German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, speaking from Buenos Aires on Sunday, recalled the thousands of victims of the 1976-1983 military dictatorship and compared this regime with the one currently ruling Iran and the repression of recent protests.
Scholz visited the Parque de la Memoria-Monumento a las Víctimas del Terrorismo de Estado next to the Río de la Plata, from where he explained that he cannot help but «think immediately of the young people who are being murdered now in Iran when they defend their freedom and a better life».
It is estimated that between 7,000 and 30,000 people died during the military dictatorship in Argentina. Some of the victims were thrown into the Rio de la Plata in so-called death flights without the relatives being informed. Scholz has been able to speak with relatives of the disappeared.
«The fact that dictatorship brings suffering, oppression and death is very visible here, just as we perceive it everywhere in the world today,» the German chancellor said. What happened in Argentina is a reminder that «freedom must not be taken for granted.» «It is our task to make sure that we leave those times behind,» he added.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) released a report Sunday that at least 527 protesters have been killed in Iran since the protests began more than four months ago.
Scholz also met with young people in the old port district of La Boca on the second day of his stay in Buenos Aires and later visited a factory of the German company Volkswagen.
The next stop on Scholz’s trip is Chile and the last stop is Brazil, where, as in Argentina, he will support rapid progress in the negotiations for the signing of a trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, which has been under negotiation for more than 20 years.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
