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Leonardo Ogaz (1950, Antofagasta) was 23 years old when he was arrested with popular politician and vocalist Víctor Jara by the army serving the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, Chile. It was September 12, 1973. He was beaten and he saw how his friends and colleagues on the left were tortured and locked up. "They wanted to kill us," he recalls. Regarding the conviction of nine soldiers for the murder of Víctor Jara, this Chilean -removed in Quito recounts his experience and reflects on the impunity and the hundreds of murdered and missing.
What is achieved with the conviction of 9 soldiers?
The guilty, who are already elderly, are paid for their crime. Justice has taken 45 years, but it has arrived.
They say that a justice that takes so much time is not justice.
But it is better that there is nothing. They have been delayed, but at least the facts of a loose crime have been established. I witness barbarism, inquina, hatred, arrogance, provocation of the army. I was there with Víctor Jara when they took him …
When did this happen?
We were arrested on September 12 (1973) at the State Technical University, where Víctor Jara worked and I studied. There was a military offensive, a clean cannon shot. They took us to the School of Arts and Crafts and then to the Stadium of Chile, which today bears the name of Víctor Jara.
What happened there?
They locked us up and kept us for three days without food and constant provocation. Then they had us at the National Stadium for about a month. But they had to leave him because there was a World Cup playoff match of 74. Chile played with the Soviet Union. But the Soviets refused to leave
In the stadium was the contact with Víctor Jara?
No, I knew him from the university. There was a university extension department that went to the neighborhoods … There was really a serious commitment in the popular sectors. Today it is called the University of Santiago and it is the state.
What did Víctor Jara look like?
He was a sensitive and open person. I was 23 years old and I calculate it from about 35 to 40 years old
Did they gather in captivity?
Suddenly, for some reason, I met him at the edge of the basketball court. We were Víctor Jara, the university lawyer and me. They spoke and I was struck by the fact that this lawyer, who called Boris Navia, suddenly started to take off his shoe. Then he opened the lid and at that moment I realized that Víctor Jara was handing him a piece of paper with the last song (We are five thousand). There, the atrocity we were living was described. I have the impression that they wanted to kill us all, but our parents went to complain, ask, see. That stopped them.
Many cases are still a mystery. Do you believe that something will be known about them over time?
We ask justice for the horror of the crime to be established. To be tried and sentenced even if it is too late. It is a moral capital for the generation that fought for the country. A debt is settled. And families would be compensated by the state. The girls of Víctor Jara will somehow be repaired in their pain. These things are important to happen. The military today will keep in mind that if they commit crimes again, they will have the justice to condemn them.
When will this chapter be so painful for the history of Chile and the region that has so closely lived it? 19659003] It is difficult to close soon. There are still thousands of people who do not appear and the military, in a pact of silence, do not say where they are.
What we must do is reach the truth, justice and fair reparation. There are three columns that must be complete to overcome this problem. As long as they are obtained, the wound will remain open. (I)
I witness barbarism, inquina, hatred, arrogance, provocation of the army. I was there with Víctor Jara when they took him … "
Leonardo Ogaz,
Based in Chile in Ecuador
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