Abstract

“Time, after all, is not always a good healer especially when perpetratos and victims
continue to live side by side, and the former shows no remorse while the latter feels
ignored¨1

In Chile the unaccountable amnesty law “Decreto Ley 2191” of 1978 left behind
systematic disappearance, killings and other crimes against humanity unsolved and
impuned. Nevertheless there has been strong affords coming from the international
community as well as from the people directly affected and their families to visibilize the
atrocities committed. Many of the victims and advocates demanded a complete
accountancy of what took place under Pinochet’s dictatorial regime, the recognition of the
systematic violation of human rights and the corresponding punishment of the perpetrators
of abuses. The chilenean pursue of accountability, recognition and justice portraits the
need of victims redress and recognition of their dignity in other to build up thrust and
legitimize the Chilean developing democracy.
From a reflection on the policies of symbolic reparations in the context of Chilenian
transitional justice, this paper questions on How have the Chilenian Memory museums
assisted to the processes of reparation of the families affected by forced disappearance
and aided in the development of national integration in the aftermath of Pinochet’s regime?
The research for the production of this document has been based on a variety of sources. Some
of them correspond to material provided by academic journals and the data base form the
Museo de los Derechos Humanos y la Memoria en Chile. The information presented in this text
is backed by NGO reports, academic papers and governmental documents. News releases,
amongst other media sources were used to cover the background of the Chilean regime history.

Para ser un abstract, me parece algo largo…

1
Review: The Human Rights Violations of the Pinochet Regime and Their Legacy, pag 108 Marcus Klein
journal article No. 74 (April 2003), pp. 107-114 (8 pages)
Published by: Centrum voor Studie en Documentatie van Latijns Amerika (CEDLA)
Chapter one: Introduction

Over the last decades, many Latin American countries have experienced strong political
changes. Oppressive regimes and civil wars have come to an end, However many wounds
from the past remain opened. The transition from war to peace is impregnated with
practical, moral and political dilemmas. Several questions have been raised about how to
develop the national healing process as well as how to achieve a sustainable reconciliation
looking forward to a better future. A special issue of the Index on Censorship (Volume 5,
1996) pointed out some of this questions such as: How can nations divided by civil war
atrocities and traumatic events heal themselves and reconstruct their social tissue? Is it
possible for individuals who suffered the war to reconcile their differences and to heal their
wounds by working on traumatic events, telling their truth and hearing the “truth" of other
actors? then which truth is the real “truth” ? Is it mandatory to guarantee recognition of a
traumatic past and of the victims involved in order to ensure, in the words of Mandela, a
“never again”?2

The necessity of recognition has several implications to all the actors involved in the
transitional justice process, specially to the victims. But who to define the “victims”? What
about the families of the victims of forced disappearance? Should they also be considered
victims? In this regard forced disappearance is specially a complex situation and have to
be differentiated from other forms of violence, due to its magnitude and long term
implications for the families of the victims and the society in general. (tu crees que debo
desarroyar mas esto en la intro ? ) No, me parece que está bien. Ojo, un artículo debe ser
concise, así que Evita perderte en divagaciones…

According to In international human rights law, a forced disappearance (or enforced

disappearance) occurs when a person is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political
organization or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence

2 Cooper, H. and Nichol, J. (n.d.)

of a state or political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the person's fate and
whereabouts, with the intent of placing the victim outside the protection of the law.3
The forced disappearance of people is a form of violence that occurred systematically in Latin
America during the sixties and until the beginning of the nineties. It was used strategically as a
form of repression for hiding state crimes. It generated a rupture between the truth, the exercise
of justice, public opinion and memory. No vendría mal explicar cómo… According to Marianela
Scocco, enforced disappearance had three objectives: firstly, It seek to spread fear in society and
generate confusion and uncertainty in political-militant organizations, public opinion and
international vigilance. Second, It try to avoid denunciation and make collective actions
impossible; In addition, it aimed to guarantee impunity. 4 ¿Y? Has citado, usa más la cita, que por
demás, no parece estar muy conectada con lo que has dicho…
It is believed that Latin American victims of enforced disappearance (1970-1990) were about
90,000 people5. In Chile, the arrest, kidnapping and disappearance of opponents of the
dictatorial regime began with the coup d'état 1973 leaving a lot of pain behind. In February
1991, the truth and reconciliation commission presented a report detailing human rights abuses:
deaths and enforced disappearances during the Chilean military dictatorship. It is estimated that
2296 people were killed and 3400 were disappeared. 6 Beyond the number of victims, the forced
disappearance is shocking because of the cruelty of the facts and especially for its effects that
still persist within the Chilean society and the families that were directly affected, this implies
that much had to be done.

On the one hand, Chile has made great strides in recognizing victims in the international legal
framework. It is worth noting the signing and ratification of the state in important international
instruments for the defense of human rights such as the ICCPR, CESCR, CADH, the Inter-

3Jean Marie Henckaerts and Louise Doswald-Beck, Customary International Humanitarian Law (1st edn, Cambridge
press 2005).

