Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A REPORTER'S ACCOUNT
OF A MONTONERO NEWS
CONFERENCE, 1975
[M
ario] Firmenich, descended from Yugoslav immigrants, was the
supreme commander of the Montoneros. He had been among
the founders, whose political apprenticeship has varied. Most of the
twelve young men and women who (at the end of May 1969) had kid-
napped and later murdered a former president of Argentina, had their
origins in right-wing nationalism: their guidebooks not
Das Kapital
but
the Scriptures. . . .
“The guerrilla chief spoke with controlled excitement. The press
conference had been called because it was Argentina's Flag Day and
the second anniversary of Juan Perón's return to Argentina from exile
in Spain. The 'imprisonment' of the Born brothers [two wealthy busi-
nessmen] was proof that 'we are now a force to be reckoned with, a
political organization which cannot be ignored'. . .
“Firmenich lifted a hand and said that he wanted to tell us something
special. . . . 'In a few minutes Mr Jorge Born will be brought here. We are
presenting him to the press; he will be released today'. . .
“'How much did you get for Born?' somebody asked. Firmenich
smiled back and his smugness seemed to form a cloud around him,
'what we set out to get: 60 million dollars'. . .
“Somebody called, 'There he comes!' Stepping carefully down a
set of stone stairs with no hand rail, peering through dark glasses
with some difficulty, Jorge Born arrived. It seemed simple; he looked
quite ordinary; it was not clear to me what I [Andrew Graham-Yooll]
expected to see. A man had to be different to the rest of his species
after nine months of captivity. . . .
“The journalists crowded around him, then stepped away as the
German—or Swedish—television crew switched on the lights and
focused their cameras. Born stared at the camera, stunned by the
brightness of the lights, by the uncertainty of the situation and by the
crowd of people—even though his guards had warned him to expect
them. Finally the lights went out. It was exciting to be with him; he was
worth 60 million dollars.”
Source:
Graham-Yooll, Andrew.
A State of Fear: Memories of Argentina's
Nightmare
(London: Eland Books, 1986), pp. 43-45.
