For more than a decade, Argentina has commanded the attention of the international community for two widely divergent reasons: atrocious human rights violations, and subsequent efforts to punish those responsible. Between 1976 and 1983, the country was governed by a military dictatorship that committed horrendous human rights abuses; after President Raul Alfonsin was elected in 1983, world public opinion focused on his efforts to reveal the hidden story of the crimes of the so-called "dirty war." In response to vigorous military protests, a general amnesty was adopted regarding accountability for the military for their past crimes. The recent Argentine experience is certain to have great impact on the manner in which these issues are resolved elsewhere in Latin America as well as the Philippines, South Korea, Guinea, Uganda and the Eastern bloc.
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