The central act for the Day of Memory for Truth and Justice was led by Governor Jorge Capitanich and Deputy Governor Analía Rach Quiroga, who highlighted the mobilization of the people of Chaco in the streets. “Today more than ever is the day where the Judiciary must guarantee Social Justice, which is the deepest guarantee in the exercise of the Human Rights of our people,” said the president.
Capitanich recalled that on March 24, 1976, a coup was perpetrated that imposed a genocidal dictatorship that disappeared 30,000 people, creating for this purpose more than 700 clandestine detention, torture and extermination centers throughout the national territory. In addition, the appropriation of the identity of more than 500 newborn girls and boys.
“But it also involved the emergence of the brave Mothers and Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo, to whom all the people owe respect and recognition, along with their daughters and sons who fought for a just and equitable country,” he asserted. In this sense, he remarked that it was the dictatorship that implemented an economic program that raised poverty from 4% to 36%. “They changed the productive culture for the financial culture, that meant the appropriation of a repressive State”, he underlined.
“We are still paying for its aftermath, because it was economic groups that through the Central Bank condoned 22,000 million dollars and that is where the foreign debt that conditions the autonomous and sovereign development of our country was produced,” he said, emphasizing the importance of the people having memory.
“Argentina has acquired international prestige as a result of the trial of the Military Juntas and with the Human Rights policy that Néstor and Cristina implemented,” he emphasized and highlighted the presence in the streets of many and many comrades who “were detained and tortured and, they never promoted revenge, but rather promoted justice.”
“Since December 10, 2007 we instituted that the Provincial State be constituted as plaintiff in criminal cases of crimes of the military dictatorship. Today there are a thousand people convicted in the country and Justice was served in Chaco”, he recalled.
And he mentioned that, in addition, the State of Chaco is a plaintiff in the Truth Trial for the Napalpí Massacre, an essential fact in the history of oppression and crimes against humanity in our province. In addition, he created the Human Rights Guard and made Human Rights training mandatory for the three state powers.
Justice must expose crimes against humanity
“Crimes against humanity do not prescribe and Justice is the one that must expose those who perpetrated these crimes. It is also important that all the united people are capable of resisting the hegemonic national and international economic groups that promote anarcho-capitalism to curtail the rights of the peoples, generating a setback for humanity,” asserted the governor.
“Today more than ever is a Memorial Day. Today more than ever is a day of Truth. Today more than ever is the day where Justice must guarantee Social Justice, which is the deepest guarantee in the exercise of the Human Rights of our people”, Capitanich concluded and then thanked him for giving him the floor on such an important day for the Argentines.
The act for the 46th Anniversary of the 1976 Coup d’état was held at the Casa por la Memoria (former clandestine detention center “Investigations Brigade”), after a massive march in which human rights organizations and organizations participated. political, social, student and union. Giving way to the Festival for Memory.
The Secretary for Human Rights and Gender, Silvana Pérez; the president of the Commission for Memory, Mauricio Amarilla; the Minister of Education, Aldo Lineras; the Minister of Planning, Infrastructure and Economy, Santiago Pérez Pons; the Undersecretary of Human Rights, Nayla Bosch; representatives of human rights organizations: HIJOS Regional Chaco, Permanent Commission for Human Rights (CPDH), Association of Relatives of Disappeared Detainees, Association of Former Political Prisoners; among others.
For a country with memory, free and sovereign
The Secretary of Human Rights, Silvana Pérez, highlighted the presence at the march: “With strength and mysticism, Chaqueñas and Chaqueños ask for memory, truth and justice. We continue to fight for a free, sovereign, equitable and equal country, ”she indicated.
Meanwhile, the president of the Provincial Commission for Memory, Mauricio Amarilla, stressed that today more than ever the Chaco population appropriated the “Never Again” flag and the “memory, truth and justice” flag. “Beyond the negationist discourse that has arisen in recent times, the Chaco marked a before and after this March 24,” he said, adding that “a call of such magnitude had never been achieved.”
Likewise, he was happy to be able to have a massive march again after the pandemic. “Our space is very strengthened and grateful to all the social, political, student and union organizations that allow us to have this call today,” he said.
On the other hand, he recalled that two generations have passed and today there are those who know nothing of what happened 46 years ago. “That is why it is necessary to consolidate and increase memory policies and programs in education and in all areas”, he said and concluded “social and political memory cannot be separated and it is the responsibility of the State to spread the complete story of what happened” .
For her part, Nayla Bosch stressed the importance of accompanying Human Rights organizations and agencies from the State. “It is a day of commemoration for the 30,000 disappeared and it is also a day in which we have to celebrate democracy,” he said and added “this is a fact of the past and present and that is why today we continue to say memory, truth and justice through this massive act, putting memory as a fundamental flag of our institutions, our democracy and our society”.