(24 Mar 2006)
1. Pan of crowd in front of stage at the beginning of the vigil
2. Medium of crowd
3. Pull out of pictures of the "disappeared"
4. Mid view pictures of the "disappeared"
5. Cutaway of Mothers of Plaza de Mayo member Augustina Romero de Reinoso
6. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Agustina Romano de Reinoso, Mother of Plaza de Mayo Member:
"This means a lot for us, because it is as if we beat them thirty years ago. We have beaten death, by searching for life."
7. Medium of Mothers of Plaza de Mayo walking on stage and greeting crowd
8. Crowd applauding Mothers of Plaza de Mayo on stage
9. More of Mothers of Plaza de Mayo on stage
10. Close-up of Hebe de Bonafini, Mothers of Plaza de Mayo leader
11. Wide of stage with singer Leon Gieco performing in front of Mothers of Plaza de Mayo
12. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Marcelo Vergottini, Vigil participant:
"Never again, this is the message we are sending. What happened before cannot happen again. This may be part of Argentina's history, but that does not mean it should happen again. This is essential."
13. Wide of crowd at Plaza de Mayo
STORYLINE:
Thousands of Argentines remembered the 30th anniversary of the South American country's last military coup by dancing and singing through the pre-dawn hours on Friday at a rock concert-styled rally.
The gray-haired Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, bearing the trademark white handkerchiefs of their long human rights struggle, took centre stage as
performers sang and at least 10,000 people swayed to 70s-era protest songs as they marked the pre-dawn hours when a junta seized power 30 years ago.
"Thirty Years of Life Defeating Death!'' and "Not One Step Back!'' read large banners strung alongside old black-and-white photographs of hundreds of "Desaparecidos" or "Disappeared" victims of the seven-year dictatorship and its bloody crackdown on dissent.
Plaza de Mayo Mother, Augustina Romano de Reinoso said the ceremony "meant a lot" to her group.
"It is as if we beat them thirty years ago. We have beaten death, by searching for life," she said.
It was just after 3am on March 24, 1976, that coup leaders announced they had toppled the government of Maria Estela Martinez de Peron, widow of the former strongman Juan Domingo Peron.
The junta would remain in power until 1983, leaving a trail of nearly 13-thousand people officially listed as dead or missing during the era.
But human rights groups from around the world estimate many more went missing, some 30-thousand people between 1976 and 1983.
The "disappeared," who were mostly young students, were seen as political dissidents by the ruling military coalition.
The vigil is due to continue until after 3:40am local time (0640 GMT), when Mothers of Plaza de Mayo leader Hebe de Bonafini will read the speech delivered by the military regime when they assumed control of the country on March 24, 1976.
The anniversary will end with a massive march from the Congress to Plaza de Mayo, where leftist organisations, union leaders, human rights organisations and the Mothers will gather to remember the "Dirty War".
President Nestor Kirchner will also host an event at Buenos Aires' military school, where he will inaugurate a plaque in memory of the victims.
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