'March of
Silence' In Uruguay
Sends Message Of Remembrance To South America
By Andre
Vltchek
June 05, 2016
"Information
Clearing House"
- "RT"
- They
were marching shoulder-to-shoulder, young and old,
in absolute silence. Some were carrying small
placards with names and photos of their loved ones,
who disappeared four decades ago, during the
pro-Western dictatorship here in Uruguay.
The entire
center of Montevideo came to a standstill.
Blocks and blocks of this marvelous city were
literally inundated by the river consisting of
human bodies.
Then, in front of the municipality, the silence
was broken. A huge screen above the square lit
up, and photographs of each man and woman who
disappeared, suddenly emerged, one by one. When
no photograph was available, a gray contour was
projected on the white screen. Two voices, one
of a man, and one of a woman, were reading names
of the victims. And the crowd chanted back in
unison: “Presente!”
One
block further, the “March of Silence” ended. The
national anthem of Uruguay resonated across the
old city. Some people stood still, in silent
salute and reverence, others fell into each
other’s arms, weeping openly and uncontrollably.
Uruguay, at least to some extent a socialist
country, was still standing. All over the
continent, however, left-wing governments were
collapsing, under the terrible weight of
constitutional coups as well as the media and
business manipulations of the ‘elites’ and the
Empire.
Argentina was crying out in pain under the
neoliberal President Mauricio Macri, while the
great Brazilian nation - fooled, cheated and
spat at - was just slowly and painfully waking
up after the long night of a shameless coup that
brought a corrupt lackey and snitch of the West
– Michel Temer – to power.
But even in
Uruguay, the old establishment was still clinging to
power, blocking many essential changes, resisting
and silencing the calls for justice.
Around 300
people disappeared in tiny Uruguay during the
extreme right-wing dictatorship (1973-85), of course
much less than in Argentina or Chile.
“But that is enough. Enough!”
An old lady who was holding a placard with the image
of her sister told me.
“300 are much more than enough. We want justice and
truth. Because without those, there could be no real
progress in this country.”
One of the
posters read:
AGAINST
IMPUNITY OF THE PAST AND PRESENT! TRUTH AND JUSTICE!
Other
placards were much more explicit:
NO
FORGETTING NO FORGIVENESS!
And an even
stronger one:
THEY
ARE INSIDE US, SHOUTING ‘REVOLUTION!’
“This is so impressive, so touching!”
whispers my friend Lilian Soto, a leading Paraguayan
left-wing politician and former MP and Presidential
candidate. “I have already
participated in this march on several occasions. I
really love this country!”
I briefly
speak to my colleague and comrade from TeleSur, who
is covering this great event for the entire Latin
America and the world.
This year,
after what happened in neighboring Argentina and
Brazil, the march is gaining great symbolism. Cuban
flags are flying, not far from the great Uruguayan
Cinemateque, where my film about the US-backed 1965
coup in Indonesia had been shown, many years ago. In
front of the statue of Socrates, a man poses,
proudly, wrapped in a huge Brazilian flag.
“Those flags were just personal statements by
several individuals,”
explains my friend, Uruguayan journalist and
activist Agustin Fernandez.
“The demonstration was still mainly
about the crimes committed by our past
dictatorship.”
Mainly,
yes; but those men and women I spoke to, on the
night of 21 May, in the center of Montevideo,
appeared to be extremely concerned about the macabre
developments shaking the neighboring countries.
In Latin
America, as well as all around the world, everything
is clearly inter-connected. The West; the Empire,
are behind almost all the horrid crimes against the
humanity.
A great
Greek film director, Costa Gavras, depicted the
Uruguayan dictatorship and the Yankee involvement (a
story of a US diplomat and expert in torture, who
was kidnapped by the Uruguayan resistance group
Tupamaros), in his iconic film “State of Siege”
(1973).
The US and
the West were behind the disappearances and torture
in this historically peaceful and democratic
country... as they were responsible for the horrors
of fascist dictatorships in Chile, Argentina, Brazil
and elsewhere... and just as they are accountable
for the recent ‘events’ in Argentina and Brazil.
Who said
that the US was ‘too busy in the Middle East, while
also provoking Russia and China?’ Who said that ‘the
Empire finally closed its eyes, stopped looking
south?’ It never does! It never sleeps!
Walking
down the streets of Montevideo, photographing and
talking to the marching masses, on several occasions
I was tempted to shout:
“Hugo
Chavez Frias!”
And:
“Salvador Allende Gossens!”
Expecting to hear those loud, clear and proud voices
replying to me: “Presente!”
Andre Vltchek is a philosopher, novelist, filmmaker
and investigative journalist. He covered wars and
conflicts in dozens of countries. His latest books
are: “Exposing
Lies Of The Empire”
and “Fighting
Against Western Imperialism”.Discussion
with Noam Chomsky:
On Western Terrorism. Point
of No Return is
his critically acclaimed political novel. Oceania –
a book on Western imperialism in the South
Pacific. His provocative book about Indonesia: “Indonesia
– The Archipelago of Fear”.
Andre is making films for teleSUR and Press TV.
After living for many years in Latin America and
Oceania, Vltchek presently resides and works in East
Asia and the Middle East. He can be reached through
his website
or his
Twitter.
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