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OEA/Ser.L/V/II.40
THIRD
REPORT ON THE SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHILE CHAPTER II RIGHT TO LIFE
American Declaration: Article
I. Every human being has the right
to life, liberty and the security of his person.
1.
During the period covered by this report, the Inter-American Commission
on Human Rights examined alleged violations of the right to life in Chile that
came from:
a)
Denunciations received since March 13, 1976;
b)
Denunciations received prior to that date, which were being processed and
with regard to which the Commission reached a final decision subsequent to the
Second Report.
2.
Following the classification adopted for the Second Report, the
denunciations in question will be analyzed under the following categories: A.
Homicides imputed to the authorities by the claimants; 2. Arrests,
disappearances and presumed deaths; and C. Illegal executions.
A.
Homicides imputed to the authorities by the claimants
3.
In mid-October 1976, the Commission received information from various
sources on the death of Marta Lidia Ugarte Román (Case 2106) whose corpse was
found on September 12, 1976, and whose murder the claimants impute to members of
DINA. The pertinent parts of those denunciations were transmitted to the
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile in a note dated December 6, 1976.
4.
Subsequently, a new denunciation was sent to the Commission that included
an extensive account of these events, the most relevant parts of which are
presented below:
Marta Lidia Ugarte Román, professor, dressmaker, member of the Central
Committee of the Communist Party up to September 11, 1973, administrative head
of the Board on Provisions and Prices (JAP) of DIRINCO up to September 11, 1973,
was born in Santiago, on July 29, 1934.
Beginning on September 11, 1973, the security forces of the Military Junta
mounted an extensive search for Marta Ugarte.
Because of this, Marta Ugarte, to protect her security, left her home and
at the time of her arrest was living in Villa Catamarca calle 4 Nº 2195-D, in
the company of an elderly woman who loved her very much.
On August 9, 1976, Marta Lidia Ugarte called her sister to tell her that
she was going to the doctor, that she would leave home around 2:30 p.m. and
would then call her to tell her the results of her visit to the doctor.
The following day her sister went to the residence of Marta Ugarte in a
collective taxi. Near the house she saw Marta Lidia in a vehicle of the
Investigations Unit. Marta was in the back seat between two men in civilian
clothing; she had on her sunglasses and was dressed in her own clothing. Her
sister thought that Marta had her eyes covered under the glasses because,
despite the small distance between them, Marta did not recognize her and did not
appear to see anything.
On August 10, after having seen Marta in the automobile of the
Investigations Unit and after having spoken with the elderly woman with whom
Marta lived, her sister began to make certain inquiries. Accompanied by another
sister, they went to the homes of relatives and friends, clinics and hospitals.
Having established that no one had seen her after she left her home on August 9,
1976, a recurso de amparo (rol 761-76) was filed in her name on August
16, and thus began a never-ending series of measures aimed at securing an
acknowledgment of her arrest and place of detention.
The International Red Cross asked the National Secretariat of Detainees (SENDET)
for information on Marta Ugarte. The President of the Supreme Court refused to
receive the sisters, stating that the Intelligence Service had no one detained
by that name.
The Government never acknowledged her arrest.
On September 1, 1976, news of the discovery of the corpse of an unknown
woman, found by a fisherman on the beach at La Ballena, en Los Molles, appeared
for the first time on the pages of the Santiago Press, especially in the
newspaper Tercera de la Hora. According to the report, the woman was
murdered, most likely by a gang of criminals. Presumably killed some days before
being found, her body burnt, her arms and neck tied with wire, one arm and all
her ribs broken, giving the impression that she had been thrown from a
considerable height... the reports continued to appear during the following
days. It was said that the woman's identity was already established, but that it
would not be publicized, “so as not to obstruct the investigation.” It was
suggested that this was surely a crime of passion and that the murderer would
most likely be her husband or her lover. The publicity campaign ended on
September 27 with publication of a clear photograph that made identification
easy.
