Chile's judges apologise for their actions after coup

[Eugene]

Source: BBC

4 September 2013 Last updated at 23:51 GMT

Chile's judges apologise for their actions after coup

The body representing judges in Chile has made an unprecedented apology for the actions of its members under military rule in the 1970s and 1980s.

It a statement, it said that the judiciary at the time had abandoned its role as protector of basic rights.

"The time has come to ask for the forgiveness of victims... and of Chilean society," said the judges.

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The statement by the National Association of Magistrates of the Judiciary comes a week before the 40th anniversary of the coup that brought General Pinochet to power.

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Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-23967816

[DreamGypsy]

1. Take hold of your brothers hand, you know the future begins today

Victor Jara did not "abandon his role as a protector of basic rights".

Victor Jara of Chile
Lived like a shooting star
He fought for the people of Chile
With his songs and his guitar
His hands were gentle, his hands were strong

Victor Jara was a peasant
He worked from a few years old
He sat upon his father's plow
And watched the earth unfold
His hands were gentle, his hands were strong

Now when the neighbors had a wedding
Or one of their children died
His mother sang all night for them
With Victor by her side
His hands were gentle, his hands were strong

He grew up to be a fighter
Against the people's wrongs
He listened to their grief and joy
And turned them into songs
His hands were gentle, his hands were strong

He sang about the copper miners
And those who worked the land
He sang about the factory workers
And they knew he was their man
His hands were gentle, his hands were strong

He campaigned for Allende
Working night and day
He sang "Take hold of your brothers hand
You know the future begins today"
His hands were gentle, his hands were strong

Then the generals seized Chile
They arrested Victor then
They caged him in a stadium
With five-thousand frightened men
His hands were gentle, his hands were strong

Victor stood in the stadium
His voice was brave and strong
And he sang for his fellow prisoners
Till the guards cut short his song
His hands were gentle, his hands were strong

They broke the bones in both his hands
They beat his lovely head
They tore him with electric shocks
And after two long days of torture, they shot him dead
His hands were gentle, his hands were strong

Now the generals they rule Chile
And the British have their thanks
For they rule with Hawker Hunters
And they rule with Chieftain tanks
His hands were gentle, his hands were strong.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Thanks for including the lyrics to the song.

So well done, aren't they?

He was a strong, good person, and he held together very well even under the inexcusable treatment at the hands of the right-wingers torturing him during his imprisonment. Such ugly people.

They watched him conduct himself like a completed human being, a real gentleman, and people there with him helped smuggle the lyrics he wrote out to his wife.

She has lived what followed in her life as someone so proud of who he was, a true activist to help fill the void left after the fascists stole his life from him, and stole him from life.

Thank you, so much.

[Judi Lynn]

3. 40 years later, THIS MONTH, they lowered themselves to apologize.

Of course it probably took that long before the Nazis who turned their back upon their countrymen/women finally retired, or this could not have happened!

It is important they decided to take this formal step and condemn what the US-supported, directed, advised, aided, sponsored monsters did to their own fellow Chileans.

We should hope they would chose AGAINST similar perversity in the Chile to come.

[Judi Lynn]

4. This anniversary will be spotlighted in the U.K.:

Chile’s own 9/11 is remembered as Pinochet’s prisoner returns to Crosby
Sep 5 2013
by Jamie Bowman, Crosby Herald

THE forgotten history of Chile’s brutal military past will be revealed at an event held in Crosby next week. Sefton UNISON will host a cultural evening at the Plaza Cinema to commemorate the 40th anniversary the Chilean coup which took place on September 11, 1973.

The evening will feature special guest Javier Navarro who will fly in from Chile to provide a personal testimony of his experiences under the regime of General Pinochet.
Javier, who was imprisoned and tortured by Pinochet for his socialist beliefs and connections with the previous government of President Allende, moved to the Crosby area following the coup before finally returning to his home country last year.

Javier’s daughter Andrea Woods, who grew up in Crosby, said: “Dad has never gone around showing off about what he did but what he did do was raise our family with socialist beliefs.
“To think what he did in Chile and how many people he helped always astonishes me because to me he is just my dad. He proves that you don’t have to be someone important to make a difference.”

The evening will also include archive film from 1970-1973, showing how Salvador Allende’s government introduced extensive social reform and political change, as well as a tremendous cultural impact.

More:
http://icseftonandwestlancs.icnetwork.co.uk/iccrosby/news/tm_headline=chile-8217-s-own-9-11-is-remembered-as-pinochet-8217-s-prisoner-returns-to-crosby%26method=full%26objectid=33809773%26siteid=60252-name_page.html

[bemildred]

5. A very good thing the historical record must be corrected. nt