More Genocide Hyperbole, This Time from Argentina

This morning's English edition of El Pais (it is a supplement to the International Herald Tribune)has a story about charges of genocide being filed in Argentina in a private prosecution based upon universal jurisdiction concerning crimes committed under the Spanish dictatorship. According to the report, the plaintiffs allege that their relatives were killed by the Franco regime. We can add this one to the list of frivolous genocide charges. It is a shame that the word is so abused. Terrible crimes were committed under Franco, but I don't think any serious legal analysis could lead to the charge of genocide. Extravagant use of the term only detracts from the gravity of the cases where it is truly appropriate, like the Holocaust, and the massacres of Armenians and Rwandan Tutsi. I couldn't find the English version on the internet, but this seems to be the original Spanish version in El Pais.