On the morning of September 23, at the Vicaría de la Solidaridad, the
sisters were informed that the claim of kidnapping in the case of Marta Ugarte
filed in the Court of San Miguel had been rejected, and the judge had declared
himself “without authority”. On the afternoon of that same day the two
sisters went to the Institute of Forensic Medicine where they were shown the
corpse which had been brought from La Ligua. This was done on a hunch, as only
the color of the hair coincided. They were received by the Legal Adviser, and
explained to him why they were there. He asked them for a picture; then he had a
lengthy discussion with the Director of the Institute. The two sisters were then
received by the Director who asked them about their kinship with this
individual. He then posed a number of questions with regard to Marta. With the
photo in hand he told the sisters that the corpse that had been brought from La
Ligua matched the photo. The Director told them that they had to have courage in
order to see the corpse, as it was already in bad condition because of the
number of days that had passed.
As part of its campaign, the press widely criticized the terrible lesions
inflicted upon the body of the victim by alleged sexual maniacs. However, there
is much more still, as the sisters verified when they recognized the martyred
corpse of Marta Ugarte; her hands, small in life, were very large and had no
fingernails; her feet were in the same condition. Her legs were practically
detached at the groin; many parts of her skin showed signs of recent burns and
punctures. They were able to view the left side of the corpse only; they were
not allowed to view the other half. Part of her tongue was also missing.
The Director said that the identification by the dentist that attended
her was correct. Despite the fact that the sisters and the dentist had
identified her, it was not easy to get the authorities to agree to turn over the
corpse.
On October 8 Marta Lidia Ugarte Román was buried in the General Cemetery
of Santiago.
5.
Through its Permanent Representative to the Organization, the Government
of Chile replied as follows, in note Nº 159, of January 28, 1977:
Case Nº 2106
MARTA UGARTE ROMAN: At present Case Record 15027 of the Court of La Ligua
is being drawn up. Because of the background information on her death, the Court
of Appeals of Valparaíso appointed a Visiting Judge to try the case. At present
the case is in the stage of summary proceedings and inquiries are being made to
determine the cause of her death as well as those responsible for it.
6.
The Commission notes that it has been five months since discovery of the
corpse and the Chilean authorities have only reported that summary proceedings
are underway and have provided neither the results of inquiries made to
determine who is responsible for such a serious crime, nor the conclusion to
which the Visiting Judge, appointed to try the case, must have reached.
7.
On October 11, 1976, another denunciation to the same effect was received
by the Commission as part of Case 2106, on the appearance and identification of
the corpse of Orlando Boettinger. The claimants stated that the individual in
question was arrested in January, but the authorities repeatedly denied that he
had been detained.
8.
The Commission requested the pertinent information and in note Nº 159,
dated January 28, 1977, the Government replied that:
ORLANDO BOETTINGER: There is no record of the arrest of Orlando
Boettinger in Chile; this does not exclude the possibility that he has left
Chile illegally or is involved in clandestine activities in Chile.
The reply totally omits any reference to that part of the denunciation on
“the appearance and identification of the corpse.”
9.
In addition, at a meeting held on June 2, 1976, the Commission adopted
the following resolution on Case Nº 1810:
WHEREAS:
1. Marcelo Montecinos N. denounced
to the Commission the summary execution of his son Christian Montecinos
Slaughter, 26 years of age, married, an employee of the International Monetary
Fund, with Christian-Democratic leanings, who was on a visit to Chile. Also
denounced were the execution of five other individuals: Julio Saar, dentist; Víctor
Garretón, importer; Jorge Salas, student, 26 years old and his wife Beatriz Díaz,
of Argentine nationality. The claimant states that “the victims were in no way
connected with one another.”
2. According to the denunciation,
the events took place at dawn on October 16, 1973; a military patrol from the
Officer's School arrested Christian in his father's apartment in Santiago, in an
operation in which the night watchman was held at gunpoint, the elevators were
taken over, and the telephone cut. Five days later, during which time it was
impossible to locate the individual detained, the son of the claimant and the
other individuals mentioned were found in the morgue, having been machine-gunned
to death. The police records stated: “Found at 5 a.m. at kilometer 12 of the
Lo Prado Tunnel. (Unknown). Office of the Military Prosecutor.”
