By CIVICUS
Jun 13 2025 –
CIVICUS discusses struggles for historical justice with Graciela Montes de Oca, a member of Mothers and Relatives of Detained and Disappeared Uruguayans, a Uruguayan civil society organisation that seeks truth, justice and prevention of future crimes like those committed under dictatorship.
Graciela Montes de Oca
Since 1996, Uruguayan civil society has mobilised in a March of Silence every 20 May. This year, thousands of people took part in the march’s 30th edition along the main avenue of the capital, Montevideo, and other Uruguayan cities. They demanded truth, memory and justice for people detained and disappeared under dictatorship between 1973 and 1985. Organised by human rights groups and relatives of victims, this demonstration has become a powerful symbol of collective memory.
What’s commemorated on 20 May?
On 20 May 1976, one of the most brutal episodes of state terrorism in the Southern Cone took place. At that time, Uruguay was living under a civil-military dictatorship that participated in Operation Condor, a regional agreement between several countries ruled by dictatorships that coordinated the kidnapping, torture and murder of political opponents.
Four Uruguayans were murdered in Buenos Aires, Argentina that day: Congressman Héctor Gutiérrez Ruiz, Senator Zelmar Michelini and two leftist activists, Rosario Barredo and William Whitelaw. Doctor Manuel Liberoff was also kidnapped at the same time and has been missing ever since.
The impact was devastating. Michelini and Gutiérrez Ruiz were prominent political figures and defenders of democracy who had sought asylum in Argentina after denouncing the crimes of the Uruguayan dictatorship. Their murder was an attempt to silence their critical voices forever.
How did the March of Silence come about?
The first March of Silence took place in 1996, on the 20th anniversary of the murders. Initially conceived as a one-off tribute, its profound impact meant the Mothers of the Disappeared decided to turn it into an annual event.
The march has unique characteristics that distinguish it from other demonstrations: it is completely silent, open to all citizens regardless of political affiliation and maintains a peaceful nature that enhances its symbolic power. Its persistence over three decades has made it much more than a protest: it’s a collective ritual of memory that keeps the demand for truth and justice alive.
Our demands remain unchanged: we want to know what happened to our missing relatives. We are not seeking revenge, but rather to prevent these crimes going unpunished and being repeated. The Uruguayan state must investigate and respond because these crimes were committed in its name. Justice is not only our right; it is the state’s obligation under international law.
How do civil society groups support this struggle?
Civil society groups have played a key role in keeping this cause alive. Through talks, artistic interventions, exhibitions, sporting events and other activities, they constantly reinforce collective memory. Civil society also promotes the restoration of historical sites and memorials and highlights cases that remain unresolved.
All of these efforts converge towards a shared goal: ensuring there will never again be state terrorism in Uruguay.
What obstacles remain to uncovering the truth?
The main obstacle is the pact of silence maintained by the military and civilians responsible for the crimes. This mafia code keeps the truth hidden.
The consequences are tangible and painful: without information on the location of the remains of those allegedly murdered, forensic teams are working in the dark. We know there are files containing vital information that are either hidden or inaccessible. That is why we demand the state actively searches for these files, locates them and hands them over.
The international community also has responsibilities. It must pressure the Uruguayan state to fulfil its obligations under international human rights law, including full compliance with existing international rulings.
In 2011, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that the Uruguayan state was responsible for the enforced disappearance of two activists – María Claudia García Iruretagoyena de Gelman and her husband, Marcelo Ariel Gelman Schubaroff – and for appropriating and removing the identity of their daughter, who was born in captivity. This judgment has been the subject of multiple resolutions, most recently in 2020, which continue to monitor compliance with the reparations ordered.
Meanwhile, after examining Uruguay in 2013 and 2022, the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances issued binding concluding observations expressing concern about the slow pace of investigations and calling for judicial processes to be accelerated. These two international pronouncements clearly establish the state’s obligation to guarantee truth, justice and reparation for victims. Truth and justice have no statute of limitations.
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