 Show By Taylor Evensen On March 24, 1976 a military junta overthrew the Argentine government and seized control of the country. A rigidly conservative regime, the junta brutally repressed its population by assuming military control of the press, universities and labor unions, reintroducing the death penalty, and sanctioning the kidnap and torture of thousands of citizens seen as potential ideological opponents. More than 30 years later, Argentina is still grappling with the legacy of the military junta through ongoing human rights trials and a continued search for the lost children of los desaparecidos (the disappeared), who were casualties of Argentina’s Dirty War. Argentina’s Supreme Court Justice Ricardo Lorenzetti recently affirmed in June that the trials are going to continue through 2015 after President Cristina Kirchner steps down. “Human rights are not a fashion statement. Trials for crimes against humanity do not change when governments or times do. There will not be any setbacks,” Lorenzetti said. During the late 1970s, the military junta kidnapped approximately 30,000 intellectuals, political activists, and students who opposed their regime and brutally murdered them in secret detention centers throughout Argentina. Many were thrown from planes into the Río de Plata on notorious “death flights.” However, the military junta drew the line at murdering pregnant mothers. They were allowed to give birth in the detention centers, only to be murdered shortly thereafter. The children of los desaparecidos were put up for adoption, mainly given to military families and government supporters. In some cases, the adoptive parents were not aware of the origin of the children. On October 30, 1983, Argentina held its first democratic elections in seven years. The election marked the end of the region’s most brutal military dictatorship. Argentina’s newly elected president, Raúl Alfonsín, was tasked with addressing hyperinflation, which raged at 400%, settling Argentina’s $43 billion foreign debt, restoring Argentina’s democracy, and providing justice for those who suffered under the dictatorship. In 1983, Alfonsín created the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons, or CONADEP, to document human rights abuses. CONDEP published a document called “Núnca Más” (“Never Again”), which documented approximately 9,000 disappearances and the methodologies of the military junta. In April 1985, the trials of the junta’s top military commanders began. The Argentine Supreme Court sentenced former President Jorge Rafael Videla and the head of the Army Eduardo Massera to life in prison. In addition to the trial of the junta’s leading commanders, Alfonsín began the prosecution of military subordinates. The quantity of trials was enormous, and the soldiers argued that they were simply obeying orders. Consequently, the Argentine army staged a series of uprisings against the Alfonsín government in reaction to the human rights trials. In April 1987, junior army officers barricaded themselves during Argentina´s Holy Week (Semana Santa). They surrendered after a large demonstration in Plaza de Mayo in response to Alfonsín’s calls to defend democracy. Two more rebellions occurred in 1988. Faced with this growing insurgency, Alfonsín enacted the Due Obedience and Full Stop laws to appease the army and deal with the large caseload. The Full Stop Law set a deadline (December 1985) for people to file cases. After this date, the courts would not accept new cases. The Due Obedience Law, passed in 1987, pardoned all members of the military, except those in positions in command, accepting the idea that they were simply obeying orders. These collectively became known as the “Pardon Laws.” In 2003, Congress nullified the Due Obedience and Full Stop laws, and in 2005 the Argentine Supreme Court upheld this decision, deeming these laws unconstitutional. The Supreme Court also ruled that “forced disappearances, abductions, torture cases and children’s appropriation were crimes against humanity and thus not subjected to the statute of limitations.” The human rights trials of lower ranking military and security officers began in 2006. The first official brought to trial was Miguel Etchecolatz, the police commissioner of Buenos Aires during the 1970s. Etchecolatz was convicted on six counts of murder, unlawful imprisonment, and seven counts of torture. The tribunal denounced his actions as “crimes against humanity in the context of the genocide that took place in Argentina.” Since Etchecolatz’s trial, there have been more than 2,000 people accused of crimes against humanity. In 2012, the pilots who flew the notorious “death flights” were finally prosecuted. In July of the same year, Jorge Videla, the former president from 1976-1981 was sentenced to 50 years in prison for his plan to steal babies from women who gave birth to them in detention centers. Videla had already been serving a life sentence at the time. In addition to the trials, the effects of the military junta are still evident in Argentina today, as many of the children of los desaparecidos have not been identified. Just last month, Estela de Carlotta, the president of the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo (a human rights organization started by mothers of los desaparecidos during the military junta) found her grandchild, who had been taken from his mother in a detention center. Guido, who had been raised under the name Ignacio Hurban over 200 miles outside of Buenos Aires, had come forward for DNA testing because he had doubts about his identity. Guido is the 114th grandchild recovered by the grandmothers. Fourteen grandmothers founded the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo in 1977. Faced with a judicial system deaf to their claims, the mothers and grandmothers of los desaparecidos would meet in the Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, in front of the presidential palace, every Thursday demanding to be told their children’s fate. The military junta banned the meeting of groups larger than three people, so the grandmothers would circle Plaza de Mayo in groups of three. Ultimately, many of them faced police violence. Gradually, more women joined them, and they began to identify themselves by wearing white headscarves to symbolize their lost grandchildren. They stressed their condition as suffering mothers to appeal to the foreign press and international human rights organizations. These women were the only visible oppositional presence during the military junta. The Grandmothers have worked tirelessly to find and identify the missing children. They established a National Genetic Data Bank and collected DNA samples from relatives. Because these children do not know the circumstances under which they were adopted, the Grandmothers rely heavily on public awareness campaigns to find these missing grandchildren. They urge anyone who has doubts about their identity to get a DNA test. The 1970s brutal military junta still haunts Argentina today. There are countless unsolved cases of los desaparecidos, and there are still 385 “lost” grandchildren to recover. Thirty years ago there was no recourse for the families of los desaparecidos. However, these human rights trials can finally provide closure and establish the truth about what happened. This article originally appeared in the Fall 2014 edition of PPR. Image (Attribution License) courtesy of Miguel César on Wikimedia Commons.