3. According to the claimant, some
days after the discovery, an officer from the Armed Forces of Chile visited the
Montecinos family to convey condolences on behalf of the Junta. An
investigation had been mounted in the II Military Prosecutor's Office. The
claimant adds that they assured him that the individual responsible had been
summarily shot, but when he was called to testify he was surprised to find the
official who supposedly commanded that patrol and whose name has been kept
secret.
4. In concluding, the claimant
recognizes the interest shown by General Leigh and the Intelligence Service in
clarifying the events, but he assumes that other authorities are not
cooperating, believing that the proceedings would be closed.
5. The IACHR decided to process the
case according to Article 53 of its Regulations and in a note dated June 3,
1974, it requested information from the Government of Chile. On August 22, 1974,
the Minister of Foreign Affairs replied that “given the complex nature of the
denunciation formulated, I have taken immediate steps to obtain from the
competent national authorities the information necessary to enable me to reply
adequately to the Commission, as soon as such information is provided to me.”
(Note Nº 14378).
6. This response was transmitted to
the claimant, who in a letter dated September 3, 1974, makes reference to a
denunciation filed by his wife, Lilian Slaughter de Montecino, and again
requests that the Commission take into account the complaint presented by him to
the IACHR with regard to the same events. In a letter dated September 11, 974,
it was reported to the Commission that the claimant never stated that his name
was not to be given to the Government of Chile.
7. In a note dated December 17,
1974, the IACHR pointed out to the Government of Chile that on December 5, the
180-day period provided for under Article 51 of the Regulations of the
Commission for provision of the corresponding reports had elapsed; it also
repeated its request that the information be sent.
8. The Minister of Foreign Affairs
replied on December 19, 1974, to the effect that “the investigation continues,
and to date it has not been concluded” (Note 171). Finally, in a note dated
February 21, 1975, the Minister of Foreign Affairs informed the Commission that
“...ever since the Government of Chile received the first denunciation, it has
been engaged in an effort to clarify the events that gave rise to the
denunciation. In effect, a regular Prosecutor's Office is responsible for the
respective proceedings and has conducted innumerable inquiries. As the
Commission will understand, this has been a lengthy and difficult task, because
of the period during which the events are said to have taken place and the
serious nature of the charges made. I received an extensive report from the
Prosecutor, who told me that after all their investigation, both administrative
and judicial, no concrete and definite conclusion has been reached as to how the
events took place, much less the names of those individuals presumably guilty of
the crimes. To date no State officials, either civil or military, appear to be
involved. I wish to inform Your Excellency that the investigation continues and
I will transmit immediately any news, as soon as it is available.
9. On August 6, 1975, the IACHR sent
another note to the Government of Chile, repeating its request for information
and “especially the results of any administrative and judicial inquiries as
may have been made to clarify this matter;” it once again pointed out that the
period of time provided for under Article 51 of the Regulations had elapsed so
that the Commission was empowered to presume the events denounced to be true
should the corresponding information not be provided.
10. Despite the fact that more than
nine months have passed since August 6, 1975, the information requested by the
Commission was not provided. Thus, the Government of Chile has had two years
since the first note of June 3, 1974, more than adequate time to clarify
responsibility for the deaths attributed to a military patrol, whose involvement
has not been questioned.
11. The version contained in the
denunciation was confirmed at the same time by press notices. Furthermore, the
IACHR received information attesting to the fact that the soldiers responsible
for the five arbitrary executions denounced have been tried and punished but
that their identity is being kept secret for reasons of national security.
12. This information is in some way
confirmed by the observations presented by the Government of Chile to the Second
Report of the IACHR on the situation of human rights in that country. The
statement made by the Government is as follows:
Moreover, and as an additional reaffirmation for the Commission, the
Government wishes to report, at this headquarters, that the investigation
referred to by the Commission have in fact been conducted in one of the cases.
Since military personnel were involved, the competent authority was the
appropriate military official and such investigations are being kept secret to
avoid revealing publicly the identity of the security agents.
And it further states:
It is worthwhile emphasizing once again that the fact that the Government
of Chile may not have indicated nor specified proceedings in this regard is not
an indication that these did not take place.
