,OrlandoYorioandFranciscoJalics,weredetainedduringaraidontheBajoFloresslumandsecretlytakentotheESMA.Bothwerehooded,shackled,andstarved.Neitherwasallowedtoproperlyrelievehimselfforsometime,andeachwasforcedtowearhissoiledclothingforoveramonth.Yorio,themorepoliticalofthetwo,wasdrugged,interrogated,andthreatenedwithelectrocution.Afterfivedays,thetwopriestsweretransferredtoasecretcountryhomeontheoutskirtsofBuenosAires,andafterfivemonths,theyweredruggedandabandonedtotheirfateinanopenfield.

ActivistswereinterestedinBergoglio’stestimonyfortworeasons.First,hehadlongbeenaccusedoffailingtoprotectthetwopriests,andtheactivistssawhistestimonyasachancetocross-examinehimabouttheincident.Second,asthehighest-rankingmemberoftheArgentineCatholicChurchatthetimeofhistestimony,heservedasaproxyforthechurchatlarge.Nevertheless,histestimonyontheissuesindisputewascompletelyirrelevant.In1985,duringthetrialofthejunta(oneoftwocasesprosecutedinthe1980sbeforetheamnestylawswerepassed)theFederal

toamnesty(toforgetting)ismemorythroughtrials.

Thisisalaudableambition.Argentina—andtheworld—mustrememberthelastdictatorshiptopreventareturnofthehellofstateterrorism.Memoryisalsoavaluableendbecausethedictatorship’svictimswereanonymouslydiscardedintotheriverorburnedinmassgraves;memorybecomesasubstitutefortheordinaryritualsofmourningthathavebeendeniedtothefamilymembersofthemilitary’svictims,awayofbringingthepastintopubliclife.

Nevertheless,memoryisnotordinarilytheobjectofacriminaltrial,afactthathascausedsignificanttensioninArgentina’srecentwaveofprosecutions.Anordinarytrialconsidersonlytheevidencethatmayproveordisprovethechargesatissue.Whenmemoryisintroducedasanobjectofthetrial,thefoundationoflegalrelevanceisdisturbed,aswhatissignificantformemorymaynotberelevanttothechargesatissue.Inotherwords,ifanormaltrialaskswhatthedefendantdid,amemorytrialasksthelargerandharderquestionofwhyhediditandhowitcametopass.Likewise,usingtrialstofostersocialmemorychangestherelationshipbetweenthecourtandtheviewingpublic.Ordinarily,thepublicactsasacheckonthejudiciary.Publicaccesstothecourtsisguaranteedbyrighttoensurethatproceedingsareconductedfairly.Butwhenmemoryistheobjectofthetrial,thepublicbecomesanaudience.Theendofthetrialisnotjustaverdictbutalesson(or,incaseofdisagreementaboutmemory,adebate).Amemorytrialdemandsanaudiencesothatsomeonemaylearnthelessonsofthehearing.

Fortwodecades,“memory,truth,andjustice”wasemblazonedonbanners,spray-paintedonmilesofblankwalls,shoutedloudlyatprotestmarches,andpennedincountlesseditorialsastherallyingcrytorepealtwolawspassedinthewakeofArgentina’sdemocratictransitionthathadeffectivelyprovidedamnestyfortheperpetratorsofthecountry’sso-calledDirtyWar.Whenthelawswerefinallyrepealedin2003,20yearsafterthereturnofdemocracyand16yearsaftertheirpassage,therallyingcrytransformedfromapoliticalsloganintoatheoreticaljustificationforprosecution.Judgment,itwasargued,wasnecessarynotonlytometeoutpunishmenttothoseresponsiblefortheforceddisappearanceofoverninethousandcitizensduringArgentina’slastmilitaryregimebetween1976and1983,buttodiscoveranddisseminatethetruthofwhathappenedsoastoinstillasocialmemoryofArgentina’shorrificpast.“Canweachieveareal,integral,andeffectiveregimeofhumanrightsinourcountryifwethrowacloakofforgettingoveroneoftheworstviolationsthat’severoccurredinourcountry?”askeddeputyAraceliEstelaMéndezdeFerreyraduringthecongressionaldebateoverrepealingtheamnestylaws,echoingacommonsentiment.

