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At the time when the rifle arrived with the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet to speak to the people of Chile, Víctor Jara brandished his guitar to speak instead of social justice, equality and of human rights. On September 16, 1973, high-ranking military officers entered Jara – who was already known for songs as I remember Amanda and Ni chicha nor limoná – at the Chile stadium, they broke their hands and they fired 44 shots that, although having ended their lives, did not extinguish the light that had already ignited in the city and spread to all corners of the city. Latin America: the song of protest.
Impunity before this case seemed to have won, after Jara's family, for 45 years, did not get any answers from the authorities. It was only last Thursday that Minister Miguel Vázquez Plaza, a member of Chile's Appellate Court, sentenced nine of the people implicated, including eight soldiers, for the murder of Jara and Littré Quiroga. Carvajal, his martyred colleague and then director general of the prisons – now Gendarmerie Service –
Nelson Caucoto, lawyer who takes the process of the Jara family, spoke with EL TIEMPO about the sentence and what he has was to present this case which had as main accomplice obstacle in the military forces of Chile
Who murdered Jara?
I have always had the idea that Victor 's death corresponds to a demand for higher levels. This would explain why there was no collaboration on the part of the military to provide information that could resolve this process before.
In addition, the Military Junta was clear about the creation of a prison camp that ended up being the stage of Chile. perhaps he was the first to exist. This means that there was a centralized control of the people who were taken as prisoners. That's why I say that Victor was sentenced to die the minute he entered the stadium, because someone had to think that it could be a danger to the Military Junta. To make Víctor Jara songs in times of resistance would certainly involve a hard blow for the dictatorship and should therefore make it disappear.
We asked all the Chilean armed institutions to obtain information about who was in Chile and no one ever delivered anything. We had to get it through public calls, knowing that there were five thousand witnesses detained all over Chile, to start restoring what had happened inside the stadium. The help of some young people from Concristo was also obtained, who gave valuable information
Why did the sentence wait so long?
The dictatorship lasted 17 years. Then everything became difficult because, during the transition process, it appeared that there were some pacts between the military – those who had been promised impunity – and the new governors. A lot of time has been allowed.
In addition, at that time of the 70s, 80s and 90s, even until 2000, there was still no full recognition of international law in Chile, which is why today This type of crime is imprescriptible in the country, but it was not until 15 years ago. Thus, several cases have been closed without paying attention to these rights.
Is 18 years in jail enough for the military?
Yes. What is happening is that in Chile, the penalties are not so high in terms of human rights. Moreover, the judges, thinking that they spent so much time, were more lenient when they dictated the sentence. But we can not forget that it is a high penalty compared to so many other lawsuits. In addition, we have two victims here and both have been martyred in the same way. The big difference is that Victor was shot with 44 balls and Quiroga Littré with 23. But in the end they were in the same hell and the sentence, to the extent that it is confirmed, is perhaps a proclamation that eventually they can rest in peace.
To arrive at this result, there was a 400-page sentence in which the judge badyzed the antecedents one by one and came to the conclusion that these subjects, who are all officers of the army Chilean, the officials. Each performed different tasks: some questioned Victor and Littré, others tortured them, others kept them and others shot them. It is that the bullets received by the two victims only correspond to the weapons worn by the officers.
How was the conviction of the lawyer Rolando Melo?
Rolando Melo served as a military prosecutor at the time, went to the stadium in Chile, interviewed people there, and it is badumed that all these statements were recorded in a file. He is the one to whom the autopsy reports were sent. But when the judge went to investigate, he found no record, nor the proceedings ordered by Mr. Melo, nor the statements he made at the stadium. All this led Minister Vázquez to subject him to the process of concealment. That's why the punishment for him is five years in prison.
How did the Jara family receive the news?
Victor's family is aware of the difficulty of arriving at this result and it is a good failure. For all, without a doubt, Victor is a light in the Chilean cultural firmament and a milestone that has allowed his figure to grow among the young actors. Victor is as popular today as it was at the time of People's Unity (party of the overthrown socialist president Salvador Allende). Fortunately, Víctor is inspirational and has not died, but has multiplied among the new generations.
MARÍA DEL MAR QUINTANA
International Editorial Committee
On Twitter: @ MariaQC8
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