|
| |
Report of the Chilean National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation
(Valparaíso)
PART THREE
Chapter One (A.2)
September through December 1973 (continued)
PART THREE
Chapter One (A.2)
September through December 1973 (continued)
A. HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS COMMITTED BY GOVERNMENT AGENTS OR PERSONS WORKING FOR
THEM (continued)
2. CASES (continued)
f. Fifth Region-Valparaíso
1. Overview
In the Valparaíso Region, which includes the current provinces of Valparaíso,
Quillota, Petorca, San Antonio, San Felipe de Aconcagua, Los Andes, and Isla de
Pascua [Easter Island], the Commission examined forty-one cases of grave human
rights violations ending in the death or disappearance of prisoners for which
the government was responsible due to actions by its agents.
To adequately understand what took place in the Fifth Region during the last
months of 1973 it should be noted that the armed forces took control without any
armed clashes or violent actions on the part of supporters of the deposed
government. Thus there were no acts of violence perpetrated against military
troops or police units in the regional capital of Valparaíso, in the port of San
Antonio, in the rural areas of Quillota, La Calera, Petorca, Cabildo, San Felipe
and Los Andes, nor did land or factory occupations or any other kinds of
resistance take place in reaction to the declaration of military rule. The proof
is found in the fact that no members of the armed forces were killed as a result
of attacks by private citizens. High ranking officials of the military
government assigned to Valparaíso on September 11, 1973 have declared that the
only noteworthy incident in that city was some shooting near the customs office
on September 14, but that was apparently the result of confusion on the part of
official forces.
The navy took charge of the area of Valparaíso and its environs, while the army
took control of the remaining areas. The military authorities in each province
were as follows: in Quillota, the Commander of Engineers Regiment No.
2-Aconcagua; in San Felipe, the Commander of Infantry Regiment No. 3-Yungay; in
San Antonio, the commander of the Tejas Verdes Military Engineering School.
The human rights violations that took place in the region were committed by
members of these two branches of the armed forces. The police were involved in
arresting some of the victims of these grave violations, and in the areas of
Petorca and Catemu they were directly responsible for the death of some people.
Violations of the right to life took a variety of forms: sometimes deaths were
officially explained as "applications of the law of escape"; others resulted
from the implementation of a death sentence issued by war tribunals which did
not respect the rules of a reasonable and just procedure; some resulted from
torture; some were executions carried out in total disregard for the law; others
resulted from the unnecessary use of force; and some people disappeared after
being arrested by government agents.
A common characteristic in this region is the selectivity in choosing victims,
most of whom were local political and social leaders. Some were important public
officials and representatives of the Popular Unity; others were labor leaders.
It should also be noted that there was an organized persecution of grass roots
activists of the political organizations that supported the previous government.
Hence among those who were killed or disappeared as a result of actions by
government agents were the following: in Valparaíso, the head of the customs
office investigations department; an alderman in Limache and the government
representative in the United Breweries Company; the government representative in
the Parma Brewery; and the president of the student center of the University of
Chile architecture department. In the territory under army control, the victims
included the mayor of Cabildo; the member of the Communist party in Cabildo who
was responsible for elections and propaganda; the government representative in
the La Patagua mine; the area director for the Ministry of Health in San Felipe;
the sectional secretary of the Socialist party and head of the Department of
Social Development in San Felipe; the mayor of Quillota; the chief attorney for
the Agrarian Reform Corporation in Quillota; the head of the technical
department of the Agrarian Reform Corporation of Quillota and provincial
secretary of the Communist party; the local secretary of the Socialist party in
Quillota; the president of the Union of Textile Workers at the Said Rayon plant
in Quillota; a neighborhood MIR leader in Quillota; four leaders of the
longshoremens' union in San Antonio; the regional secretary of the Socialist
party in that city; an alderman and regional secretary for the CUT in San
Antonio; and the administrator of the sanitation department of Cartagena. An
alderman from Petorca and one from Catemu, both active in the Communist party,
were killed by police.
For the sake of a better description of what happened in the Fifth Region, the
account will proceed chronologically, beginning with Valparaíso and its
environs, followed by San Antonio, San Felipe, Quillota, and other places.
2. Cases of grave human rights violations in the Valparaíso Region Valparaíso
For purposes of imprisonment, interrogation, and/or torture in this province,
the navy used the ships "Lebu," "Maipo," and the training ship "Esmeralda,"
(which were all anchored in the port of Valparaíso), the El Belloto naval air
base, and the Naval War Academy - in particular one of its facilities, the Silva
Palma garrison.
The two ships "Lebu" and "Maipo," which belonged to the Sudamericana de Vapores
Company, were used as the navy's detention sites. The company told this
Commission that the "Maipo" was transferred into the hands of the Chilean Navy
at 10:00 a.m. September 11, 1973, when navy personnel took it over, and then
headed toward Pisagua at 11:00 p.m. September 15. It was then replaced by the
"Lebu," which had been requisitioned as a prison ship that same date. In
November the International Red Cross Committee noted that the "Lebu" held 324
political prisoners.
Both the "Maipo" and the "Lebu" were used as prison sites. Some prisoners in
these ships were in cabins but most were kept in the holds in very crowded and
unhygienic conditions with minimal services. After its visit on October 1, 1973,
the International Red Cross confirmed that such was the case on the "Lebu." It
also noted that the prisoners were completely cut off from the outside since
their families were unaware that they were there, that the food was barely
satisfactory in quality and quantity, and that the conditions in which they were
being held prisoners were generally poor. On that ship prisoners were tortured
and mistreated.
