Buenos Aires, Dec 6 (NA) -- A relative of victims of Argentina's last military dictatorship addressed the anniversary of the kidnappings of the Twelve of Santa Cruz and warned of an 'era of absolute denial' that seeks to minimize crimes against humanity, linking it to the current social crisis. Mabel Careaga stated without hesitation: 'We have the democracy that the genocide left us.' Careaga mentioned the repatriation of that plane in 2023, which is today 'an exhibit at the School of Mechanics (ESMA), now a museum-memorial site.' The Unfinished Democracy and the Social Crisis, Asked about the reasons for denial and calls to review sentences, Careaga shared the phrase 'We have the democracy that the genocide left us,' which 'impacted her greatly.' She stated that the democracy built 'was not enough,' because 'the necessary transformations' were missing to guarantee 'a dignified life for all people.' She maintained that what happened during the dictatorship 'was not only the 30,000 disappeared but a complete modification of the economic structure of our homeland,' and that despite attempts to return to the rights agenda, 'we have not been able in these years to have a somewhat more just, a bit more inclusive, a bit more livable society.' And she lamented the current situation where 'it is clear that this is a democracy that today is depriving the most basic human rights from its most vast and vulnerable population.' Finally, referring to the new Minister of Defense, Careaga stated that in 40 years of democracy, it was not possible to 'modify the mindset of the armed forces' so that they understand they are there to protect the people and not 'to wage a war against the people.' She concluded that 'never again to state terrorism' must go hand in hand with saying 'never again to neoliberalism' to achieve structural changes. Additionally, the activist made a categorical assertion when asked about the current situation, emphasizing that 'This Government is anti-rights and anti-humanity.' Argentine News Agency was able to learn that, during an interview on Splendid AM 990, Careaga recalled that this December 8 'marks 48 years since the kidnapping of that operation carried out on December 8, 1977,' a terrible action that were actually 'five operations between December 8 and 10 that ended with the kidnapping of 12 people, including three Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, two French religious sisters, and a group of relatives.' The woman, who also remembered the 20 years since the identification of the remains of the mothers and one of the French religious sisters, emphasized the importance of remembering, stating that 'today we are still living with the consequences of the military dictatorship,' which culminated in '30,000 detained-disappeared, thousands of exiles, and political prisoners.' Denial and State Terrorism, When addressing denial, Careaga stated that 'they go further and justify what happened during state terrorism,' which included kidnapping people, taking them to clandestine detention centers, and even pregnant women whom 'they kept alive until they gave birth, and once they gave birth, they handed the babies over to military families and then killed them.' The relative of the victims also referred to the 'death flights,' a reality that she found hard to believe at the time: 'In 1979 when I heard the testimony of three women who came out and gave testimony in France who had left the School of Mechanics of the Army and spoke of the transfers and spoke of what that meant death and that death was through that they threw them alive into the sea, Luisa, I could not believe it.' However, the recovery of the remains of the Mothers and a death certificate that listed the cause of death 'polytrauma due to a fall from a great height' confirmed the atrocity. Thanks to this, 'it was possible to convict the pilots of the flight of December 14, 1977, from which the Twelve of Santa Cruz were thrown alive.'
