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OEA/Ser.L/V/II.40
THIRD
REPORT ON THE SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHILE ...continued
20.
On June 8, 1976, during the sixth regular session of the General Assembly
of the Organization of American States, held in Santiago, Dr. Eugenio Velasco
and four other lawyers in Chile representing the individuals detained or their
relatives, presented to the Commission a” lengthy statement on the situation
of human rights in Chile. They stated the following with regard to individuals
who have disappeared:
An impressive amount of evidence and every type of legal proof are bases
to believe that the number of individuals who were arrested by military patrols
or teams from the DINA and who have subsequently disappeared, is increasing.
There are a number of indisputable cases of “violent death” imputable
to no other type of enemy (as happened in the case of Lumi Videla); there are
other cases in which the arrest took place before members of the family, and
evidence from the period of arrests in secret houses, and so forth.
The whole world was moved when the news appeared in the Argentina and
Brazilian press that 119 Chileans had died or had disappeared as a result of
guerrilla encounters with the Armed Forces. This was a lie. What was in fact
involved were young people who had earlier been arrested by Chilean authorities
or by their representatives. The method of arrest was illegal and their families
were never informed of their place of imprisonment. Requests made to account for
their whereabouts were always refused. The “official investigation”
conducted by the Ministry of the Interior relied solely on the report filed by
DINA, in other words, on a report filed by those who were criminally responsible
for an illegal arrest and morally responsible for the lives of those
individuals. The problem with regard to the Chilean Government still exists
today, in its entirety. Despite government promises, no explanation, no
acknowledgments and no information from the investigations ordered have been
forthcoming. Today, the number of disappearances is much higher. The Judiciary,
represented by the Supreme Court, has refused to appoint a Visiting Judge to
take up this and other denunciations of massive disappearances. There are now
serious studies on the problem which will be presented to the Government for
final clarification.
21.
Of all the new data the Commission had available to continue its study of
the question of disappearances, the most complete and best documented was
undoubtedly the “Report on 384 cases of individuals who have disappeared –
1976”, prepared by the Vicaría de la Solidaridad of the Archdiocese of
Santiago; the report has five volumes and close to one thousand pages.
22.
The first four volumes of this report contain the background information
provided to the Supreme Court, dated August 20, 1976, and the request that a
Visiting Judge be appointed to investigate cases of disappearances.
23.
Subsequently, the relatives of the individuals who had disappeared
presented their case before that Court, but on October 13, 1976, the Court
rejected their petition, handing down the following decision:
Having seen and bearing in mind:
1. That from the many pieces of
background information in the various documents that have been compiled at the
request of Mr. Cristián Precht Bañados, Episcopal Vicar of the Vicaría de la
Solidaridad. In order to secure a decision from this Supreme Court ordering
appointment of a Special Visiting Judge from the Court of Appeals of Santiago in
a Criminal Courtroom in Santiago, to examine the various proceedings now being
conducted in the criminal courts of Santiago and of the Departments of
Presidente Aguirre Cerda and San Bernardo to investigate possible perpetration
of crimes in the alleged disappearances of the individuals named on the lists
provided for that purpose, alleged to have taken place subsequent to September
11, 1973, it is to be noted that contrary to the claim made in the request in
question –and as repeated in the three presentations made by the relatives of
those alleged to have disappeared—the investigations conducted and those still
being conducted in the various higher criminal courts of Santiago and of the
Departments of Presidente Aguirre Cerda and San Bernardo indicate zeal and
diligence, and are being directly supervised by the Visiting Judges from the
Court of Appeals of this capital.
2. That that same information
indicates that of the individuals said to have disappeared, 38 have been found,
are free and reside in their respective domiciles; five who have gone abroad
have been located; 11 are under arrest by virtue of the State of Siege, three by
other of the Military Courts, and three by order of the Regular Courts because
common crimes were involved.
3. That the three lists of
individuals who have disappeared which are attached to this information and
which were presented by relatives of the alleged victims, include the Christian
names and surnames of 313 individuals; 223 on the first list, 24 on the second
and 66 on the third. It should be pointed out however, that the names of the
individuals alleged to have disappeared are repeated on some of the lists, for
the obvious purpose of increasing, fictitiously, the number of these
disappearances. Although the same name usually appears as the relative-claimant
alongside the repeated name, one can see at a glance the lack of correspondence
between the signatures, as can be seen, for example, in the cases in which
Teresa Eltit Contreras, Jorge Ojeda Jara, Juan Maturana Pérez en Washington
Maturana Pérez are named as the individuals who have disappeared, and Teresa
Contreras, Arsolia Jara and Hernán Maturana appear as the relative-claimant.
