We have the obligation to keep them present, for those who are not here, for their relatives and for those who survived and had the courage to be a fundamental piece in the construction of a country without impunity, Pietragalla asserted during a ceremony at the Cultural Center for Memory, located in the Old Airport of Trelew.
The initiative was part of several tributes carried out to commemorate the date, which included the placement of commemorative posters and plaques and had the participation of Defense Minister Jorge Taiana, Culture Minister Tristán Bauer and Women, Gender and Diversity Minister Elizabeth Gómez.
On that early morning in August 1972, State terrorism put an end to the lives of 16 fighters for a more just and free homeland.
They unsuccessfully tried to discipline a people that, 50 years later, continues to raise high the flags of Memory, Truth and Justice, said Gómez.
That year, officers under the command of Captain Luis Emilio Salinas shot Peronist militants and leftist groups, after capturing them when they tried to escape from the Rawson prison, in the province of Chubut.
The events occurred at the Almirante Zar base of the Argentine Navy, near the city of Trelew, during the dictatorship of Alejandro Agustín Lanusse (1918-1996).
Members of organizations such as the People’s Revolutionary Army, the Revolutionary Armed Forces and Montoneros remained detained in Rawson, who carried out an escape attempt on August 15.
Only six members of these groups managed to escape to Chile and 19 guerrillas had to surrender under the promise that they would be taken to jail again, which did not happen.
After being imprisoned in cells for a week, the military fired on them and only three survived.
In 2012, the Federal Court of Comodoro Rivadavia declared that the crimes perpetrated are considered crimes against humanity and sentenced Emilio Del Real, Luis Sosa and Carlos Marandino to life in prison for 16 homicides and three attempts.
This day, the Rawson prison was declared a site of memory.
“Coming to Trelew always moves our guts because we know what happened in this place. We are not a country that denies the past, but rather takes responsibility for the mistakes and damage caused in our history,” Pietragalla said.
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