The March of Silence, which calls for justice for the victims of the civil-military dictatorship in Uruguay between 1973 and 1985, took place this Friday after two years of not taking place due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Uruguayans will march for the disappeared of the last dictatorship
Before the climax of the massive march, those in attendance said after each missing or murdered person’s name that was mentioned and listened to the national anthem.
The organization of mothers and relatives of detained and disappeared Uruguayans called for the event, writing on social media that on this May 20th “just like the other days of the year, we are all relatives. We will march in silence again, without flags or party slogans, asking: where are they? The truth is still being hijacked: it is the responsibility of the state”.
Thousands of Uruguayan men and women are taking part in the 27th March of Silence, which continues to call for truth, justice and remembrance of crimes committed by state terrorism. @teleSURTv pic.twitter.com/8rEa4svuig
– Mateo Grille (@mateoteleSUR)
May 20, 2022
This body, the main organizer of the march, gave a press conference on May 19, in which it insisted on its claim to seek truth and justice, stressing that the state was the one who committed these crimes and it is who goes on in silence.
That’s what they called the armed forces, which after so many years continue to keep secret the files detailing the operations conducted during the dictatorship, and the Executive Branch and Secretary of Defense have the power to demand the details.
May 20th has been chosen as the date when thousands of people will walk down the main street of Montevideo to demand justice and truth for the victims of the dictatorship; commemorating the assassination of then MPs Zelmar Michelini and Héctor Gutiérrez Ruiz on the same day in 1976, as well as militants Rosario Barredo and William Whitelaw.
The march had not been held in person for two years due to the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic; However, the appeal on social networks was overwhelming and thousands of posts with images and allegorical publications with symbols such as the daisy with one petal less were recorded on the various platforms.