Among the missing whose names are repeated on the various lists, noted in a
superficial review, the following can be mentioned: Arturo Barría Araneda,
Teresa Eltit Contreras, María Angélica Andreoli Bravo, Isidro Pizarro Miniconi,
Alvaro Barrios Duque, Jorge Ojeda Jara, Juan Maturana Pérez, Washington
Maturana Pérez, Carlos Salcedo Morales, Carlos Lazo Quintero, Julio F. Flores Pérez,
Juan Carlos Rodríguez Araya, Ercilia or 'Gabriela C.' Castro Calvadores,
Mauricio Jorquera Encina, René Acuña Reyes and Francisco Aedo Carrasco.
4. That in view of the foregoing, it
is not considered necessary to appoint a Special Visiting Judge to take
cognizance of the various proceedings currently underway in the various Criminal
Courtrooms of the Departments of Santiago, Presidente Aguirre Cerda and San
Bernardo, so long as the investigations are conducted in satisfactory fashion.
The request made by Mr. Cristián Precht Bañados on folio 1 is hereby
declared inadmissible, as are the other petitions formulated to this same effect
by countless other individuals who claim to be relatives of the alleged missing
persons.
Agreed upon against the judgment of the President, Mr. Eyzaguirre and of
Judges Ortíz, Retamal, Erbetta and Aburto, who were in favor of agreeing to the
appointment of a Visiting Minister in such cases in which there may have been
proceedings to investigate the presumed disappearance of individuals and in
those which may have occurred this year, 1976.
Let it be so recorded and filed.
Written by Judge Bórquez.
Handed down by the Chairman, Mr. José M. Eyzaguirre E., and by the
Judges Eduardo Ortíz S., Israel Bórquez M., Rafael Retamal L., Luis Maldonado
B., Octavio Ramírez M., Víctor M. Rivas del C., Osvaldo Erbetta V., Emilio
Ulloa M., Marcos Aburto O., Estanislao Zúñiga C., and Abraham Meersohn S.
Since he was on leave of absence Mr. Zúñiga did not sign, although he
concurred with the decision.
24.
On October 16, the Vicaría de la Solidaridad requested that the Court
reverse its decision, pointing out the “factual errors the decision
involve.” Furthermore, it added 40 new cases of individuals who had
disappeared between July and August 1976, leaving out eight names from the
previous list of 383 individuals. The request for a reversal was rejected on
October 22.
25.
In its (original) decision of October 13, the Supreme Court stated that
11 of the individuals included on the lists of the missing were under arrest by
virtue of the State of Siege, when all those arrested under those circumstances
were free by virtue of a government decision dated November 17, 1976. The Vicaría
then asked the Court to provide the names of the 11 individuals under arrest.
The Secretary of the Court certified the 11 names, contending that none of them
appeared on the list of missing persons turned over in the brief filed by the
Vicaría.
26.
With new background information at its disposal, the Vicaría de la
Solidaridad requested for a second time, a reversal of the October 13 decision,
insisting upon its request for appointment of a Visiting Judge to investigate
the disappearance of the individuals who have been singled out.
27.
Presented below is the list provided by the Vicaría naming those
individuals who disappeared in July and August 1976 and whose whereabouts were
unknown as of December 2:
JULY
1.
CANTEROS PRADO, EDUARDO
49 years old
7/23/76
Canteros Prado was arrested in front
of his house by a number of individuals in civilian clothing who were travelling
in a blue car, into which Canteros was forcibly placed; witnesses to this event
were his wife, María Enelfa Gormaz Vera and Jorge Antonio Muñoz Muñoz; his
niece, Clara Canteros Torres, has been missing since that same date.
2.
CANTEROS TORRES, CLARA ELENA
22 years old
7/23/76
This individual disappeared on the
street; on that same date, and uncle of Clara Elena, Eduardo Canteros Prado, was
also arrested in front of his home by individuals in civilian clothing. He is
also still missing.
3.
GALVEZ RIVADENEIRA, GUILLERMO
49 years old
7/28/76
Gálvez Rivadeneira disappeared on a
street, on the route between the Círculo de Periodistas and his home.
4.
GIANELLY COMPANY, JUAN ANTONIO
30 years old
7/26/76
Gianelly Company disappeared on a
public street; that same day three individuals who did not identify themselves
went to the school where he taught, Girls' School Nº 24 of Santiago, and
demanded that the principal give them the private address of Gianelly Company.
5.
LÓPEZ SUÁREZ, NICOLÁS ALBERTO
41 years old
7/30/76
López Suárez was arrested on the
street by two individuals in civilian clothing; the events were witnessed by a
nephew of López Suárez.
