Friday 27 January 2012

Uruguay to compensate Macarena Gelman

Uruguay is to pay $513,000 to Macarena Gelman, who was illegally adopted after her mother was "disappeared" in the 1970s. The settlement is a result of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights case from last year, which established the illegitimacy of Uruguay's amnesty law.

Macarena is the granddaughter of Argentine poet Juan Gelman, which is one of the reasons her case always attracts attention. Her mother was abducted in Buenos Aires while pregnant and transferred to Montevideo under Operation Condor; her remains have never been found.

The settlement is an acknowledgement that the Uruguayan state was responsible for the death of Maracena's mother, María Claudia García de Gelman, and the "suppression of identity" of Macarena, who was brought up believing that a Uruguayan policeman and his wife were her biological parents. Argentine daily La Nacion mentions that Uruguay is prepared to hold a public ceremony in which it will formally accept responsibility for these crimes, but it does not give further details. The only English-language report I've found is the AP one below.

Uruguay to Pay $513,000 Settlement in Rights Case (ABC News)
Gobierno dispuso pago de US$ 513.000 a Gelman (El Pais, Uruguay)
Uruguay indemniza a la nieta de Juan Gelman (La Nacion)

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