CHILE’S BACHELET COMMEMORATES “DEGOLLADOS” HUMAN RIGHTS CASE

CHILE’S BACHELET COMMEMORATES “DEGOLLADOS” HUMAN RIGHTS CASE

21st Anniversary Of “Throat Slitting” Tragedy Gets Special Presidential Recognition

(March 30, 2006) President Michelle Bachelet marked the 21st anniversary of the deaths of three Communist Party activists at a special ceremony Wednesday on a highway near Santiago’s international airport. One of the slain activists, José Manuel Parada, was married to Estela Ortíz, a close personal friend to the president. The commemorative event was led by Javiera Parada, the slain man’s daughter.

“I still remember the profound pain that these crimes caused,” said Bachelet. “A Chile that was once characterized by hate, is now a Chile at peace. But not just any peace, it is a peace that is built upon memory … From the pain that many of us felt during the 29th and 30th of March, 21 years ago, a new hope has been born. From one of the saddest days of my life, this monument now surges forth, to serve as a lesson for future generations.”

Parada, together with two other Communist Party activists – Santiago Nattino and Manuel Guerrero – had been taken captive by Pinochet-era secret police agents, tortured, and then trucked to the outskirts of town to have their throats slit and bodies dumped at the remote location. Parada worked at the Catholic Church’s Vicaria of Solidarity human rights organization, while Guerrero was a school teacher and Nattino an artist. All were active in the Communist Party – then outlawed in Chile.

The monument – three gigantic empty chairs made of iron – looms nearly 10m above the ground, and will no doubt provoke questions from people newly arriving in Chile and who travel from the airport along highway Americo Vespucio Norte. This new human rights monument replaces a small marble memorial – not visible from the highway – that previously marked the spot of their deaths. It cost $75 million pesos (US$150,000) to commission and construct.
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http://www.tcgnews.com/santiagotimes/index.php?nav=story&story_id=10977&topic_id=1

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MAY 23, 2001
Deadly Alliance
New evidence shows how far Jesse Helms went to support Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet

BY JON ELLISTON
from May. 23, 2001

In the summer of 1986, two residents of Washington, D.C., visited Chile, a country wracked by protests against the military dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

One of the visitors, U.S. Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina, chatted amicably with Pinochet and returned to tell the American people that it was a "myth that human rights is a major problem in Chile."

The other, Rodrigo Rojas, a 19-year-old Chilean exile who had been living in the United States, died at the hand of Pinochet's security forces after they beat him senseless and set him on fire.

The incident received international publicity, and the case of Los Quemados--"The Burned Ones"--became a grisly milestone in the history of Chile's struggle against dictatorship. It also proved to be one of the most controversial chapters in Helms' foreign policy career--a chapter that has been reopened following the declassification of government documents that reveal just how far the senator went in backing the Pinochet regime.

"I am not pro-Pinochet or anti-Pinochet," Helms said at the time. But, as he had done since Pinochet seized power in 1973, the Republican senator rose to the defense of the dictator. Ignoring eyewitness accounts that Chilean soldiers had committed the attack on Rojas, Helms vilified the teenager and Carmen Quintana--an 18-year-old Chilean who narrowly survived the same burning--as "communist terrorists." He pushed Pinochet's cover story that the victims had immolated themselves.
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http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A15917

was, by coincidence ? 9/11. So - would Chile have been more acceptable than Al Queda ?

There are many links to this subject simply using Rumsfeld, Cheney and Chile 1973 etc.

If you do search you'll come across the comparitive figure of 3000 innocent Chilean deaths against 2700 9/11 2001.

'nuff said - the whole subject makes me feel sick.

loves that date. It must be a great source of amusement that they can fill the year books with so many 911 horrors. This reeks of Poppy Bush, longtime spook that he is.

Chile needs justice. The "special period" of ignoring the fascist crimes must end. Chile needs social justice and to return to the path of Allende and popular unity--this time armed with deeper knowledge of the enemies of the people's cause.

...

Chilean president says Pinochet-era rights prosecutions will continue
By EDUARDO GALLARDO Associated Press Writer

(AP) - SANTIAGO, Chile-President Michelle Bachelet on Wednesday said Chilean courts will continue to prosecute cases involving human rights abuses under the former dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, effectively rejecting recent calls to end trials.

"Chile's dignity demands that, and the memory of thousands does not allow an end (to the trials)," Bachelet said at a ceremony marking the 21st anniversary of one of the most notorious cases of abuses during under Pinochet's 1973-90 rule.

In the new Chile, she said, "human rights are respected, period."

An independent commission appointed by the civilian government that succeeded Pinochet found that 3,197 people were killed for political reasons during his reign.

Some 94 military officers have been convicted and sent to prison for Pinochet-era crimes, including 36 generals and admirals, and more than 400 trials involving human rights abuses are still pending.

Her words appeared to be a response to recent demands by some right-wing politicians and retired officers for an end to those trials and even pardon for some convicted officers. Forgiveness, they say, would foster reconciliation among Chileans.
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http://news.findlaw.com/ap/o/51/03-29-2006/2c53001077618135.html

Finally, some good news. I'm so impressed with Ms. Bachelet. Right after taking office, she made good on an election promise to staff her cabinet with half women. She has now done so.

Thanks for the update, JudiL.

On a related note, lasst year I started an export management company. We'll be exporting US products like chemicals, wood products, food products etc. to other countries.

I've been in contact with several companies in Chile. I'm working hard to get them the products they need to get their business up and running. They are the nicest people! I've been forced to brush up on my rusty Español.

Now if my luck holds, I'll be going down to Chile this summer......can't wait.

SANTIAGO (AP)--President Michelle Bachelet on Wednesday said Chilean courts will continue to prosecute cases involving human rights abuses under the former dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, effectively rejecting recent calls to end trials.

"Chile's dignity demands that, and the memory of thousands does not allow an end (to the trials)," Bachelet said at a ceremony marking the 21st anniversary of one of the most notorious cases of abuses during Pinochet's 1973-90 rule.

In the new Chile, she said, "human rights are respected, period."

An independent commission appointed by the civilian government that succeeded Pinochet found that 3,197 people were killed for political reasons during his reign.

http://framehosting.dowjonesnews.com/sample/samplestory.asp?StoryID=2006032922550000&Take=1