In Chile, those who deny crimes against humanity will be punished | It was approved by the Constitutional Convention with opposition from the right

The ethics commission of the Constitutional Convention of Chile established that Sanctions will be imposed on conventions that deny the existence of human rights violations by the state in times when there is evidence that crimes against humanity have been committed.

The coordinator of the Commission, the conventional Marcos Barraza, explained that the concept includes the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990), the fierce repression of the Chilean security forces during the social epidemic of 2019 and all acts committed against indigenous peoples. The constituent right has sternly opposed the measure and has criticized what it calls an “attack on freedom of expression”.

The definition adopted by the Commission maintains that “Holocaust denial means any action or omission which justifies, denies or minimizes, excuses or glorifies the crimes against humanity committed in Chile between September 11, 1973 and March 10, 1990”. In addition, it takes into account “the human rights violations that occurred in the context of the social outbreak of October 2019 and after it”.

The measure includes a dimension referring to indigenous claims, indicating that actions that justify, deny or minimize “the atrocities and cultural genocide” of which indigenous peoples and tribal populations of African descent have been victims throughout history, during European colonization and from the State of Chile ”.

The regulation has sparked controversy among the sectors that represent the law in the founding Convention. “Some in their totalitarian rush to rebuild, act as if they have already drafted and approved a new Constitution. The opinion of a committee is not above constitutional guarantees“, wrote Marcela cubillos, constituent of Vamos por Chile, on his Twitter account.

Another conventional member of the Independent Democratic Union of Pinochet (UDI), Katerine Montalègre, said during the session in which the measure was approved which drew his attention that negationism sea “So limited, with an extremely tight period and date in both definitions”, demanding that they be considered as “violations of human rights before September 11, 1973”. The conventional freelance Damaris Abarca It didn’t take long for him to respond: “I was unbalanced that you put human rights at this level of relativization”.

Abarca added that it is important to stop the “denial that seeks to tie things together by saying that Salvador Allende’s government has violated human rights” and called “for us to take things responsibly, because here are families who still do not know where they are and wonder“.

They have not yet revealed what the specific penalties will be. for voters who deny the existence of human rights violations in Chile during the dictatorship and social breakdown. According to figures taken from the Rettig report, the Valech Commission and the report of the National Society for Reparation and Reconciliation, Chile counts 2,125 dead and 1,102 missing by the military government installed 17 years ago by Pinochet.