History
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The
territory where the Navy Mechanics
School is located was ceded by the
Concejo Deliberante of the Municipality
of Buenos Aires to the Ministry
of the Marina by decree in the year
1924, under the condition that the
site be used as a center for military
instruction. The same decree established
that, before changing the destiny
of the site, it would have to be
returned to the power of the city.
Various buildings occupied the territory:
the Navy Mechanics School, the School
of Naval War, and the Officials’
Casino.
During the last military dictatorship
the Officials’ Casino was
used as a clandestine detention
centre by Task Force 3.3.2.
It is a three-story building. The
detained were kept on the third
floor, the basement, and in a large
attic. There were also other dependencies,
such as “el Pañol”,
a place used as a deposit space
for the items taken during the looting
of the homes of the disappeared
persons; “La Pecera”
(The Fishtank), where small offices,
the library and the archive operated;
The “Capucha” or “Capuchita”
(The Hood, or The Little Hood) were
places used for torture and to house
some of the detained.
When the military dictatorship ended
in 1983, the building resumed its
original function as an institute
of military instruction.
In 1984 the National Commission
on the Disappearance of Persons
(Conadep) carried out an inspection
of the location. Thanks to the testimony
of some survivors, these spaces
were identified and recognized and
the sinister use of the territory,
through which passed around 5,000
people that remain disappeared to
this day, was proven.
The report Nunca Más says:
“The ESMA was not only a clandestine
detention center where torture was
inflicted, it also functioned as
the operative axis of a complex
organization that even possibly
intended to hide the crimes that
it committed with the extermination
of the victims.”
On January 6th, 1998, during his
second presidency, Carlos Menem
signed a decree that made possible
the transfer of the installations
of the ESMA to the Naval Base of
Puerto Belgrano. This same decree
destined the territory of the ESMA
to be a green space of public use
that would be a “symbol of
national union”, after the
demolition of the building.
This decree provoked the repudiation
of Human Rights organizations and
large sectors of civil society.
Family members of desaparecidos
of the ESMA appealed to the justice
systems for legal protection calling
for the suspension of the effects
of Decree 8/98. On October 16th
of the same year, the Federal Judge
Ernesto Marinelli stood firm on
the measure. Among his arguments
he mentioned the obligation of the
Argentine State to preserve the
territory because it forms part
of the country’s cultural
heritage and because it serves as
proof in the development of judicial
cases. He reaffirmed that in virtue
of its international obligations,
the State is responsible for offering
to society and the family members
of the victims an answer regarding
the destiny of the disappeared.
In February of 2001, the Supreme
Court reaffirmed the unconstitutionality
of Menem’s decree.
In a parallel form, the City Government
of Buenos Aires, then led by Fernando
De la Rua, initiated a demand against
the National Executive Power, demanding
control over the territory occupied
by the ESMA. The city demanded the
revocation of the original cession
of the territory to the Secretary
of the Marina, in virtue of the
clause that established educational
activities as the only possible
use of the installations. The Minister
of Defense at that time, Jorge Domínguez,
rejected the effort.
From that moment on people began
to think about the possible uses
for the ESMA. Legislators presented
various projects. Some of them held
the objective of safeguarding the
building for the future, declaring
it an “historic monument”.
Faced with the imminent obligation
of returning the site, the military
high command opted to maintain the
original purpose for which they
had been given the property. In
December of 1999, the then Minister
of Defense Ricardo López
Murphy brought forward the idea
of installing an “educative
military pole” that would
include the schools of war of the
Army, Air Force, and Navy. During
the year 2000, he made explicit
his opposition to the conversion
of places that functioned as clandestine
detention centers into museums or
places for the study and transmission
of what took place during the State
terrorism. His successor, Horacio
Jaunarena, although he did not speak
publicly about the use of the ESMA,
reaffirmed the endorsement of the
military leadership in its attempts
to forget the past.
In June of 2000, during the administration
of Aníbal Ibarra, the Legislature
of the City of Buenos Aires approved
unanimously the Law 392/2000. In
Article One, the law called for
the revocation of the cession to
the then Ministry of the Marina
in relation to the territory located
at Avenida del Libertador 8151-8461.
Article Two stipulated the installation
of the “Museum of Memory”
in the buildings where the Navy
Mechanics School operated.
In December of 2002, the Legislature
of the City of Buenos Aires approved
the Law N°961 that created the
Space for Memory Institute, whose
purpose would be the “safeguard
and the transmission of the memory
and history of the events that took
place during the State terrorism
of the 70’s and the early
80’s through the recovery
of the state of rights, as well
as the antecedents, later stages,
and consequences”. In Article
Ten, this law says that the institute
would have its definitive office
on the territory of the ESMA. The
law was regulated by the Decree
N°835 and the human rights organizations
designated their representatives
in the year 2003. The representatives
of the Legislature and of the Executive
Power of the city have yet to be
designated.
Through the management of President
Kirchner the following things were
agreed upon: the restitution of
the territory the 31st of December
of 2004 and the creation of a “Space
for Memory and the Promotion and
Defense of Human Rights” on
the territory. For this purpose,
Aníbal Ibarra and Néstor
Kirchner signed an agreement in
which they agreed to work together.
The agreement still must be ratified
by the city Legislature. |
See
the plans of the ESMA |
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Legislation |
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Rally,
March 24th, 2004 |
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Working Towards a Museum