A people without memory and without truth could be doomed to repeat their own mistakes, building an uncertain future on a cloak of impunity.
In Venezuela we have had situations where the violation of human rights (DDHH), as well as the attempt to exterminate social struggles, by the repressive apparatus of the State, has been very evident, as occurred in the so-called Caracazo, on 27 February 1989, whose protests left 276 people dead and dozens missing, according to official figures at the time, and despite this, more than 30 years after those episodes, many loose ends remain in the search for the truth.
Faced with this panorama, the draft Law on Truth and Historical Memory on Human Rights arose, which was recently approved in its first discussion by the National Assembly (AN), which aims to establish mechanisms for the protection of these rights and, consequently, , “to safeguard and disseminate the truth, especially of the events registered as from 1958”, as stated by the deputy Carolina García, during her presentation of the project before the plenary session of the AN.
The proposal constitutes in itself a response not only to the lack of clarification and a timely investigation, but also to the need to establish sanctions in cases such as the one mentioned above, or the murder of Fabricio Ojeda, or the Yumare and Cantaura massacres. , which warrant further investigation.
Likewise, it is essential to review the past for the fulfillment of the rights to truth, justice and reparation; with guarantees of not repeating the serious violations of Human Rights and, furthermore, to restore dignity to the victims of a murderous and torturer State.
In this sense, the professor of the National School of Human Rights of the Ombudsman’s Office, Albys Mayora, assured that “democracy in Venezuela was characterized by exclusion, and that led those governments, especially during the first 25 years of ‘democratic’ regimes were very repressive, and this was expressed in disappearances and torture, which was a very common practice in those governments; still to this day, there are events that have not been clarified, there are still people who do not know the whereabouts of their relatives, almost all of them were student or union leaders”.
In the same way, he highlighted the importance of the aforementioned bill, which “is extremely important because it gives the possibility of restoring the rights of the victims, that the true fate of the victims is known, and we hope that from the promulgation of the law, public policies that guarantee compliance with this new legal instrument are consolidated.
Today we are witnessing a very different reality, of transcendental changes in our history, where if we look forward, we see how citizens and social organizations strive to continue building a full democracy of inclusion, participation, equality, empowerment of the human rights. Today there are institutions such as the AN and the Ombudsman’s Office, which contribute to training the country on the matter.
If we look back, citizens try to find ways to settle accounts with a State that was repressive and violative during the periods of the Fourth Republic and the dictatorships that preceded it, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel: thanks to progressivity of Human Rights, historical memory is constituted as one of these rights.
Historical memory
It has a double dimension, one related to the reparation of the victims and their families, avoiding forgetfulness that translates into impunity, and another as a guarantee of non-repetition of events in which human rights have clearly been violated, promoting the creation of a conscience or collective memory, which contributes to repairing the damage caused, as well as remembering the victims and condemning those responsible.
Recovering historical memory also means a way to bury wounds that have remained open for a long time, to talk about the past without fear and that it can be known in the present to advance a solid and inclusive democracy.
Background of the project.
The rescue of memory, truth and justice began in Venezuela in 2011 with the promulgation of the Law to Punish Crimes, Disappearances, Torture and other Violations of Human Rights for Political Reasons between 1958 and 1998 , and later, in 2017, the Commission for Truth, Justice and Public Tranquility was created, these being the most important precedents of the draft Law on Truth and Historical Memory on Human Rights, which, also according to Parliamentarian García, “vindicates the popular struggles carried out by our people since 1958; there are more than ten thousand direct victims and more than 50 thousand indirect ones, this law is so that the history of violations and crimes is not repeated, ever”.
Similar laws in the region
Several countries in the region also created laws in defense of the truth and historical memory, especially those where dictatorships attacked citizens.
1.-In Bolivia, the Truth Commission Law was created on December 23, 2016, under the government of then-President Evo Morales.
2.-In Uruguay, the Law for Reparation for Victims of Illegitimate State Action was created in 2009, under the presidency of Tabaré Vázquez.
To never forget
Legacy of human rights violations by governments of the Fourth Republic:
1.- The Caracazo 276 people lost their lives in those events in 1989, according to figures from the government of Carlos Andrés Pérez.
2.- Cantaura Massacre State security forces tortured and murdered 23 young people in 1982.
3.- Yumare massacre 9 people murdered by the Disip in 1986.
