MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina honours victims of last dictatorship

In a very emotive ceremony on the 28th anniversary of Argentina's last military coup, president Nestor Kirchner and Buenos Aires Mayor Anibal Ibarra signed this Wednesday in Buenos Aires City an agreement making one of the most notorious symbols of the bloody repression of the seventies, the Naval School of Mechanics, into a Space for the Memory, Promotion and Defence of Human Rights.

Thousands, many of them former detainees of the Naval School compound, relatives of disappeared, human rights organizations, Mothers and Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo turned to witness the historic event to the memory of the victims of the last military dictatorship, which was followed by the chanting of the national anthem in the version of one of Argentina's most popular rock stars.

Later on President Kirchner addressed the crowd and asked for forgiveness on behalf of the Argentine state for having kept quiet, during the last two decades of democracy in Argentina, about the atrocities committed in the Naval School and in so many other clandestine torture centres in the country.

"We come with no rancour or hate. Justice and combating impunity guide us", said Mr. Kirchner who reminded the children of the disappeared that "it's up to you to ensure that obscurantism does not return to Argentina", because many are speculating and "many are waiting that all fails and obscurantism returns".

Human Rights organizations estimate that probably 30,000 people died or disappeared during the Argentine 1976-1983 military dictatorship, with 5,000 having been tortured or killed in the Naval School of Mechanics.

Many are believed to have been tortured, drugged and thrown from aircrafts into the River Plate never to be seen again. Others gave birth in the Naval School with their babies snatched and handed to military families to raise as their own.

Sons and daughters belonging to the organization "Children" of disappeared also addressed the crowd demanding life sentence for all those involved in the torturing, killing, kidnapping and robbing of babies.

Juan Cabandie revealed that it was only two months ago that he was able to prove he was the child of disappeared parents, "I'm the 77th child to appear".

Present at the ceremony were most of President Kirchner's cabinet, the First Lady, a few provincial governors, Buenos Aires City officials, actors and human rights organizations. However Finance Minister Roberto Lavagna was absent and elected governors from the four most important provinces organized their own ceremonies because of the rejection of human rights groups present at the Naval School main event.