S.Con.Res. 126 (pcs) Expressing the sense of Congress that the President should support free and fair elections and respect for democracy in Haiti. [Placed on Calendar Senate] ...

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108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. CON. RES. 126

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Whereas on July 18, 1994, 85 innocent people were killed and 300 were wounded 
        when the Argentine Jewish Mutual Association (referred to in this 
        resolution as the ``AMIA'') was bombed in Buenos Aires, Argentina;
Whereas that attack showed the same cowardice and utter disregard for human life 
        as the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001;
Whereas the United States welcomes Argentine President Nestor Kirchner's 
        political will to pursue the investigation of the AMIA bombing, as 
        demonstrated by his Executive order opening the archives of Argentina's 
        Secretariat for State Intelligence (referred to in this resolution as 
        ``SIDE'') and by his decisions to raise the AMIA cause to national 
        status, and to emphasize that there is no statute of limitations for 
        those responsible for this attack;
Whereas it is reported that considerable evidence links the attack to the 
        terrorist group Hizballah, which is based in Lebanon, supported by the 
        Government of the Syrian Arab Republic, and sponsored by the Government 
        of the Islamic Republic of Iran;
Whereas the decade since the bombing has been marked by efforts to minimize the 
        international connection to this terrorist attack;
Whereas in March 2003, an Argentine judge issued arrest warrants for 4 officials 
        of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran who are believed to 
        have been involved in planning or carrying out the attack against AMIA 
        and requested that the International Criminal Police Organization 
        apprehend them;
Whereas the 4 indicted Iranians are Ali Fallahian, a former minister of security 
        and intelligence; Mohsen Rabbani, a former cultural attache at the 
        Iranian Embassy in Buenos Aires; Ali Balesh-Abadi, an Iranian diplomat; 
        and Ali Akbar Parvaresh, a former minister of education;
Whereas Hadi Soleimanpour, Iran's Ambassador to Argentina in the 1990s, also has 
        an international arrest warrant pending against him by Argentine 
        authorities for his suspected primary role in the AMIA bombing;
Whereas it is reported that suicide bomber Ibrahim Hussein Berro, a Lebanese 
        citizen, carried out the attack on AMIA;
Whereas it has been reported that contact was made by the Iranian embassy in 
        Buenos Aires to Ibrahim Hussein Berro, who lived in a mosque in 
        Canuelas, Argentina, in the days before the AMIA bombing;
Whereas Argentine officials have acknowledged that there was negligence in the 
        initial phases of the investigation into the 1994 bombing, including the 
        destruction or disappearance of material evidence;
Whereas the first major criminal trial regarding the bombing did not begin until 
        September 2001, and those who are currently on trial are former 
        policemen and civilians who are accused of playing roles only in the 
        procurement and delivery of the vehicle that was used in the bombing;
Whereas the judge who had presided since 2001 over the investigation and trial 
        related to the AMIA bombing was removed in December 2003 due to charges 
        that he bribed a key witness in the AMIA case;
Whereas the new trial judge, Rodolfo Canicoba Corral, deals with many other 
        important cases and has few supporting staff;
Whereas on March 17, 1992, terrorists bombed the Embassy of Israel in Buenos 
        Aires, Argentina, killing 29 people and injuring more than 200, and the 
        perpetrators of the attack also remain at large;
Whereas an inability to extradite suspected Islamic militants and Iranian 
        officials has debilitated the efforts of the Government of Argentina to 
        prosecute masterminds and planners of the 1994 AMIA bombing;
Whereas evidence indicates that the tri-border area where the borders of 
        Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil meet is suspected of harboring 
        organizations that support terrorism and engage in drug and arms 
        smuggling and an assorted array of other illicit, revenue-raising 
        activities;
Whereas the Government of Argentina supports the 1996 Declaration of Lima to 
        Prevent, Combat and Eliminate Terrorism, which refers to terrorism as a 
        ``serious form of organized and systematic violence that is intended to 
        generate chaos and fear among the population, results in death and 
        destruction, and is a reprehensible criminal activity'';
Whereas the Government of Argentina supports the 1998 Commitment of Mar del 
        Plata, which calls terrorist acts ``serious common crimes that erode 
        peaceful and civilized coexistence, affect the rule of law and the 
        exercise of democracy, and endanger the stability of democratically 
        elected constitutional governments and their socioeconomic development 
        of our countries'';
Whereas the Government of Argentina actively supports the development of the 
        Three Plus One Counterterrorism Dialogue with Brazil, Paraguay, and the 
        United States;
Whereas the Government of Argentina was successful in enacting a law on 
        cooperation from defendants in terrorist matters, a law that will be 
        helpful in pursuing full prosecution in the 1994 AMIA bombing and other 
        terrorist cases; and
Whereas the Second Specialized Conference on Terrorism held in Mar del Plata, 
        Argentina on November 23 and November 24, 1998, concluded with the 
        adoption of the Commitment of Mar del Plata, calling for the 
        establishment within the Organization of American States (referred to in 
        this resolution as ``OAS'') of an Inter-American Committee Against 
        Terrorism (referred to in this resolution as ``CICTE''): Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That Congress--
            (1) reiterates its strongest condemnation of the 1994 
        attack on the AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, 
        Argentina, and honors the victims of this heinous act;
            (2) expresses its sympathy to the relatives of the victims, 
        who have waited 10 years without justice for the loss of their 
        loved ones, and may have to wait even longer for justice to be 
        served;
            (3) underscores the concern of the United States regarding 
        the continuing, decade-long delay in the proper resolution of 
        this case;
            (4) strongly urges the Government of Argentina to continue 
        to dedicate and provide the resources necessary for its 
        judicial system and intelligence agencies to investigate all 
        areas of the AMIA case, including by implementing Argentine 
        President Nestor Kirchner's Executive order mandating the 
        opening of the archives of the SIDE of Argentina, and to 
        prosecute with due haste those who are responsible for the 
        bombing;
            (5) calls upon the international community to cooperate 
        fully with the investigation, including by making information, 
        witnesses, and suspects available for review and questioning by 
        the appropriate Argentine authorities;
            (6) encourages the President to direct United States law 
        enforcement agencies to provide support and cooperation, if 
        requested, to the Government of Argentina, for the purposes of 
        deepening and expanding the investigation into this bombing and 
        suspected activities in support of terrorism in the tri-border 
        area where the borders of Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil meet;
            (7) encourages the President to direct the United States 
        Representative to the OAS to--
                    (A) seek support from OAS member countries for the 
                creation of a special task force of the CICTE to 
                assist, as requested by the Government of Argentina, in 
                the investigation of all aspects of the 1994 AMIA 
                terrorist attack; and
                    (B) urge OAS member countries to designate 
                Hizballah as a terrorist organization if they have not 
                already done so;
            (8) stresses the need for international pressure on the 
        Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Government 
        of the Syrian Arab Republic to extradite for trial individuals 
        and government officials who are accused of planning or 
        perpetrating the AMIA attack, and to immediately, 
        unconditionally, and permanently cease any and all assistance 
        to terrorists; and
            (9) desires a lasting, warm relationship between the United 
        States and Argentina that is built, in part, on mutual 
        abhorrence of terrorism and commitments to peace, stability, 
        and democracy in the Western Hemisphere.

            Passed the Senate July 22, 2004.

            Attest:

                                                             Secretary.
108th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                            S. CON. RES. 126

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

  Condemning the attack on the AMIA Jewish Community Center in Buenos 
   Aires, Argentina, in July 1994, and expressing the concern of the 
   United States regarding the continuing, decade-long delay in the 
                        resolution of this case.

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