The Dirty War
In a country surrounded by economic and political chaos the military decided it was their duty and their right to intervene and restore order. In Argentina in the year 1976, Isabel Peron, who was the President at the time, was toppled by a military coup that was led by Jorge Rafael Videla. Repression and violence followed in the years to come. Some of the worst violations of human rights were committed during the bureaucratic authoritarian regime that lasted from 1976 to 1983. This period in time has been known as the "Dirty War". In class we had the opportunity to see a film that presented us with authentic testimonials from this era. The film "Sol de noche" directed by Pablo Milstein and Norberto Ludin focused on the story of Olga and Luis and their horrible ordeal through this war. The film shows how even today, both the survivors of this war and the nation in general are trying to recapture their identity, but at the same time they still must deal with the memories of a horrible past that still haunts them.During the rule of Isabel, Argentina found itself in a world of turmoil. Many guerrilla terrorist groups and Marxist-Leninist groups were organized. They were all in a struggle to control the govern
What shocked me the most was that the Church helped the military during this war. All the political and economic instability of the time led to the seizure of power by the military. This film showed us two types of testimonials: those that thought that the military was right in what they did and those that simply just don't understand why it had to happen. They want to find the remains of their loved ones in order to give them a proper burial and a final goodbye. As I see it, violence is never the answer to any situation. It has also been discovered that the Church held lists of those "disappeared" that it had received due to its close relation to the military. The new political plan proposed by the military was called the "The Process of National Reorganization" or the Proceso. Thousands of innocent civilians were "disappeared" and to this day they still remain that way. She quickly changed from being an ordinary housewife to being an activist who opposed the military and everything it represented. About 30,000 people were kidnapped and never seen again during the "Dirty War". The military however insisted that repression was necessary in order to bring an end to terrorism. When the military assumed power, their leader General Videla promised to end terrorism, stabilize the economy, and to restore a sense of morality to a society that found itself in disarray. By 1979, guerrilla terrorist groups had been abolished in Argentina but state terrorism still prevailed.
Common topics in this essay:
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Reorganization Proceso,
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Olga Luis,
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Norberto Ludin,
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