6.
MARTÍNEZ QUIJON, GUILLERMO ALBINO
66 years old
7/21/76
Martínez Quijon was arrested in the
early-morning hours in his home at Roberto Espinoza 975, house 12, by five
agents in civilian clothing, dressed in white shirts. His wife was tied by the
feet and hands to the bed and blindfolded.
7.
MIRANDA GODOY, DARÍO FRANCISCO
23 years old
7/30/76
On the specified date, Miranda Godoy
disappeared along with Jorge Solovera Gallardo, who is also missing, on the way
from the Federación del Metal local to the Servicios Culturales Puelche local.
8.
MONTOYA VILCHES, RAÚL JILBERTO
43 years old
7/21/76
Montoya Vilches was arrested by
individuals in civilian clothing, three men and a woman driving a blue Peugeot,
while, having left his house, he was on his way to catch the bus.
9.
MORAGA GARCÉS, JUAN HÉCTOR
31 years old
7/22/76
Moraga Garcés disappeared on the
street; the next day his wife went to the Police Station at Población
Roosevelt, Pudahuel Commune, where she was told that Moraga Garcés was arrested
for drunkenness the night of July 22, and then taken to the Drunk and Disorderly
Section located on Ave. Pedro Montt, in front of the Santiago Prison; going
there, his wife was told that no one by that name had entered there.
10.
QUIÑONES IBACETA, JUAN LUIS
31 years old
7/23/76
Quiñones Ibaceta was arrested by
individuals in civilian clothing, on calle Balmaceda, between Manuel Rodríguez
bridge and Bulnes bridge.
11.
RODRÍGUEZ URZUA, ALEJANDRO
49 years old
7/27/76
Rodríguez Urzua disappeared en
route from his office to another, to which he was going for work reasons. He
went in a 1970 light blue Chevrolet, license number DY-821 of Las Condes, which
has not been located. His office was searched.
12.
SOLOVERA GALLARDO, JORGE
28 years old
7/30/76
On the above date, Solovera Gallardo
disappeared together with Darío Francisco Miranda Godoy, who is also missing,
while en route from the Federación del Metal local to the Servicios Culturales
Puelche local.
13.
TOLOSA VÁSQUEZ, JOSÉ VICENTE
31 years old
7/15/76
This individual disappeared on the
street.
14.
TURIEL PALOMERA, MARIANO LEÓN
29 years old
7/15/76
This individual disappeared on the
street; he had been detained previously on October 21, 1975, by virtue of the
state of siege, and released on December 23 of that year; on that occasion he
was arrested under similar circumstances and was missing for a number of days.
AUGUST
1.
SANTANDER MIRANDA, JOSÉ EDUARDO
29 years old
8/6/76
C. de I. 6.341.971, Santiago.
Santander Miranda was arrested near
his home by individuals in civilian clothing; he was put into a light blue,
late-model Chevrolet, no license plate. The arrest was witnessed by his sister
Lidia, Mrs. María Toledo Quezada and Mrs. Sonia Carroza Silva.
2.
JERIA SILVA, ENRIQUE
30 years old
8/18/76
3.
GODOY LAGARRIGUE, CARLOS ENRIQUE
39 years old
C. de I. 200.576, San Bernardo
8/4/76
4.
INSUNZA BASCUÑAN, IVÁN
43 years old
8/4/76
Writ of Amparo record Nº
706-76 shows that the Director of DINA phoned the President of the Supreme
Court, to tell him that he had information on Dr. Insunza; the day he
disappeared he was driving his car, a Renault, license number OE-76 of Santiago,
which has not been located to date.
5.
MORALES MORALES, ROSA ELENA
46 years old
C. de I. 3.224.233, Santiago
8/18/76
While traveling with a friend in a
taxi, the taxi was stopped by a red car at the intersection of Lord Cochrane and
Avda. Matta; individuals dressed in civilian clothing emerged and pulled both
women from the cab and put them in their car; the friend was released some hours
later.
6.
VIVANCHO HERRERA, NICOLÁS HUGO
30 years old
8/10/76
His parents, Alicia Herrera Benítez
and Hugo Vivancho Vega, disappeared on August 4, 1976 and were still missing as
of August 5, 1976; Vivancho Herrera had filed a writ of amparo in the
same of his parents before the Court of Appeals of Santiago (record 699-76); his
uncle, Oscar Ramos Garnido, and his cousin, Oscar Ramos Vivanco, were detained
on August 5, 1976, and are also still missing.
7.
HERRERA BENÍTEZ, ALICIA
45 years old
8/4/76
Her husband, Hugo Vivanco,
disappeared the same day; their son, Nicolás Hugo, disappeared on August 10,
1976; both are now missing.
