The Government of Chile took the first step, this Thursday, to develop a national plan to search for disappeared detainees that will be implemented starting next year, within the framework of the commemoration of the 50 years of Augusto Pinochet’s coup (1973-1990).
In a ceremony that took place in the Gabriela Mistral Museum of Educationin the center of Santiago, and in the presence of representatives of memory and human rights organizations, the Minister of Justice, Marcela Riospresented the participatory process from which the unprecedented plan will be designed, together with relatives and groups of victims of the dictatorship, and stressed that, in addition to civil society, “all the ministries and institutions will have to be at the service of this work”.
“Beyond the fact that the perpetrators of crimes do not want to talk, there are many institutions that can collaborate and, as a State, we have debts and pending tasks, from the Legal Medical Service, to fiscal institutions or the Judicial Power”pointed out the head of Justice.
Ríos described the initiative as “a government commitment” and recalled the president’s announcement, Gabriel Boricin his public account on June 1 and which he reiterated on September 11, for the commemoration of the 49th anniversary of the coup d’état, when he promised to “continue to search tirelessly” for the disappeared detainees.
The undersecretary of Human rights, Haydee Oberreutermeanwhile, highlighted the participation of organizations: “We are not defining a schedule from above, nor from the institutional framework”he stressed.
Although the Executive expects to have the design of the plan ready by the end of the year, Oberreuter clarified that the deadlines will depend on the work with the groups that join the initiative: “We do not intend to delay forever, but there is a prefigured mandate from the organizations that are interested in things being done well and if we have to take it easy, we will take it”said.
Until today, in Chile there are still 1,159 victims of forced disappearance during the dictatorship who are still wanted by their loved ones.
Chile’s dictatorship lasted 17 years and left more than 40,000 victims, including executed, detained, disappeared, political prisoners and tortured, according to figures from the official commission that collected testimonies from victims and families. More than 3,200 Chileans died at the hands of state agents.
EFE