The Commission can rest assured that each time an abuse of power has been
denounced, the facts have been investigated and in those cases in which guilt
has been proven, those responsible have been duly punished.
13. Article 9 bis, paragraph d
of the Statute of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights provides that
the Commission, prior to exercising its powers to examine communications on
presumed violations of human rights and make recommendations to the Government
in question, is to determine whether the proceedings and internal remedies were
duly applied and exhausted.
14. In this specific case, the
information provided by the Government on February 21, 1975 avers that the
proper proceedings to verify the events denounced had been conducted, at least
formally, and that from the information provided by the Prosecutor, to which the
Minister of Foreign Affairs made reference, it seems there is no internal remedy
remaining. It is fitting to point out that in similar cases that have occurred
since September 11, 973, the families of the victims have resorted to the
extreme remedy of requesting the visit of a Minister to ensure that the
investigation into denunciations is complete, but the requests have been denied.
15. It is a generally recognized
principle in international law that the requirement to exhaust the remedies
provided for under internal jurisdiction before resorting to international
jurisdiction is not applicable when it is impossible to do so or when evidence
shows the absolute uselessness of resorting to such means to obtain satisfaction
or such other measures to which the party may have a right.
16. The claimant stated the
following in his communication to the IACHR speaking for himself, for his wife,
and for the two children and the widow of Christian: “In denouncing these
tragic events, it was my purpose to obtain at least moral reparation.”
RESOLVES:
I. To regard the events denounced as
proven, based on the elements of conviction indicated above. These events are
serious violations of the right to life, recognized in Article I of the American
Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man.
II. To recommend to the Government
of Chile that:
a) It conclude the proceedings
necessary to establish, in accordance with its internal laws, the authorship of
the murders denounced and sanction those responsible, in the event it has not
done so.
b) It provide to the Commission,
before February 1, 1977, an authenticated copy of decisions reached by the
competent judicial organ or organs which took up the events denounced.
10.
This resolution was sent to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile in a
note dated October 20, 1976, but to date the Commission has received no response
whatever from the Government.
11.
At its Sixth Regular Session, when considering the Second Report the
General Assembly resolved:
2. To request the Government of
Chile to continue giving the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights all
cooperation necessary to carry out its work... (Resolution 243).
It is clear that in this case, the Government has not complied with that
Resolution.
12.
The Commission is processing 19 similar cases, in which other deaths are
imputed to members of the police force and armed forces, as a result of an abuse
of power and in which the Government, without denying these events, maintain
that the action taken by the authorities was justified, but does not provide the
elements necessary for the Commission to reach a decision on the substance of
the denunciations.
13.
The Commission hopes that the Government, bearing in mind Resolution 243
of the General Assembly, will soon provide the data necessary to clarify the
actual circumstances of all these claims and, if necessary, punish those
responsible for these serious violations.
B.
Arrests, disappearances and presumed deaths
14.
The Second Report describes the background information on this type of
violation denounced to the Commission and the factors that the Commission took
into consideration when it calculated that as of the beginning of 1976, the
number of individuals to be included under this category was between 153 and
168.1
To be so qualified, the length of time elapsed since the arrest and other
factors were taken into account, including the place and circumstances of the
arrests in question, and one exhaustion of all means to determine the
whereabouts of each individual.
15.
The Commission received denunciations and communications in connection
with this category during the period covered by this report.
16.
The Commission continued its consideration of the individual cases
involving complaints of violations in this area. By way of illustration,
transcribed below are the resolutions adopted by the Commission on June 3, 1976,
with regard to two cases of individuals who have disappeared and are presumed to
be dead, and the responses received from the Government of Chile:
A.
Case Nº 1958
WHEREAS:
Communications and claims received by this Commission on July 4, August
12, and October 10, 1975, denounced the arrest of a Chilean physician and
congressman, Carlos Enrique Lorca Tobar, Secretary General of the Socialist
Youth Movement of Chile, on June 25, 1975, at 130 Maule St., Santiago, Chile. He
was arrested by DINA forces, together with Carolina Wiff Sepúlveda del Campo,
in an operation that involved twelve automobiles; there are a number of
eyewitnesses, six of whom signed statements before a notary public. He has been
missing since the arrest. The denunciation adds that the Government of Chile
refuses to acknowledge the event.