8.
VIVANCO VEGA, HUGO ERNESTO
30 years old
8/4/76
His wife, Alicia Herrera Benítez
disappeared that same day; his son, Nicolás Hugo, disappeared on August 10,
1976; both are still missing. Her brother-in-law, Oscar Ramos Garrido, and her
nephew, Oscar Ramos Vivanco, were arrested on August 5, 1976, and are also still
missing.
9.
VIZCARRA COFRE, CARLOS MARIO
31 years old
C. de I. 4.665.693 of Santiago
8/11/76
On September 7, 1976, his home was
searched by five agents in civilian clothing, carrying machine guns.
10.
VILLARROEL SARATE, JUAN AURELIO
55 years old
8/13/76
11.
VEGA VEGA, JULIO ROBERTO
61 years old
C. de I. 1.252.460, Santiago
8/16/76
This individual was arrested on the
street by individuals in civilian clothing, who put him in a car.
12.
SALGADO SALINAS, JORGE
43 years old
C. de I. 112.365, Quillota
8/9/76
13.
FLORES GARRIDO, JOSÉ EDILIO
28 years old
8/11/76
Flores Garrido was detained at the
intersection of Pirihueico and Club Hípico by individuals dressed in civilian
clothing, who were driving a Peugeot, license plate FM-1 of Santiago and a
Renault, license number ME-81 of Santiago. Mr. Esteban Munizaga was a witness to
the arrest.
14.
CORVALÁN VALENCIA, JOSÉ ENRIQUE
46 years old
8/9/76
This individual was arrested at the
home of a friend, Mr. Alfredo Sánchez, at calle Ayacara Nº 8523, Población
San Ramón, La Granja; Mr. Sánchez was also detained at that time and taken to
Cuatro Álamos Camp, where he was released the following day. He stated that
Corvalán Valencia was with him at Cuatro Álamos.
15.
CASTILLO TAPIA, GABRIEL
33 years old
8/5/76
16.
ATENCIO CORTÉS, VICENTE
47 years old
8/11/76
17.
RAMOS VIVANCO, OSCAR ANTONIO
24 years old
8/5/76
Ramos Vivanco was arrested with his
father, Oscar Ramos Garrido, also missing, at his home and in the presence of
his family; the agents who made the arrest were dressed in civilian clothing;
they searched the home, and took Ramos Vivanco and his father away in handcuffs,
in a Peugeot. His brother-in-law, Hugo Vivanco Vega, and Vivanco Vega's wife,
Alicia Herrera Benítez, disappeared on August 4, 1976; his cousin, Nicolás
Vivanco Herrera, disappeared on August 10, 1976; all of them are still missing.
18.
RAMOS GARRIDO, OSCAR ORLANDO
60 years old
8/5/76
Ramos Garrido was arrested with his
son, Oscar Ramos Vivanco, who is also missing, at his home and in the presence
of his family; the agents who made the arrest were dressed in civilian clothing;
they searched the home and took them away in handcuffs; they were driving a
Peugeot. His brother-in-law, Hugo Vivanco Vega, and the latter's wife, Alicia
Herrera Benítez, disappeared on August 4, 1976; his nephew, Nicolás Vivanco
Herrera, disappeared on August 10, 1976; all of them are still missing.
19.
NAZAL QUIROZ, MIGUEL
45 years old
8/11/76
21.
MAUREIRA VÁSQUEZ, MARIO OSVALDO
23 years old
8/8/76
Maureira Vásquez was arrested on a
street by an off-duty Carabinero in the presence of Santiago Edmundo Araya
Cabrera and Juan Carrasco Castro; some days before he had taken part in a
frustrated attempt at mass asylum in the site of the former embassy of Hungary,
during which he was arrested and then set free.
22.
JUICA VEGA, MARIO JESÚS
34 years old
8/9/76
23.
HERNÁNDEZ CONCHA, EDUARDO ENRIQUE
28 years old
8/3/76
This individual was arrested in San
Bernardo and according to information from the family, taken to Carabineros
Commissariat Nº 6 in that area, where he stayed for six days; on August 27,
1976, his brother Manuel was arrested in that same city by Carabineros
from the same Commissariat, who later set him free, explaining that it had been
a mistake.
24.
SILVA BUSTOS, PEDRO EDUARDO
40 years old
C. de I. 3.809.582, Santiago
8/9/76
On August 16, 1976, his home was
searched by agents dressed in civilian clothing who were driving a vehicle
without a license plate.
25.
CÁRDENAS VALDERRAMA, VÍCTOR MODESTO
52 years old
8/26/76
26.
