Uruguay’s ruling leftist Broad Front coalition is demanding an investigation into missing documents linked to dictatorship-era disappearances and killings in the country, stolen in an apparent attempt to shield the perpetrators from accountability, Prensa Latina reported Thursday.
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“We will raise our voice to say that we are not afraid,” said Broad Front Senator Rafael Michelini on Wednesday night, vowing to push for an investigation into the robbery.
A hard drive containing the documents was reportedly stolen from Uruguay’s Forensic Anthropology Investigation Group, known as GIAF, on an unspecified date.
The perpetrators left a map at the scene of the robbery marked with the locations of the homes of GIAF investigators involved in a probe into the dictatorship period, which human rights defenders have interpreted as a clear threat, Prensa Latina reported.
“It is evident that the masterminds of this attempt have a clear intention designed to hinder years of work in moving the country forward to eradicate impunity for the crimes committed under state terrorism,” wrote Uruguay’s National Institution for Human Rights and Public Defense in a statement, encouraging investigators to continue to seek truth and justice despite setbacks.
GIAF said that the organization will not make public statements on the incident to avoid further hindering the investigation. However, investigators thanked the public for their show of solidarity and reiterated their commitment to continuing their more than decade-long work on uncovering the facts of the country’s 1973-1985 military regime.
The Broad Front launched a government-led program during its first administration in 2005 to find the victims of forced disappearances during the country's last military dictatorship. Between 123 and 215 Uruguayans were disappeared during the U.S.-backed dirty war that aimed to crack down on leftist insurgencies and opposition to military dictatorships in Latin America in the 1970’s and 1980’s.
Human rights defenders and other social movements will hold a march on Friday at 6:00 p.m. local time in Montevideo to reject the robbery of the important documents in solidarity with GIAF investigators working on the case.