Thedesireformemoryandtruthwasnotcastasanancillaryhope,inthesensethattrialsmightuncovertruthandinstillmemorywhilepursuingjustice.Rather,theproponentsofrepealingArgentina’samnestyconceivedofmemoryandtruthasequalobjectivesalongsidejustice.WhenArgentina’sSupremeCourtupheldthecongressionalrepealoftheamnestylawsin2005intheSimón decision,itheldthattheamnestylawswere“constitutionallyintolerable”becausetheywere“orientedtoward‘forgetting’graveviolationsofhumanrights.”1Sodescribed,theantidote

JudgingMemoryby sam FerGusoN | YaleUniversity | samferguson3@gmail.com

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destructivedimensionsasmuchasitwastoprovetheindividualchargesinthecase.Survivortestimonywassometimesrepetitive,irrelevant,orredundant,butthestoriesofkidnapping,torture,sensorydeprivation,isolation,terror,andhumiliationservedtoillustratethescopeoftheatrocity,andwereamechanismthatremindedthepublicatlargewhathadhappenedinArgentinanotsolongago.ParticularlyshockingwasthetestimonyofseveraldozenvictimswhowereputthroughtheESMA’s“processofrecuperation,”aninquisition-likeexperimentwhereprisonerscouldwintheirfreedomiftheyrenouncedtheirpoliticalcommitmentsandadoptedmore“normal”lives.Somewomenwhohadbeenguerrillaswereencouragedtoputonmakeupandembracetheirfeminineside;militaryofficerstooksomeofthemaleprisonersouttosoccergamesandfordrinksonthetown,allinanefforttohelpthem“recuperate”frombeingpoliticalsubversives.Somehumanrightsactivistsalsosawthetrialasanopportunitytodefendtheactivismofthevictims,sometimesturningthecourtroomintoaseatofpoliticaldebateratherthanlegalinquiry.Thetrialwasalsoinconversationwiththeperceivedfailuresofthedemocratictransition.“Wehavetoendthediscourseoftherepressor,”humanrightslawyerRodolfoYanzónsaidinhissummationattheESMAtrial,arguingthatpublicdiscourseduringthetransitionhadjustifiedthemilitaryrepressionbyframingtheviolenceofthedictatorshipasawar.Eventhedefensepartookinthememoryexercise.DefendantRicardoCavallo,forinstance,wrotea50,000-wordtreatiseonthehistoryoftheguerrillamovementsinArgentinaforhisfinaldefense.Itwasoddfromalegalperspective,asCavallohadflatlydeniedthechargesagainsthim.Buthesawamoralobligationtodefendtheconductofthenavy.

Bergoglio,asifthetrialcouldandshouldanswersuchaquestion.

Forthehumanrightslawyers,Bergoglio’sanswersservedasarepresentationofthechurchatlarge.HeadmittedthathedidnotspeakoutanddidnotfilejudicialchargeswhenhelearnedofYorio’sandJalics’sdisappearances.ButheinsistedthatheworkedbehindthescenestosaveYorioandJalicsbysecuringaudienceswithdictatorJorgeVidelaandAdmiralMassera.Attheendofthetrial,Zamorasaidthatitwasnotenough.“ThistrialhasshowntheaccompliceroleoftheCatholicChurch,”Zamoraarguedduringhissummation.JudgeCastellidisagreed.“It’scompletelyfalsetosaythatJorgeBergogliorattedout[his]priests....Weanalyzedit,weheardthisversion,welookedattheevidence,andweunderstandthathisbehaviorhasnolegalramification....Ifnot,wewouldhavedenouncedhim,”JudgeCastellitoldLa NacionafterBergogliowasnamedPope.

IfZamora’spronouncementwaspremature—howcouldhecommentonanentireinstitution,whenonlyashredofevidenceaboutthechurchhadsurfaced?—Castelli’sanswerreflectedthedepthstowhichmemoryhasbeensuperimposeduponjusticeandhowthetwowereconflated.Bergogliowasnotadefendantinthecase;prosecutorsandtheinstructionaljudgehadneversubpoenaedevidencetoinvestigateBergoglio’sroleintheincident,archivesfromtheJesuitsandtheArchdioceseofBuenosAireshadneverbeenexamined,andwitnessesrelatedtoBergoglio’sroleinthedisappearanceshadnotbeeninterviewed.

