Umbrella-Carrying Protesters Call For Justice in Nisman Case
An umbrella, in the colors of Argentina's national flag, is held by a protester during a silent march to honour late state investigator Alberto Nisman in Buenos Aires February 18, 2015. Nisman was found dead with a single bullet to the head on January 18. REUTERS/Enrique Marcarian

Hundreds of thousands of umbrellas flooded the slick streets of Buenos Aires on Wednesday, as protesters marched quietly to protest the scandalous and controversial death of Alberto Nisman. It was the largest public outcry yet following Nisman’s death, which has sent Argentina into what was first a domestic political crisis, and then an international one. Nisman died only hours before he was scheduled to give testimony that would have implicated the government in a scandal to trade judicial impunity for political and economic favors in the case of a 1994 terrorist bombing of a Jewish cultural center.

Argentines are no strangers to protesting. In past crises--mostly economic--citizens have taken to the streets in uproarious outpours, yelling, chanting, and banging pots and pans. On Wednesday, protesters bore banners and Argentine flags. Many held placards reading “I am Nisman,” and one tacked a note to his umbrella. “We scream in silence,” it said. Reportedly, marchers maintained silence during most of the march, with some spontaneous outbursts of clapping.

The march was organized by prosecutors, including former colleagues of Nisman’s, as well as his ex-wife, Judge Sandra Arroyo Salgado, who has criticized the handling of the case and “[the] improper, hasty and ambiguous judgements by officials from other branches of government.” President Fernandez de Kirchner has become less vocal on the case since flip-flopping on Nisman’s cause of death. First, she claimed it was a suicide, then she agreed with the more common opinion that it was likely murder. However, various government representatives took the offensive this week, denouncing the prosecutors who allegedly organized the march.

“[Argentine] judicial officials act only on the basis of a corporate strategy seeking political destabilization,” cabinet chief Jorge Capitanich told The Guardian on the morning before the march.

Similarly, Defense Minister Agustín Rossi commented the same day denouncing the protest, calling it “[The] battering ram of the political opposition,” according to the New York Times.

The scandal has extended abroad, complicating the government’s relationships with the United States and Israel. On January 25th, 2015, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry urging the White House to support an independent investigation into Nisman’s death. The Israeli public has been affected two-fold. The majority of the victims in the unsolved 1994 bombing were Jewish Argentines, allegedly murdered by one of Israel’s enemies Hezbollah or Syria. Also, the reporter who broke the Nisman story made additional headlines when he fled to Israel fearing for his life.

On Tuesday, President Kirchner tweeted an open letter from her administration to leaders in the U.S. and Israel.

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