The president of the Broad Front, Fernando Pereira, accompanied by senators and deputies from the political force, held a press conference to publicize complaints of police abuse and express the critical position of the left towards the actions of the Minister of the Interior, Luis Alberto Eber.
Pereira made special mention of the presence of Minister Heber in Durazno, during the judicial hearing in which two police officers charged with the death of Santiago Cor testified.
“The minister is not the minister of the police, he is the minister of all Uruguayans, and there he had a strong influence on an independent power of the State, such as the Judicial Power,” he questioned.
He added that in recent days the complaints and communications from the Association of Magistrates of Uruguay, the Association of Prosecutors of Uruguay and the Bar Association have been heard with concern, “censoring” Heber’s attitude that hinders the logical action of Justice.
“Just because judges aren’t pushable doesn’t mean they’re pushed. People have to exercise Justice without interference, without the power of the State interfering in public decisions”, he remarked.
He added: “We all have to do with that gravity. All of us who defend democracy, republicanism, the separation of powers, freedom, equality and fraternity have to see that these attitudes remove institutionalism.”
Pereira said that the minister’s attitude was “serious, by interfering in a legal action on a very sensitive issue for the city of Durazno.” He added that Justice is intervening and Heber is interfering, which is unacceptable for the Broad Front and should also be unacceptable for all political parties.
From the State there is a greater responsibility to take care of the democratic value, he remarked.
police abuse
He said that the FA denounced police abuses and it has been said that there are no concrete complaints, referring to public statements by Heber. However, the FA presented “50 specific complaints with number of files and date, referring to serious or very serious events that occurred when men and women were detained in Uruguay, generally young.”
“For those of us who are parents, it could have been our sons or daughters who suffered acts of violence. And that’s how we have to look at it, because they are sons and daughters of Uruguayan men and women,” Pereira remarked.
He also stated that “the violation of human rights is for all Uruguayans.”
“When we decided to denounce these abuses, we came across the analytical report from the National Institution for Human Rights and the Ombudsman’s Office (INDDHH) that dealt with 92 cases. We were able to reach 50 cases with file numbers, which give clues to the Ministry of the Interior to carry out a serious and urgent investigation”, he stated.
He added that “you cannot have human rights violated, abuses identified with a file number, and not act accordingly. To separate the good police from the bad police is to defend the police”.
“If you really want to defend the police, separate them from those who violate human rights, which are the minority, from the largest number of police officers who defend democracy, freedoms and coexistence,” said the president of the Broad Front.
He assured that the FA will carry out all political actions. “We are aware that we have the referendum in a few days, but we are also aware that defending human rights cannot have an optional date.”
He announced that after the popular consultation on March 27, the FA will make other decisions. “Hopefully the government takes note of these complaints, and instead of getting angry, act accordingly on things as serious as the ones we are demonstrating.”
The FA is concerned that the Ministry of the Interior does not interfere in the Uruguayan Justice, guarantees the holding of the referendum, does not bias and investigates the causes that were analyzed by the INDDHH and denounced by the Association of Defenders of Trades.
Pereira exemplified with the content of three complaints, to illustrate what is being talked about when referring to abuses.
He referred to a case that occurred in Tacuarembo in which police mistreatment of a young man detained during a police operation was reported. “A blow to the ear with an open hand by a policeman. The primary report said no injuries, after the hearing a more exhaustive medical examination was ordered, and ear perforation was determined.
He also referred to two other complaints. One of the cases is about an event that occurred in Montevideo in which a defendant was arrested by order of the judge and stated that he had been beaten by the police, and another case that occurred in Artigas, where a person, upon being detained, they gave him punches in the ribs and kicks in the legs.
The FA demanded that Heber take responsibility and instead of interfering with justice, create conditions for there to be justice in the 92 cases denounced by the INNDDHH, of which 50 were made known to the press by the left. He stressed that “being poor cannot be the difference so that guarantees are given that it will not be abused.”
He clarified that no political action will be taken before the referendum, but they do not rule out summoning Heber to the Sala, because these are complaints that take away support from the Secretary of State.
Referendum
On the other hand, he referred to violent events that occurred in the framework of the campaign for the referendum against 135 articles of the Urgent Consideration Law (LUC), which will take place on Sunday, March 27.
In this sense, he questioned that whoever has to watch over the electoral act is not only campaigning, but for many moments placing the police against those who want to repeal the LUC. “This occurs when we are really protecting the good police and we are separating them from those who commit acts that are at odds with human rights.”
He recalled that a number of “Yes” militants have been “harassed by “No” protesters, he said that “they tore up ‘Yes’ ballots in front of a patrol car in the city of Treinta y Tres during the Vuelta Ciclista and there was no intervention” .
He added that what happened in the last few hours in the Cerro de Montevideo, where a Yes militant “offended” those who were campaigning for No, was not justified under any point of view.
“We don’t have a double standard to measure. We measure with the same yardstick,” she expressed.