VARGAS LEIVA, MANUEL DE LA CRUZ
54 years old
C. de I. 1.169.190 Santiago
8/7/76
His son, Manuel Vargas Manzur, had
been arrested by DINA on a number of previous occasions, for questioning on his
father's whereabouts.
28.
Shortly before approving this report, the Commission received the
following information:
At the last full Court of Judges in 1976, held on January 31, 1977, the
Supreme Court heard a request that a Visiting Judge be appointed to investigate
the cases of 13 individuals alleged to have disappeared, after having been
detained between last December 9 and 15.
That it declares admissible the request that the Court of Appeals appoint
a Visiting Judge to look into the proceedings being conducted in connection with
persons alleged to be missing or alleged injuries.
29.
However, a cable received by the Commission on February 8 of this year
reported that:
In case 2-77 initiated on January 31, 1977, by order of the Supreme Court
of Justice at the request of the relatives in order to investigate the
disappearance of Santiago Araya Cabrera and others, on February 7, 1977 the
acting Special Visiting Judge, Mr. Aldo Guastavino, declared the investigation
complete and the proceedings closed in view of the fact that the Acting Minister
of the Interior reported that the individuals in question had fled the country
through the Paso los Libertadores Argentina (formerly known as Paso de los
Caracoles).
30.
In its Second Report the Commission dealt under this category with
denunciations of “summary executions” and other violations of the right to
life, alleged to have occurred between September and December 1973. These
allegations involve application of the death penalty without allowing the
prisoners to exercise the right to due process and, in some cases, retroactive
application of laws enacted after September 11, 973.
31.
In its replies on the individual cases and in its comments on the Second
Report of the Commission, the Government of Chile denied events, but did not
provide information and documents sufficient to arrive at a well-founded
judgment with regard to these serious complaints. In only one case did the
Chilean authorities specify the name of the lawyer who served as defense
attorney.
32.
During the on-site observation conducted in Chile, the Commission
examined only one trial in which the death penalty was handed down, because it
could not obtain the files on the individual cases mentioned above.
33.
For this reason, in a resolution of October 24, 1975, the Commission
recommended to the Government of Chile that “it conduct the proper
investigations or continue such investigations as it may have initiated in
connection with the executions denounced, holding responsible those who have
violated the basic rights of those executed and informing the Commission of the
results of said investigations.”
34.
For his part, one of the claimants, on taking cognizance of the
observations made by the Government of Chile with regard to the death by firing
squad of Mario Silva Iriarte, repeated his denunciation to the Commission, in a
communication dated June 10, 1976, in the following words:
We are prepared to prove that Mario Silva was never tried nor found
guilty of any crime, much less condemned by a competent court as the military
government contends in its denials of this charge.
We again denounce that Mario Silva was murdered without trial, and
without having been found guilty of any crime.
Mario Silva was not in Antofagasta on the day of the military coup and on
being informed that he was being summoned by an edict in that city, went to
Antofagasta and turned himself over to the authorities voluntarily, refusing the
asylum offered him by the Embassy of Mexico, as he had no reason whatever to go
into hiding or to try to escape.
We therefore request that the evidence we are prepared to provide to
substantiate the truth of our claim be taken into consideration, and to
establish that the Government of Chile has falsified the facts in its response
to this accusation.
35.
The Commission hopes that Resolution 243 cited above, in which the
General Assembly asked the Government of Chile to continue to give to the IACHR
“all cooperation necessary to carry out its work,” will result in
transmittal of the information and documentation requested by the Commission.
More than one year and a half has elapsed since the Commission's resolution of
October 24, 1975, and the IACHR has still not received the cooperation requested
of the Chilean Government.
36.
In summary, the conclusion reached is that during the period covered by
this report:
a. The number of claims of homicides
imputed to the authorities declined, but the Government of Chile did not provide
the Commission the cooperation necessary to enable it to make a judgment as to
the responsibility for the deaths denounced, which the claimants impute to
authorities of that country;
b. When compared with the periods
covered by the previous reports, the number of denunciations with regard to
individuals arrested, missing and presumed dead also decreased; but as of the
beginning of this year, reliable data indicate that with the earlier
disappearances, the news faces of disappearances and the alterations made to the
list of missing persons, the number of individuals who have disappeared was at
that point 415; c. In response to the observations made by the Government of Chile on the Second Report of the Commission on alleged illegal executions, one claimant repeated his denunciations; however, the Government of Chile has continued to refuse to allow the Commission to view those parts of proceedings involving application of the death penalty, in those cases cited as illegal. Knowledge of these parts is indispensable to formulate a judgment on the denunciations in question. |