The alternate deputy, Walkiria Chandler echoed the report presented on Tuesday by the Ombudsman’s Office, in which it revealed that it was not possible to verify the allegations of alleged sterilizations of a dozen Panamanian indigenous women without their consent in a public hospital.
In Chandler’s opinion, this result of the report does not surprise him in the least. “When this happened in the Assembly, the next week (Monday) he (Ombudsman) arrived at Charco La Pava with a whole parade of cameras and public officials and the Public Ministry saying where the victims are in an invasive way, not respecting privacy. of the victims, re-victimizing them,” he said.
She added that some of these women had not even had the confidence to talk to their partners. “Let’s remember that we are talking about a regional issue where machismo exists, where women are denigrated if they lose their ability to reproduce. Here we are putting on a ‘show,’ we are acting in a way that violates human rights procedures, international law and it seems that this is not going to come to anything,” he declared.
The deputy stated that her main concern is that justice here in Panama is selective. “There are people here who seem to be shielded by connection to a political party, by economic issues, we are talking about a crime and this was used as a weapon of war.”
“Our main concern is to protect the victims and not revictimize them. They do not feel that they are capable of speaking, because they have also been undermined. They must be emotionally strengthened. In the Public Ministry, the statements of the possible victims were collected and they are waiting for transfers. Part of what they indicate is that there is an issue of coercion and pressure. There is a situation of violence within the community,” Chandler said.