If you are about to take a quiz or test on the conflicts in Argentina known as the Dirty War that occurred in the 1970s and 1980s, then it is crucial that you know how to answer, “Which explains how the end of the Dirty War affected military rule in Argentina?” This is a standard multiple choice question. And of the choices, the right answer to tick is: It led to free elections and the end of military rule. The Argentina Dirty War informally ended when the military government failed to capture the Falkland Islands. But if we are talking about the “official ending” then, formally, Raul Alfonsin’s election ended the Dirty War in Argentina. As you read, more details on the Dirty War will be uncovered. So, make sure you read until the end to get a complete understanding. Description of Argentina’s Dirty War – One of the Darkest Periods of the Country’s HistoryThe Dirty War was nine years of state terrorism as part of Operation Condor. It lasted from 1974 to 1983. At the time, the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance (AAA), consisting of military forces and death squads, was after political dissenters and those associated with left-wing Peronism, the Montoneros Movement, or communism. In particular, students, journalists, writers, and trade unionists were targeted, as they could threaten the military junta’s power politically or ideologically. That being said, the Dirty War was a means of silencing opposition. The resulting death toll is estimated to reach 30,000. There are also many cases of disappearance (hence, not included in the estimated death toll). Though there is no agreed-upon, specific timeline… This ‘war’ began in 1976 when the government of Isabel Perón was overthrown by a military junta that had proscribed Peronism upon taking control. The junta had been led by General Jorge Rafael Videla and had named itself “the National Reorganization Process.” Here is a photo of General Jorge Rafael Videla: At the same time, there was the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance, led by the Minister of Social Welfare José López Rega, who served as a death squad. With the juntas, all hell broke loose. Torture, arrests, killings, mass shootings, forced disappearances — you name it. People were even thrown off of planes and into the South Atlantic ocean. As many as 12,000 people were detained in secret concentration camps across the country. More horrifically, the juntas partnered with the military (which included the army, navy, and air force) to do the terrorizing. Military personnel, like Navy captain Adolfo Scilingo was reported to have killed +30, people, injured +90 people, and tortured +280 people. The state terrorism, as mentioned briefly earlier, was a part of something bigger: Operation Condor. The juntas collaborated with South American dictators, but eventually lost their popularity. Despite their last ditch effort to regain popularity by occupying the Falkland Islands, they were defeated by Britain and had to step down for free elections to happen in 1983.
The Falkland Islands WarThis was an undeclared war between Argentina and the UK. It lasted for 10 weeks in 1982. The timeline is as follows:
The casualties were as follows:
Argentina’s 1983 ElectionsRaúl Alfonsín’s democratic government was elected to office. (CONADEP) The National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons was formed to investigate crimes that were committed in the Dirty War. By 1985, 300 people were prosecuted, of which many were leading military officers. Needlessly to say, the military was unhappy. It did not want more of its members being charged. Thus, it even threatened another coup. As a result, in 1986, prosecutions ended and the then President (as well as the next President) sentenced only the two top ex-commanders. The military personnel involved were written into Pardon Laws as only completing their jobs. In 1994, the military was even praised by the President for their courageous “battle against subversion.” In 2003, though, Congress repealed the Pardon Laws, and the Argentine Supreme Court ruled they were unconstitutional in 2005. Under President Nestor Kirchner, the government reopened its investigations on the Dirty War crimes in 2006 and began prosecuting involved military officers. For example, Miguel Etchecolatz, the then police commissioner of Buenos Aires was charged and found guilty of six counts of murder, six counts of unlawful imprisonment, and seven of torture. The election of Raúl Alfonsín in 1983 marked the end of military rule in Argentina. In other words, since 1983, the military junta of Argentina and the Argentine dictatorship have become things of the past. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)Are there survivors of the Dirty War in Argentina? Yes. Most are young victims, specifically were infants and babies during the Dirty War. At the time, they were supposed to be killed. But many military personnel faked documents to adopt them. Today, they are referred to as the “stolen children.” One example is Alejandro Rei, whose biological parents were Liliana Fontana and Pedro Sandoval — both killed in the Dirty War. Rei’s current dad (Victor Rei) was a part of the military machine then. When the truth was out, Victor Rei was sentenced to 16 years in prison. Another example is Maria Eugenia Barragan, who upon finding out her true identity, sued her parents Cristina Gomez Pinto and Osvaldo Rivas for illegally kidnapping her by changing and hiding her identity 30 years ago. Barragan, like Rei, was among the many babies “snatched” during the Dirty War. Her real parents were Dirty War political prisoners. The court ruled Pinto to 7 years in prison, and Rivas 8. ConclusionNow, you know that the answer to, “Which explains how the end of the Dirty War affected military rule in Argentina?” is that it led to free elections and the end of military rule. Informally, the Dirty War ended as a result of the military government’s failure to seize the Falkland Islands in 1982. But more formally, the Dirty War ended with Raul Alfonsin being elected to office in 1983. Hopefully, this article has been helpful for your studying sessions on Argentina’s Dirty War. If you have further questions about this topic, feel free to leave us a comment down below; other thoughts are also welcomed. Also, help us share this article with other readers, like your fellow classmates brushing up on the topic. Thank you in advance! I am Everett Bledsoe, taking on the responsibility of content producer for The Soldiers Project. My purpose in this project is to give honest reviews on the gear utilized and tested over time. Of course, you cannot go wrong when checking out our package of information and guide, too, as they come from reliable sources and years of experience. |
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