Sunday, November 17, the Santa Cruz church in Buenos Aires resonated with « present ! » (” here ! ») collective, the rallying cry of the families of victims of the Argentine dictatorship (1976-1983) and human rights organizations, meaning that the memory of their loved one remains alive. The French President, Emmanuel Macron, on a state visit to Buenos Aires, paid tribute to the victims of the junta – 30,000 dead and missing according to the organizations of their relatives – and in particular to the French victims – around twenty – also in this church place of memory. A strong symbol, as the ultraliberal government of Javier Milei, which came to power in December 2023, is dismantling the policies of memory, truth and justice.
“We will not forget you”assured the French president to the families of victims. Emmanuel Macron went to Buenos Aires on Saturday November 16 and Sunday November 17, where he met his counterpart Javier Milei twice. This was the first stop on his South American tour before the G20 summit on November 18 and 19 in Rio, Brazil, which will be followed by a trip to Chile.
Accompanied by his wife Brigitte Macron, he spoke for more than half an hour with families of victims in this place of worship where relatives of the disappeared met during the dictatorship. In hiding, they tried to organize their research, particularly around the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo.
“The solidarity of the French people”
Between December 8 and 10, 1977, the “Santa Cruz group” was, in turn, sequestered by the armed forces. Twelve people in total, who were then imprisoned, tortured and thrown alive into the waters bordering Buenos Aires and its region. Among them, two French nuns, Alice Domon and Léonie Duquet, but also the founder of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, Azucena Villaflor. Some bodies were identified in 2005, including that of Léonie Duquet, buried at the Santa Cruz church.
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“We thanked Emmanuel Macron for his gesture. With the current attack on memory policies, it is very important that a head of state pays tribute to the victims; all actions in defense of human rights are important”estimated Ana Maria Careaga, herself kidnapped and detained during the dictatorship. His mother, Esther Ballestrino, was one of the victims of the “Santa Cruz group”. Visibly moved, Florencia Battiti, director of the Memory Park in Buenos Aires, also welcomed a gesture “very important” by Emmanuel Macron, emphasizing the extent to which support from the international community is expected in Argentina. “Here, in our struggles, we have received a lot of solidarity from the French people”traced Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Nobel Peace Prize winner (1980), who was also arrested and tortured. France received thousands of Argentine and South American exiles during the military dictatorships of the 1970s to 1990s.
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