Sunday, September 23, 2007

More Revelations from Military Archives in Brazil?

Today's Akron Beacon-Journal (yes, the Akron newspaper) has a quick blurb in its global reporting that reads the following:
"Files to be Opened
Brazil's Supreme Court has ordered the armed forces to open secret files and reveal what happened to the remains of Brazilians who died or disappeared in a guerrilla uprising against a 1964-85 military dictatorship."

My guess is, the "guerilla uprising" it references is the maoist Partido Comunista do Brasil's efforts to create focos in the Araguaia River region in an effort to overthrow the military government in the early 1970s. Although the military originally simply arrested the combatants it caught, it soon began simply executing and disposing of the bodies of the combatants. Unfortunately, I can't find any news on this story anywhere online - the English media is consumed with Fujimori (an important story in its own right that could lead to the settling of human rights issues in Peru), and the Brazilian media is still harping on Renan Calheiros. Still, if the court has ruled this, and has the means to enforce this decision, this could really open up some important material on exactly what the military did to combatants in Araguaia in the early 1970s. Here's hoping this will go through.