DNA tests with genetic samples provided by the Human Rights Secretariat of the Uruguayan Presidency allowed the Argentinian team to identify the remains that were kept for decades. The official announcement of the identification was made on May 23rd.

Before, the Argentinian experts didn’t have the bank with genetic samples that the Human Rights Secretariat of the Uruguayan Presidency developed in the past years and aims to complete with the relatives of all the denounced disappeared people.

Alberto Mechoso was born in Flores department, on November 1st, 1936, and was member of the Uruguayan Anarchist Federation and then of the Popular Revolutionary Organization 33 Orientales. He was also founder and an active member of the Partido por la Victoria del Pueblo, and union leader of the Meat Industry Workers Federation and the National Workers Convention.

Real World Radio interviewed Mara Martinez, from Mothers and Relatives of the Uruguayan Detained-Disappeared, to know her thoughts after the identification of Mechoso’s remains. We also asked her about her thoughts about the 17th March of Silence that took place in Montevideo, capital city of Uruguay, where thousands of people demanded “truth and justice” with reference to the crimes by the military dictatorship during 1973-1985.

Martinez said that it is very moving when remains appear, because the families imagine things throughout the years that do not always correspond to what really happened. This is the case with Alberto Mechoso: his family and the organization itself thought that he had been transferred to Uruguay. However, his remains appeared in Canal San Fernando, Buenos Aires, together with the remains of other people. Anyway, Martinez said that the appearance of Mechoso’s remains is an "advance" that helps to “clear up” facts. It is a "relief, but we are left wanting more”, she said.

The Uruguayan leader was another victim of the Condor Plan, an intelligence and repression coordination strategy of the Southern Cone military dictatorships in the 70s and 80s, that had the support of the Pentagon, the headquarters of the US Defense Department. The remains of tens of Uruguayan people were found in Argentina, and viceversa. Many of them had signs of the extreme torture they were subjected to. In addition, the Forensic Anthropology Team of Argentina has yet to identify hundreds of bodies, now with the help of the Uruguayan genetic bank. Probably, many of the remains correspond to Uruguayan people.

Meanwhile, Mothers and Relatives of the Uruguayan Detained-Disappeared estimates that there are at least 60 people disappeared in Uruguay, taking into account the people who were transferred from Argentina.

The 17th edition of the March of Silence took place in Montevideo on May 20th. It was called by many organizations, among them Mothers and Relatives of the Uruguayan Detained-Disappeared. Under the phrase "We’ll find them", thousands of people marched in silence down the main avenue of the Uruguayan capital, 18 de Julio, demanding "truth and justice". Martinez said the mobilization was an “important achievement” and that it “continues demanding the search for truth and now justice, as the legal cases have been reopened”.

The activist stated that this year’s edition was special, since in the past month the remains of teacher and journalist Julio Castro, and union leader Ricardo Blanco were found, who join Ubagesner Chaves Sosa and Fernando Miranda, who were found some years ago in the country. They are the four people who disappeared in the Dictatorship who were found and identified in Uruguay so far. “This year, with these appearances in Uruguay, I think it is increasingly clearer that we need to keep working and we need to keep looking”, said Martinez.

The activist regretted the fact that military officers chose to lie for decades instead of stating the location of the bodies of the people who were murdered and disappeared, despite being protected by the Impunity Law, which didn’t allow them to be legally prosecuted. She also said that the remains of Julio Castro, “a person of peace”, showed that he was shot in the back, which was very moving.

Now the context is different. The Impunity Law ceased to have legal effect in 2011. Martinez recognized the work by the government in the search for remains and truth, and said that she expects the Judiciary will move forward. "The phrase ""We’ll find them" responds to what happened this year in particular, because it hadn’t been used in years", she said. "We’ll find their remains and we’ll find truth", she concluded.

Photo: http://coloniatotal.com.uy