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 in- formation on the whereabouts of “disappeared” family members. 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. Mothers of some of the estimated 15,000 to 30,000 disappeared per- sons, these women have met every Thursday for four years. When per- mitted, they gather in the Plaza de Mayo, otherwise in nearby churches. They are demanding that the military government publish the names of the disappeared-who is dead, who is alive, and where they are detained. The mothers are at- tempting to hold the government ac- countable for its silence, for the long years of anguish and uncertainty, and ultimately, for genocide. It is only in the last two years that the Argentine public has become aware of the enormity of the govern- ment’s crimes. The persistent cam- paign of the mothers and human rights groups such as the Commis- sion of Relatives of Disappeared and Political Prisoners has finally be- gun to crack the wall of military and self-imposed censorship. The disappearances are an issue with repercussions beyond their simple horror and the justice of the mothers’ demands. It is an explosive problem which has become, in the view of many, the principal obstacle to long-term consolidation of military rule. Typically, the military has tried to deal with the issue by banning it. In 1979 they attempted to have dis- appeared persons declared dead three months after the publication of their names in an official newspaper. Popularly and aptly known as the “Law of the Blanket of Forgetful- ness:’,” the act has not had the de- sired effect. Not only has no one for- gotten, but more and more people are openly discussing what they have perhaps always suspected. The depth and breadth of support for the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, as the group is known, is growing. Sup- port from broad segments of the op- position-most of Argentina’s politi- cal parties, many trade unions, pro- fessionals, intellectuals and the reli- gious community-was evident in the mobilization for the April 30 march. No longer can a political par- ty avoid addressing the issue of the disappeared. The military tried to stop the dem- onstration by declaring it illegal sev- eral days in advance. During the demonstration, police loudspeakers informed the assembled of the march’s illegality every 15 minutes, but the demonstrators were un- daunted. 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 disap- peared will no doubt be difficult. Un- like Chile where disappearances were smaller in numberand effected by a special corps, DINA, which could be conveniently disbanded and even discredited by the govern- ment, the Argentine military is, as an institution, steeped in blood. 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. It is ob- vious that the mothers are not going away and the Argentine people are not going to forget. An accounting is inevitable and will destroy the legiti- macy of the Argentine Armed Forces before the people and the in- ternational community for a long time. It may also lead to divisions in the military between those in the higher echelons involved in the genocide (the junta and the presi- dency) and low-level officials and re- cent military college graduates. 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 be- come a powerful element in the op- position movement to the military’s consolidation of its rule.
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