The denunciation also reports on the fruitless judicial proceedings held
to determine the whereabouts of Mr. Lorca Tobar. The Ministry of the Interior
reported that it had no individual under arrest by that name and DINA did not
reply to the inquiries made by the Court of Appeals nor to those made by the
Supreme Court.
On July 8, 1975, the Commission sent the Government of Chile the
following cable: “We officially report the arrest of the physician and
Congressman, Carlos Lorca, Secretary-General of the Socialist Youth Movement of
Chile, on June 25 last. Government refuses to acknowledge the event. We request
Commission's immediate intervention.”
On July 23, 1975, the Government of Chile was sent yet another cable, as
follows: “Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has received the following
denunciation: '...we reiterate the grave situation concerning deputy Carlos
Lorca Tobar. We denounce arrest, disappearance and torture of the major national
leaders of the Socialist Party... and we request that the Commission intercede
before the Chilean Government in order to save their lives which are now in
danger.'”
In October 1975, as the Government of Chile had not replied to either of
the two previous cables, on October 14, 1975 the Commission transmitted to it a
third cable as follows: “Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, now
meeting in its thirty-sixth session, considered, among other cases, Nº 1958
regarding Carlos Lorca Tobar, ... and ..., with regard to which it had requested
information from Your Excellency's Government by cables dated July 8 and 23 of
this year. Because no information with regard to these cases has been received,
the Commission decided to ask again the Government of Chile to send that
information as soon as possible so that it might be considered during this
session, which ends on October 24 of this month.”
The Government of Chile did not reply to any of the three cables
requesting information. The last of these was sent on October 14, 1975. In other
words, more than seven months ago.
In view of the foregoing the Commission,
RESOLVES:
1. To regard as proven the
events denounced, that is, the individual named was arrested by agents of the
Government of Chile on June 25, 1975, and that since that time nothing further
has been heard of him.
2. To recommend to the
Government of Chile that it adopt such measures as may be necessary to
investigate those events, to determine the whereabouts of Dr. Lorca Tobar and to
order his immediate freedom, punishing those responsible for these events, which
constitute a serious violation of the right to personal freedom upheld in
Article I of the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man.
3. To request the Government
of Chile to report to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on the
results or progress of that investigation before February 1, 1977.
4. To transmit the text of
this resolution to the Government of Chile and to the claimants.
In a note dated January 27, 1977, the Government of Chile replied as
follows:
Case Nº 1958: CARLOS ENRIQUE LORCA TOBAR: The investigations conducted
to date as to the status of this individual indicate that he was not arrested by
any security organization. Nor has any decision with regard to him been handed
down from the Ministry of the Interior nor is one p ending.
B. Case Nº 1963
WHEREAS:
Communications dated July 21 and 24, 1975, denounced to this Commission
the arrest, disappearance, and torture of the major leaders of the Socialist
Party, Mr. Exequiel Ponce Vicencio and Ricardo Lagos Salinas, requesting that
the Commission intervene to save their lives which were in danger; the claimants
stated that they had no knowledge of their whereabouts.
On July 23, 1975, the Commission cabled the Government of Chile as
follows: “Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has received the following
denunciations: 'We denounce arrest, torture and the danger to life of labor
leader Exequiel Ponce, leader of the Socialist Party in Chile, of Ricardo Lagos
and... We denounce arrest, disappearance and torture of these national leaders
and we request that the Commission intercede before the Government of Chile to
save their lives, which are now in danger.'”
The Government of Chile had not replied to this cable by October 19,
1975, so the Commission sent a second cable on October 14, 1975, the pertinent
part of which stated: “Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, now meeting
in its thirty-sixth session considered, among other cases, Nº 1963, regarding
Ezequiel Ponce, Ricardo Lagos ..., on which it sent cables to Your Excellency's
Government on July 23 of this year requesting information. Since the information
requested with regard to these cases has not been received, the Commission
decided to request again that the Government of Chile transmit that information
as soon as possible so that the Commission might consider it during this
session, which ends on October 24, of this year.”
