ARGENTINA PASSES REVOLUTIONARY OPEN RECORDS LAW
In a coup on March 24, 1976, a military junta seized power in Argentina and engaged in a 7-year reign of terror intended to wipe out supposed "left-wing terrorism". Under military rule thousands of people, most of them dissidents and innocent civilians unconnected with terrorism, were arrested and then vanished without a trace.
In 1983, after democracy was restored, a national commission was appointed to investigate the fate of the disappeared. Its report revealed the systematic abductions of men, women and children, the existence of secret detention centers, and the methodic use of torture and murder.
Now, a June 1998 news story reports Argentina's ex-President Arrested for Stealing Children.
The Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo, are a group of women whose children and grandchildren "disappeared" during the "dirty war". The fate of 30,000 people who disappeared is still unknown and the Government, shielding itself behind two laws that pardoned all those responsible for the tortures and killings, has no plans to investigate what their fate was. Since its foundation in 1977, Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo has been searching for over 200 children, some born in the clandestine detention centers during the captivity of their mothers or who disappeared with their parents after being taken into custody by members of the police or security forces.
Every Thursday, the Plaza de Mayo fills up with demonstrators to protest the lost children and families, and the government's refusal to take action. Marching dressed in black, carrying signs with photographs of the missing ones, the women first began marching in 1977, while the junta was still in power, a tribute to their courage. Several of them, including their founder, "disappeared" themselves as a result. The Plaza de Mayo has symbolic significance, as it was the site of a May 25, 1810 demonstration by the Argentinian people, the first act leading to Argentine independence from Spain. As a result of the organization, passion, and persistence of the Grandmothers and other groups, Argentina has passed a new adoption law which mandates that adoptive parents inform their children of their adoption, opens records to adult adoptees, and automatically voids adoptions that were done illegally. We are working on procuring a copy of the new law so that we may bring you more specific information. Watch this site for updates.
The Plaza de Mayo |
Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo Official Website of the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, primarily in Spanish
Madres de Plaza de Mayo Information about the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo group, remembering those who disappeared in Argentina's Dirty War. H.I.J.O.S "Hijos por la identidad y la justicia, contra el olvido y el silencio", or "Sons and daughters in search of truth and justice, fighting lest the past should be forgotten." A human rights organization composed of children of those who disappeared during the military dictatorship. English and Spanish versions of the site are available.
First Peaceful March An article in English detailing a silent march of the Mothers de la Plaza de Mayo around the pyramid in the Plaza, in 1981
Vanished Gallery Voices of the desaparecidos ("disappeared ones"), including information about military Junta members and the Falklands War.
Argentina Human Rights Information
Justice for the Disappeared of Argentina 1993 speech by Laura Bonaparte, founding member of the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo
First Page for Argentina Information about the country since the 1976 coup d'etat.
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