Argentina-Women of Plaza de Mayo
Treng, Ana
Some 2,500 Argentine mothers and their supporters gathered in Buenos Aires' main square April 30 on the fourth anniversary of their first demonstration demanding information on the...
...Not only has no one forgotten, but more and more people are openly discussing what they have perhaps always suspected...
...They are demanding that the military government publish the names of the disappeared-who is dead, who is alive, and where they are detained...
...Some 2,500 Argentine mothers and their supporters gathered in Buenos Aires' main square April 30 on the fourth anniversary of their first demonstration demanding information on the whereabouts of "disappeared" family members...
...It is an explosive problem which has become, in the view of many, the principal obstacle to long-term consolidation of military rule...
...The depth and breadth of support for the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, as the group is known, is growing...
...All three branches of the Armed Forces and the border police have been involved in the kidnappings, torture, detention, and as many fear, ultimate liquidation of thousands of men, women and children from all sectors of Argentine society...
...No longer can a political party avoid addressing the issue of the disappeared...
...It may also lead to divisions in the military between those in the higher echelons involved in the genocide (the junta and the presidency) and low-level officials and recent military college graduates...
...Mothers of some of the estimated 15,000 to 30,000 disappeared persons, these women have met every Thursday for four years...
...The mothers of the Plaza de Mayo are not a political organization in the strict sense, but are in the forefront of an issue which has become a powerful element in the opposition movement to the military's consolidation of its rule...
...Many feel that the broad support the movement has gained will eventually force the government to give in to the mothers' demand for accountability...
...Accounting for all the disappeared will no doubt be difficult...
...The mothers are attempting to hold the government accountable for its silence, for the long years of anguish and uncertainty, and ultimately, for genocide...
...While the demonstration-dubbed a "Silent and Sorrowful March"was the largest since the 1976 coup, its significance is even greater than its size implies...
...Unlike Chile where disappearances were smaller in numberand effected by a special corps, DINA, which could be conveniently disbanded and even discredited by the government, the Argentine military is, as an institution, steeped in blood...
...During the demonstration, police loudspeakers informed the assembled of the march's illegality every 15 minutes, but the demonstrators were undaunted...
...The persistent campaign of the mothers and human rights groups such as the Commission of Relatives of Disappeared and Political Prisoners has finally begun to crack the wall of military and self-imposed censorship...
...It is obvious that the mothers are not going away and the Argentine people are not going to forget...
...The disappearances are an issue with repercussions beyond their simple horror and the justice of the mothers' demands...
...When permitted, they gather in the Plaza de Mayo, otherwise in nearby churches...
...Typically, the military has tried to deal with the issue by banning it...
...Support from broad segments of the opposition-most of Argentina's political parties, many trade unions, professionals, intellectuals and the religious community-was evident in the mobilization for the April 30 march...
...The military tried to stop the demonstration by declaring it illegal several days in advance...
...An accounting is inevitable and will destroy the legitimacy of the Argentine Armed Forces before the people and the international community for a long time...
...It is only in the last two years that the Argentine public has become aware of the enormity of the government's crimes...
...Popularly and aptly known as the "Law of the Blanket of Forgetfulness:'," the act has not had the desired effect...
...In 1979 they attempted to have disappeared persons declared dead three months after the publication of their names in an official newspaper...
Vol. 15 • May 1981 • No. 3