Neither of the two cables sent requesting information drew a response
from the Government of Chile. The last of these was sent on October 14, 1975,
that is, more than seven months ago.
In view of the foregoing the Commission,
RESOLVES:
1. In application of Article 51 of
the Regulations, to presume that it is true that Ezequiel Ponce and
Ricardo Lagos were arrested in mid-1975 by agents of the Government of Chile and
that since that time nothing has been known of their whereabouts.
2. To recommend to the
Government of Chile that it take such measures as may be necessary to
investigate those events, to determine the whereabouts of the individuals in
question and, if necessary, order their immediate freedom and arrange such
measures as may be necessary to punish those responsible for these events, which
if proven, would constitute a serious violation of the right to personal freedom
provided for in Article I of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties
of Man.
3. To request the Government
of Chile to report to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on the
results or progress of the investigation before February 1, 1977.
4. To transmit the text of
this resolution to the Government of Chile and to the claimants.
In a note dated January 26, 1977, the Government of Chile replied as
follows:
In response to your note of October 20, 1976, on the personal situation
of Ezequiel Ponce Vicencio and Ricardo Lagos Salinas, case 1963, I hereby inform
Your Excellency that the pertinent national authorities have reported that there
are no records in the country of the arrest of the individuals named; no
decision affecting them has been handed down from the Ministry of the Interior,
nor is there any decision pending; they have not been arrested by any Security
Organization.
It should be pointed out that the military judicial authorities reported
that the citizens in question have not been tried by those Courts.
At present the whereabouts of both individuals are not known, and it is
presumed that Ricardo Ernesto Lagos Salinas, after leaving the country
illegally, can now be found in Sweden, according to information provided by
neighbors and former political leaders of the previous regime.
17.
On numerous other occasions the Government of Chile states that,
according to a report in the weekly newspaper Lea, the name of the
individual specified by the claimant appears among the 119 extremists killed
abroad in fights among themselves or in confrontations with the Security Forces
of the Argentine Republic.
18.
In a note dated January 26, 1977, the Government of Chile again
reaffirmed the earlier observations, stating that:
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in response to the misgivings expressed
in the note of December 22 of last year, which request background information on
the article that appeared in the Argentine magazine Lea according to
which after entering Argentine territory, one hundred and nineteen (119) Chilean
citizens had allegedly died in skirmishes; I hereby inform Your Excellency that
the Government of Chile is not responsible for the innumerable reports on our
country published each day abroad.
However, having consulted the pertinent national authorities and having
made the appropriate inquiries, it has been possible to establish that the
magazine Lea, of Buenos Aires, did indeed publish a list of Chilean
leftist extremists who had allegedly been killed by their own companions or who
had disappeared. This magazine published a single issue, specifically the issue
that ran the item in question and has never been published again. The
information is alleged to have come from Mexico, via Fonel (Fondo Editorial
Latinoamericano), a news agency specializing in articles and reports on Marxist
activities; this has made it impossible to continue the investigation.
The national authorities have no official record as to whether the
individuals referred to in the publication in question left the country nor any
information on the manner in which they are alleged to have done so, assuming
that, if indeed they did leave, it was clandestinely.”
19.
This position implies a failure to recognize the unambiguous information
provided by the Government of Argentina to the Commission, the text of which the
Commission transmitted to the Government of Chile through a note of December 22,
1976:
1. LEA is not a publication
in circulation in the Republic of Argentina, and the only known issue of this
magazine is “Year I, Number 1.”
2. As for the address of 1845
Brandsen, listed as the place where LEA is edited, that building has two
floors and seven very small and modest apartments. Inquiries conducted by the
Federal Police of Argentine refute any contention that this place had been used
to edit the aforementioned magazine.
3. A review of the Argentine Federal
Police files indicates that the one hundred nineteen individuals named on the
list attached to the above-mentioned note are not on record, nor is there any
background information available with regard to them.
4. The Argentine Federal Police also
stated that it is inconceivable that an event of such magnitude could have taken
place in the Republic without the competent organizations becoming aware of it.
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