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| La Noche de los Lápices | |
|---|---|
| Name | La Noche de los Lápices |
| Date | September 1976 |
| Location | La Plata, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina |
| Type | Enforced disappearance |
| Perpetrators | Argentine Anticommunist Alliance, Joint Chiefs of Staff (Argentina), Military dictatorship in Argentina (1976–1983) |
| Target | Student activists |
La Noche de los Lápices is an episode of mass enforced disappearances that occurred in La Plata in September 1976 during the National Reorganization Process. It involved the abduction of secondary school students affiliated with the Unión de Estudiantes Secundarios and linked groups amid repression by the Argentine Navy, Federal Police (Argentina), and security forces coordinated by the Junta of 1976. The case became emblematic in human rights campaigns by organizations such as the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, and the Liga Argentina por los Derechos Humanos.
The events took place against the backdrop of the 1976 coup that installed the Jorge Rafael Videla-led Military junta known as the Proceso de Reorganización Nacional, following the overthrow of Isabel Perón and amid conflicts involving Montoneros, ERP (People's Revolutionary Army), and factions of the Peronist movement. Security doctrine influenced by the School of the Americas and Operation Condor guided counterinsurgency methods used by the Argentine Armed Forces, Argentine Navy, and units such as the ESMA and Automotores Orletti. Repressive legislation including measures enforced by the National Reorganization Process and administrative orders from the Ministry of the Interior (Argentina) enabled actions by provincial actors like the Governor of Buenos Aires Province and local police in La Plata.
In September 1976 coordinated arrests and disappearances targeted students from institutions like the Colegio Nacional Rafael Hernández and the Escuela de Comercio N°2, allegedly linked to the Unión de Estudiantes Secundarios and youth wings of the Partido Justicialista and Frente Estudiantil. Operations involved personnel from the Prefectura Naval Argentina, Gendarmería Nacional Argentina, and agents connected with the SIDE (Intelligence Secretariat), often using clandestine centers associated with the Navy Mechanics School and provincial facilities tied to the Buenos Aires Provincial Police. Witness accounts, later collected by the Comisión Nacional sobre la Desaparición de Personas and human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, describe apprehensions, transfer to clandestine detention centers, and interrogation methods consistent with policies promoted by International Military Cooperation initiatives.
The primary victims were teenagers and young adults identified as members of student organizations; names often cited include youth from schools in La Plata and families who later sought information through the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo Línea Fundadora and the Asociación Madres de Plaza de Mayo. Survivors who later testified before institutions like the Truth Commission and the Argentine Federal Courts provided evidence of detention in centers connected to ESMA and other clandestine sites, and their testimonies were echoed in reports by Nunca Más and documentation by the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons (CONADEP). The disappearances contributed to broader lists compiled by the National Archive of Memory and advocacy by international bodies including the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Legal action began years later with trials in federal courts involving defendants from the Argentine Navy, Federal Police (Argentina), and intelligence services; key proceedings took place in tribunals in La Plata and Buenos Aires. Defendants included officers associated with units implicated in the 1970s repression and were prosecuted under laws addressing crimes against humanity recognized by international instruments such as the Geneva Conventions and the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Judicial milestones included annulments of Full Stop Law-era protections, retrials after the 1990s presidential pardons were overturned, and convictions following human rights litigation advanced by organizations like the Center for Legal and Social Studies and the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights.
Public reaction encompassed mobilizations by relatives and organizations such as the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, H.I.J.O.S., and student federations from institutions like the Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Commemorations occurred in plazas, universities, and memorials such as the Museo Sitio de Memoria ESMA and municipal memorials in La Plata, with educational efforts promoted by the Ministry of Education (Argentina) and civil society associations like the Servicio Paz y Justicia. Campaigns for truth and reparations engaged international actors including the United Nations Human Rights Council and the European Parliament, shaping legislation and institutional memory projects like archives maintained by the National Institute against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism.
The episode inspired literary, cinematic, and theatrical works by authors, directors, and cultural institutions: films screened at festivals organized by the Cine Club Municipal de La Plata, plays staged at venues linked to the Teatro Nacional Cervantes, and books published with support from presses tied to the Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Artistic responses intersected with documentaries broadcast by outlets such as Canal 7 (Argentina) and analyses in journals affiliated with the Universidad de Buenos Aires and Centro Cultural Recoleta. The legacy persists in curricula at Argentine universities and in international human rights networks, influencing scholarship from centers like the Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales and remembrance initiatives promoted by municipal governments, embassies, and transnational commemorative projects.
Category:Dirty War Category:People's memory in Argentina