Latin American parliamentarians pledge to act against terrorism

More than 40 lawmakers from across South America met in Buenos Aires at the invitation of the Latin American Jewish Congress (LAJC) on the occasion of the 17th anniversary of the AMIA center bombing – the worst-ever terrorist attack on the continent. Parliamentarians from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela took part in the fifth edition of the Encounter of Latin American Parliamentarians.

LAJC President Jack Terpins said: “We are concerned that the masterminds of the AMIA attack are still at large. We are concerned that justice has still not been done, and that such an attack could happen again at any moment on our continent.” The lawmakers signed a joint declaration against terrorism and pledged to work together in the fight against it.

Family members of the AMIA bombing victims addressed the conference, as did Meir Javedanfar, who spoke about terrorist networks getting a foothold in Latin America. An outcome of the meeting was that parliamentarians in Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay sponsored resolutions in their respective legislative assemblies calling on their governments and the international community to cooperate with the Argentine Judiciary in the case of the AMIA bombing.