President Menem of Argentina has called on the Navy to punish a former officer who is defending his role in the military repression of the 1980s.

The officer, a leading figure in the former military regime is claiming that the Navy is responsible for training him to destroy, place bombs and kill.

Captain Alfredo Astiz, who has confessed to torturing and murdering babies and children, shows no remorse for his actions.

A French court has already convicted the Captain in his absence for his role in the disappearance of two French nuns living in Argentina in the 1980s.

In Argentina itself, Mr Astiz has so far avoided prosecution although his outspoken comments have been widely condemned. The country's Interior Minister described the Captain's statements as dreadful.

Amnesty protects the guilty

Relatives of the thousands of people who disappeared during the military regime said that former officers who played a lead role in the war should still be punished.

The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo pressure group said officers had not repented.

Mr Astiz, along with many other former officers and generals, has benefited from an amnesty approved by the civilian government following Argentina's return to democracy.

That amnesty was supposed to help heal old wounds, but the families of the left-wing activists who disappeared refuse to let the matter rest.

It is not yet clear whether Mr Astiz will be extradited to face French courts but at the moment he is effectively a prisoner in his own country.

An international arrest warrant has been issued for his detention should he ever leave Argentina.
 

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