Theinvestigationofthechurchwasjustoneexampleofmemoryandtruththatfilteredintothecourtroom.TheobjectofthetrialwastoshowtheESMAinallits

CriminalAppealsCourthadalreadyestablishedthatbothYorioandJalicshadbeenillegallydetainedintheESMA,andthecourthadconvictedAdmiralEmilioMasserafortheirkidnapping.WhenBergogliowascalledtotestifyabouttheirordealin2010,onlyonedefendantwaschargedintheincident,retiredAdmiralOscarMontes.Montes,theformerchiefofnavaloperationsontheNavyGeneralStaff,waschargedunderatheoryofcommandresponsibility.ToprovethecaseagainstMontes,theprosecutionhadtoprovethatMonteswasinthechainofcommandandsupervisedtheofficersthatkidnappedYorioandJalics.MontesarguedthatAdmiralMassera,hissuperior,hadcircumventedthechainofcommandandthatasamatteroffacthehadnopoweroverdecisionsattheESMA.ThefactthatYorioandJalicswerekidnappedandthattheywereheldintheESMAwasnotindispute.

IfBergogliohadanythingtosayaboutMontes’scommandresponsibility(theonlylegallyrelevantquestionregardingYorio’sandJalics’sdetention)nobodyasked.Instead,activistsgrilledBergoglioforhoursoverhisallegedinvolvementintheincidentandtherelationshipbetweenthemilitaryjuntaandthechurchhierarchy.“Didanymemberoftheecclesiasticalhierarchyreachanagreementwiththemilitaryjuntathatbeforeapriestwasdetainedthemilitarywouldinformtheirrankingbishop?”humanrightslawyerLuisZamoraasked,amongother,similarquestions.ThejudgesgaveZamoraandotherlawyersampleroomtopursuethelineofquestioning,clearlytoleratingthemoreambitiousmemorypurposesofthehearing.Indeed,oneofthejudgesfoundthetopicworthengaging.“Whatwasthechurch’sandtheVatican’spostureinfrontofthedictatorship?”JudgeGermánCastelliasked

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Endnotes

1 CausaS.C.1767;L.XXXVIII,“RecursodehechodeducidoporladefensadeSimón,JulioHéctoryotross/privacióndelalibertad,etc.—causaN.17.768,”June14,2005,p.120.

2 MarkOsiel,Mass Atrocity, Collective Memory, and the Law.(NewBrunswick,NJ:TransactionPublishers,2000),3.

Thebiggerquestioniswhetherusingthecourtstopromotememoryisappropriate.PoliticalphilosopherHannahArendtfamouslyarguedinhercritiqueofthetrialofNaziAdolfEichmanninJerusalemthathistoricalquestionshavenoplaceinthecourtroom,fortheimpulsetoprovokememoryandtruthtendstosuffocatethoseinterestedinthetediousbusinessofsortingthroughtheevidenceagainstindividualdefendants.Inotherwords,whenthecourtroomisusedforhistoricalprojectiontocreateatruerecordofthepast,thereisastrongimpulsetoinstrumentalizethetrial;anofficialhistorypresumesonlyoneconclusion,namelyaguiltyverdictforthedefendants.TothisIwouldaddotherconcerns:Whatshouldberemembered?Whosememory?Fromwhichperspective?Aretherefalsememoriesandperspectives?Shouldcourtsrenderjudgmentonthepast?Therearealsopracticalconcerns:whenmemoryisplacedatthecenteroftrials,thejudicialprocessbecomeslongandtedious.

Others,suchasthelegalscholarMarkOsiel,havedefendedusingtrialsasamechanismtoprovokesocialmemory.InhisbookMass Atrocity, Collective Memory, and the Law,Osielarguesthatsolongastheproceedingsrespectproceduralnorms,trialsaspublicspectaclescanbeusefulinsolidifyingtheruleoflawbyinculcatingsocietywithliberal-legalvalues. Duringperiodsofdemocratictransition,Osielbelievesthat“theneedforpublicreckoningwiththequestionofhowsuchhorrificeventscouldhavehappenedismoreimportanttodemocratizationthanthecriminallaw’smoretraditionalobjectives.”2

Thedebatebetweenthesetwopositionsmayneverend,butweshouldbeawareofthetension.

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