In its inquiries the Commission was able to determine that a specialized navy
unit was installed on the "Esmeralda" in order to interrogate prisoners and
those brought from other navy prison sites. As a general rule, these
interrogations included torture and mistreatment. Mistreatment and torture were
also part of interrogation that took place at the El Belloto naval air base, and
at the War Academy and installations connected to it, particularly the Silva
Palma garrison.
On September 12, 1973, Jaime ALDONEY VARGAS, 30, an alderman for Limache who was
active in the Socialist party, was arrested by local police and handed over to
navy officers at the El Belloto naval air base. An official report said he was
released September 13, 1973, but this Commission has been able to establish that
on September 14, he was being held a prisoner on the cargo ship "Maipo." Hence
the official account is false. This Commission has come to the conviction that
he is dead, since on September 26, 1973, witnesses who knew him saw his body at
the morgue of the Deformes Hospital in Valparaíso next to that of Oscar Farías
Urzúa, and that his death was the work of government agents, since it took place
at a time when he was under arrest, even though his arrest was not acknowledged.
Also on September 12, Yanctong Orlando JUANTOK GUZMAN, 26, a MIR activist who
was the president of the student center of the University of Chile architecture
department of the Valparaíso campus, was arrested by a navy patrol in the upper
part of Cerro La Cruz. It has been attested before this Commission that after
his arrest he was held in the "Maipo," and was seen there on September 14. That
day a group of sailors took him to an unknown destination. In the missing person
report (record No. 91896) presented and heard at the Third Criminal Court in
Valparaíso an official navy representative stated on July 4, 1974, that Juantok
was in the hands of the intelligence service of the First Navy Zone. He later
retracted that statement. There has been no word on Juantok since the moment he
was taken from the "Maipo." A check of the relevant government agencies
indicates that he has conducted no official business since the time he
disappeared nor is there any other evidence that might suggest he is still
alive. The Commission has come to the conviction that while he was under arrest
Yanctong Juantok disappeared at the hands of government agents who violated his
human rights.
Also on September 12, 1973, Oscar Armando FARIAS URZUA, 33, who was active in
the Socialist party and was a government representative in the Parma brewery,
was arrested by navy personnel. He was taken to the El Belloto naval air base
and later taken to make an official statement at the navy prosecutor's office.
He died September 20, 1973, while in custody. The Commission came to the
conviction that Oscar Farías was executed by government agents, for the
following particular reasons: navy authorities arrested him and took him to the
El Belloto naval air base; while he was arrested navy authorities told his
family he was dead and turned over his body to them; the death certificate
states that the cause of death was three bullet wounds and says that the place
was the Medical Legal Institute. This last point is unlikely since the purpose
of the institute is to receive people only after they are already dead.
Two days later on September 14, 1973, Luis Enrique SANGUINETTI FUENZALIDA, 38,
the head of the customs office investigation department and a university
professor who was active in the Socialist party, died on board the "Maipo." This
Commission has verified that on September 12 when Luis Sanguinetti voluntarily
reported to navy authorities on property of the customs office, he was arrested
on the spot and taken to the "Maipo," where he was kept in one of its holds. He
was taken out for interrogation several times, and by one account, was subjected
to torture on the training ship "Esmeralda." Another account is that the torture
took place on the "Maipo" and at navy headquarters. The evidence the Commission
gathered confirms the fact that he was mistreated and was left in pitiable
physical and psychological condition. Eyewitnesses to his death say that he was
tortured that day on board the "Maipo," taken to naval headquarters to be
tortured again, and returned to the "Maipo." The next day he was ordered to walk
around on the deck. Due to his pitiable condition, however, he could not do so,
and in a fit of despair he dove into one of the ships hold's and was killed
immediately. According to another account his torture took place on the
"Esmeralda." The Commission came to the conviction that Luis Enrique Sanguinetti
was a victim of government agents because the immediate antecedent to his death
was the cruel and degrading treatment to which he was subjected.
Also on September 14, 1973, René Guillermo AGUILERA OLIVARES, 41, was killed. As
has been noted, there was a gun battle that day in the port of Valparaíso.
Aguilera was hit twice by bullets and died in the street. Having examined the
events that led to his death, this Commission came to the conviction that René
Aguilera was a victim of the situation of political violence at that time.
On September 22, 1973, Michael WOODWARD IRIBARRY, 42, a former priest who was a
MAPU activist, died at the naval hospital in Valparaíso. It has been established
that a naval patrol arrested him September 16, 1973 at Cerro Los Placeres and
that while imprisoned he was tortured. A navy doctor tried to give him emergency
attention at the breakwater, an area under navy guard where the training ship
"Esmeralda" and the "Lebu" were docked. He was then taken to the navy hospital
where he died as a result of "cardio-respiratory arrest," due to his pitiable
physical state. These facts enable the Commission to come to the conviction that
Michael Woodward died at the hands of government agents who tortured him while
he was being held prisoner.
On October 10, 1973, Héctor ARELLANO PINOCHET, 19, was killed by a navy patrol.
He was accused of violating curfew and of attempting to attack uniformed
personnel while under the influence of drugs. The autopsy revealed that he had
not imbibed alcohol. Without any evidence that would permit it to know the exact
circumstances under which he died, and keeping in mind the general features of
the period as already noted, this Commission has come to the conviction that
Héctor Arellano died as a result of the overall situation of political violence.
On December 11, 1973, Félix FIGUERAS UBACH, 30, was arrested by troops from
Armored Cavalry Regiment No. 4 (Viña del Mar Corsairs). He was taken to the
regiment grounds and then to the Naval War Academy. He died December 15, at the
naval hospital, due to mistreatment by his captors. This Commission holds the
conviction that Félix Figueras died at the hands of government agents who
tortured him and violated his right to life.
SOURCE: United States Institute of Peace
http://www.usip.org/library/tc/doc/reports/chile/chile_1993_pt3_ch1_a2_f.html
--
|
