Guido Braslavsky
10/05/2020 - 19:52
Clarín.com
Politics
The Chief of the Army, Brigadier General
Agustín Humberto Cejas,
led this afternoon in Formosa the tribute to the "heroes" of the Army who fell in the defense of the Monte 29 Infantry Regiment of that province, in the attack by the Montoneros guerrilla. 45 years ago today, on October 5, 1975.
"For 45 years, they have been present in every corner of their barracks and are present in every Formosa and in the Army," General Cejas, the sole speaker, said in his speech.
With careful words that sought to
establish the institutional position of the Army
, and in the face of the controversy over the memory of the years of violence in the 70s, Cejas stated:
“The recognition of our dead in the line of duty is a constant that spans generations and contexts ”.
“Remembering a deceased
is a part of the tacit moral contract that the State assumes with those who swear to defend its flag
.
This tacit contract is a commitment of the State with each man or woman who joins an armed force ”, defined General Cejas.
At the ceremony when evening fell in the Plaza de Armas of RIM 29,
where there were 27 deaths 45 years ago - between the military and the attacking guerrillas -
Lieutenant Governor
Eber Wilson Solís,
provincial officials, former soldiers who participated in the defense of the barracks were present and relatives of the dead.
In Formosa it is the “Formoseño Hero Day” by provincial law, and Governor
Gildo Insfrán
, who did not attend this time, wrote in networks: “Today we remember our heroes who participated in the defense of the Monte 29 Infantry Regiment, the October 5, 1975 ”.
It was a
solemn ceremony, with torches lit
to symbolize the memory of the dead, the Hymn was played, then a march by the Curupayti Military Band of the Regiment, religious invocation, and a touch of silence.
"It is a new anniversary of the bloody attack by a seditious gang against the mountain infantry regiment", the official announcer read at the start. The "First Operation" of Montoneros was one of the most relevant guerrilla actions of those years, with a
complex logistics
with various phases that included the hijacking of an Aerolineas plane in Aeroparque with 102 passengers, in which the attackers would escape.
The defense of the barracks, with the phrase "no one gives up here, shit!"
of the conscript soldier
Hermindo Luna,
later killed by the bullets, is part of the mythical construction of the Army and the attack on this barracks in the middle of the constitutional government of María Estela Martínez de Perón, a military “counter-memory” against the speech of "memory, truth and justice "of Kirchnerism upon its arrival to the government in 2003, with the resumption of trials of the military for crimes against humanity.
The expectation this afternoon, also, facing the event, was because a few weeks ago the Ministry of Defense
had the Army delete two tweets that recalled soldiers killed in attacks on military units.
In addition, it is pending that the portfolio in charge of
Agustín Rossi
decides on how to implement a decree of President Mauricio Macri that decided to pay
compensation to relatives of the soldiers killed in the guerrillas
.
In the case of Formosa: Second Lieutenant Ricardo Massaferro, Sergeant Víctor Sanabria, 10 conscript soldiers - from class 54 - and a provincial policeman.
In his message, General Cejas said that it was "a complex political context with deep disagreements that manifested themselves in a violent manner", a situation that "should not be repeated."
"Defending a barracks has always been and continues to be an obligation of its members," he
defined.
And he praised: "Those soldiers did not surrender due to a surprise attack, they paid for it with their lives, they had sworn the Flag in June a few months before and they fulfilled the constitutional obligation."
He said that the Army is "committed to democracy and the Constitution" and that it fulfills its mission
"by honoring our dead and respecting diverse pain
.
"
He also spoke of "transcending the dissensions of the past."
"Those who defended this barracks were able to fully and completely fulfill the mission entrusted at that time," he
added.
He said that today the mission is Operation "Manuel Belgrano" for assistance in the emergency of the pandemic, in which "members of the Army put their lives at risk to extend a helping hand."
He recalled the budgetary "limitations" but stressed that Congress approved the Fondef (Defense Fund) that will allow "to reverse decades of deterioration of the material, do more for those who need us in the emergency and strengthen the defense industry."
"The heroes of Formosa did not die in vain," concluded Cejas.