The Uruguayan government has confirmed the discovery of human skeletal remains outside a military base on the outskirts of Montevideo Tuesday, June 6.
Archaeologists from the University of the Republic of Uruguay found the remains outside the base of the Uruguayan Army's 14th Parachute Battalion in Toledo, 20 km north of the capital Montevideo.
It is alleged the remains belonged to the political opponents of the military dictatorship in the country from 1973 to 1985 and were buried in a mass grave outside the camp, which served as a detention and torture center for dissidents and political prisoners.
Uruguayan defense minister Javier García told local media the finding was "moving" and hoped the discovery would "bring peace to a family."
Crimes against Humanity's special prosecutor's office head Ricardo Perciballe additionally assumed the remains were that of a disappeared detainee during the dictatorship, "due to the place of the meeting."
"An interdisciplinary board will be formed between anthropologists and forensics to establish the cause of death and extract DNA samples to verify identity," he added
Clandestine Grave
According to National Human Rights Institution (INDDHH) president Wilder Tayler, "a skull and other bone parts" were found in an "evidently clandestine" grave.
García confirmed the bones were found about 100m from a 2011-12 dig site, where the remains of two other people, teacher and journalist Julio Castro and trade unionist and politician Ricardo Blanco Valiente, who disappeared in 1977 and 1978, respectively, were found.
He also spoke with the representatives of the Mothers and Relatives of Disappeared Detainees to report the discovery and assured the "commitment" of the Uruguayan government under President Luis Lacalle Pou to bring "peace and unity" to Uruguayans.
"This military area has 410 hectares, and about 32 hectares are under precautionary measures, preserved, and full of activity," he said. "We are doing it because there is a judicial indication."
Families' Reaction
Ignacio Errandonea, a member of Relatives of Disappeared Detainees, believed one of the discovered remains was "one of [their] relatives because of the type of burial," which was a shallow grave.
Meanwhile, another member of the organization, Elena Zaffaroni, noticed the non-collaboration of the Uruguayan military to help find and identify the remains that were found outside the camp. "If we find him," she said, referring to one of her relatives, "it's one more confirmation that the missing are in the military premises, and they are surely in their files and they could collaborate in another way. But they always show up."
So far, five bodies of the 197 who disappeared during the regime have been found and identified.
