Bachelet Reopens Chile’s Torture File

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Santiago Times

Bachelet Reopens Chile’s Torture File
Written by Eva Salinas
Wednesday, 06 January 2010 04:41
An additional 4,000 cases could be accepted and awarded compensation

The Chilean government is reopening its report on torture, which resulted in the registration and compensation of more than 28,000 cases from the Pinochet era, five years after its original assessment.

The government announced last week that, starting immediately following the run-off presidential election on Jan. 17, the National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture, also known as the Valech Commission, will begin collecting new cases for a six-month period.

More than 28,000 cases of political detention and torture were accepted during the commission’s original investigation in 2004 and 2005. Then-president Ricardo Lagos had ordered the eight-member commission, lead by Catholic Church leader Mons. Sergio Valech, to address the need for reparation. More than 35,000 people gave their written testimony of alleged torture during General Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship — between Sept. 11, 1973 and March 10, 1990.

As a result, 28,459 cases were registered, with each victim receiving an average of $121,000 (US$239) in monthly pension.

Since the commission’s initial report, groups including Amnesty International Chile (Amnistia Chile) argued there was more work to be done and now applaud the reinstatement of the commission.

More:
http://www.santiagotimes.cl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17962%3Abachelet-reopens-chiles-torture-file&catid=43%3Ahuman-rights&Itemid=39


Read more: http://www.santiagotimes.cl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17962%3Abachelet-reopens-chiles-torture-file&catid=43%3Ahuman-rights&Itemid=39

[Judi Lynn]

1. Bachelet Reopens Chile’s Torture File

Source: Santiago Times

Bachelet Reopens Chile’s Torture File
Written by Eva Salinas
Wednesday, 06 January 2010 04:41
An additional 4,000 cases could be accepted and awarded compensation

The Chilean government is reopening its report on torture, which resulted in the registration and compensation of more than 28,000 cases from the Pinochet era, five years after its original assessment.

The government announced last week that, starting immediately following the run-off presidential election on Jan. 17, the National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture, also known as the Valech Commission, will begin collecting new cases for a six-month period.

More than 28,000 cases of political detention and torture were accepted during the commission’s original investigation in 2004 and 2005. Then-president Ricardo Lagos had ordered the eight-member commission, lead by Catholic Church leader Mons. Sergio Valech, to address the need for reparation. More than 35,000 people gave their written testimony of alleged torture during General Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship — between Sept. 11, 1973 and March 10, 1990.

As a result, 28,459 cases were registered, with each victim receiving an average of $121,000 (US$239) in monthly pension.

Since the commission’s initial report, groups including Amnesty International Chile (Amnistia Chile) argued there was more work to be done and now applaud the reinstatement of the commission.


Read more: http://www.santiagotimes.cl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17962%3Abachelet-reopens-chiles-torture-file&catid=43%3Ahuman-rights&Itemid=39

[Jackpine Radical]

2. Someday, someone will open ours.

[Rebubula]

6. And when they do....

...it will not even begin to compare to the horrors that the Chilean people endured.

Not everything is about the sins of the US.

[David__77]

3. Hopefully the Pinchetist candidate for president loses.

I believe the timing is good. The crimes of the fascist government must be exposed fully.

[struggle4progress]

5. The grandson Rodrigo Garcia Pinochet got less than 10% of the votes in his Congressional run,

last December, so it seems the name "Pinochet" doesn't work miracles in Chile today

Pinochet’s Grandson Loses Bid for Chilean Congress
... Garcia Pinochet, who ran as an independent candidate, won only 9.81 percent of the vote in the first legislative elections to be held after the death of his grandfather in Dec. 2006 ... http://www.laht.com/article.asp?CategoryId=14094&ArticleId=348944

[struggle4progress]

4. The time frame is informative, but somewhat depressing. Pinochet seized power

over 35 years ago. He relinquished power about twenty years ago. Five years ago, the Valech Commission investigated for about six months and sealed its testimony for the next fifty years. This means that the testimony underlying the Valech Report will not become public until about eighty years after the coup: thus, when the testimony finally becomes available, essentially no one will remain who remembers the era