Argentine Jewish leaders expressed gratification today over the action of the Argentine Government this weekend in banning Tacuara and another extremist group but cautioned that the real test would be on how vigorously the orders were implemented.
The Tacuara, an extreme right-wing youth group with a long record of anti-Semitic expressions and assaults on Jews, and the Guardia Tesrauradora Nationalista (GRN) were ordered suppressed in a decree signed Friday by President Jose Maria Guido and Interior Minister General Enriaue Rauch.
“It is the purpose and fundamental duty of governments to insure public tranquility, internal peace, respect for the human person and the essential rights of all, ” the order stated. “Considering that the Tacuara and GRN activities consist of personal aggression and acts of violence and that it is inconceivable that in an organized society there should be attacks against the ideological, political or religious pluralism which constitute the basis of the democratic structure, it is ordered that any activity of both groups is prohibited, their headquarters and centers closed down.”
Jewish sources said the decree was a “good measure” by the Government which satisfied a strong feeling of public opinion that everything would depend on the vigor of enforcement. They said it was likely that the two groups would go underground in response to the ban. Alberto Ezcurra Uriburu, chief of the Tacuara, was arrested well before the ban was published and is now under Government detention. Simultaneously, 14 Tacuara members were arrested in Tres Arroyos on charges of painting swastikas and anti-Semitic slogans in the city. Various firearms were found in possession of the members.
The influential La Prensa reported today that a meeting had been held between Gen. Juan Carlos Ongania, commander-in chief of the Argentine Army, and Cardinal Antonio Caggiano, Archbishop of Buenos Aires. La Prensa said that the General called the attention of the Cardinal to the ultra-nationalist propaganda disseminated through the Catholic heirarchy by groups interested in “climbing to power. ” The General reportedly told the prelate that such action was not conducive to internal peace.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