4
marianela socco, 'Las Estrategias Represivas En Las Dictaduras Militares De Los Años Setenta En El Cono Sur.' (2018) 28 Historia
Regional <http://historiaregional.org/ojs/index.php/historiaregional/article/viewFile/82/85> accessed 16 September 2018.
5
Ximena Ligia Faúndez Abarca and others, 'La Desaparición Forzada De Personas A Cuarenta Años Del Golpe De Estado En Chile:
Un Acercamiento A La Dimensión Familiar' (2018) 27 Revista Colombiana de Psicología.
6
ICPM, 'ICMP Chile Desaparecidos' (Icmp.int, 2018) <https://www.icmp.int/es/the-missing/where-are-the-missing/chile/> accessed 17
September 2018.
American Convention on the Disappearance of Persons and the United Nations Convention
Against Torture. In addition, Chile established in 2006 the Presidential Advisory Commission
for Human Rights to improve the pace and efficiency of work in the resolution of cases of
disappeared persons during the period 1973-1990; and in 2009 joined the Rome Statute, Chile
also signed the statute and the functions of the international commission on the disappearance
of people in 2015. 7

The efforts of the Chilean state to achieve democracy and legitimacy is one example of the Latin
American’s struggle for justice. Chilean case was emblematic as it brought to the public eye the
problematic of forced disappearance. Tackling the consequences that this crimes left in society,
has been an slow, painful process, specially for the families of the victims. Firstly the state
failed to aknowledge many of the victims due to “lack odf evidence. Secondly it did not
provide enough assistance to the relatives of the disappeared. According to the
psychologist Diaz, in Chile “For a long time, the environment did not react properly to the
subject and there was a failure in the validation of the relatives of the disappeared and
their painful experience” (Dias 2015) ¿En qué Sistema vas a citar? ¿APA? ¿Pie de
página? No puedes mezclar ambos. . In the Pinochet mandates, the families of the victims
Human right to security was violated (article 3), also their right to recognition (article 6),
their right of effective remedy (article 8) and the right to family (article 16). As well as
several economic and political rights and the right to truth. ¿Esos artículos de dónde se
toman? ¿El derecho a la verdad… en qué consiste? Desarrollar al menos un concepto
primario…

After Pinochet’s regime, the mobilization of the families of the victims of enforced
disappearance, claiming for their dignity; demonstrated the need of the Chilean society for
the recognition of the atrocities of the dictatorship and the need to bring to light the truth so
that the country could recover and look forward for a better future . One of the weapons
used by the Chilean society against impunity were artistic manifestations “art has always
been an effective tool to express what does not fit, that breaks the scheme, in this case,
that of national silence and indifference ¿de quién es la cita?”. Through the history we
have seen how civilizations used art as a way of manifestation against injustice, a

7
ICPM, 'ICMP Chile Desaparecidos' (Icmp.int, 2018) <https://www.icmp.int/es/the-missing/where-are-the-missing/chile/> accessed 17
September 2018.
mechanism to critic and create awareness about the missuses of power and to express
opinions that are banned or silenced. Aquí hay ideas revueltas. Una, del apoderamiento
del arte como forma política de reivindicación, mas no se aclara por qué se emplea en el
caso chileno; Segundo, la relevancia política del arte. Citas casos históricos. ¿Cuáles, por
ejemplo? ¿Y por qué el arte y no otra forma?

It is not Surprising to listen about women and men, who influenced by humanistic ideals,
used culture and artistic manifestations as a universal language, to denounce social,
political, environmental problems, and the Chilean case was not the exception. In Chile,
Culture played an important role in sensitizing the national and international community to
the effects of the dictatorship. ¿Cómo? ¿Cuáles? Soporte teórico
In aftermath of a regime characterized by human rights violations, were the victims
themselves claimed for their right to truth and recognition by using different means like
arts: memorials, songs, documentaries, books and other materials, the state itself should
take action, giving support this kind of manifestations and gathering them together in
spaces of memory and reflection. Esto no es un argumento. Fíjate bien que si lo omites,
no altera nada. Tampoco se entiende bien la idea que quieres desarrollar aquí.

It wasn’t until 2005, when under the name of symbolic redress, the truth commissions
expressed the necessity of the Chilean State to take measures aiming to vindicate the
dignity and memory of the victims, and to implement initiatives that incorporate knowledge,
reflection and learning about what has been lived, promote a culture that respects human
rights. 8 This measures includes memory museums and initiatives for the reconstruction of
the social tissue and education. No creo que el problema quede bien expuesto. Para eso
es la introducción, para describer el problema, su genesis, y demás. Haz un esquema que
te ayude. Por ejemplo, haz esto, responde estas preguntas: 1) ¿Cuál es el problema
central que quieres desarrollar en el texto? Recuerda que lo major es expresarlo a manera
de pregunta. Si son los museos y su relevancia en la memoria histórica, entonces la
pregunta sería: ¿Cuál es el impacto de los museos en la memoria histórica de un país,
cuyo caso concreto es Chile y la memoria sobre la dictadura? O si quieres explorer el
surgimiento de los museos, entonces: ¿Cómo surgieron los museos luego de la dictadura
de Pinochet? Querida Naty, tener claridad en la pregunta es fundamental. Aclara tu mente
y sé sincera con lo que quieres trabajar. 2) Escribe la primera idea que quieras desarrollar

8
'World Report 2018: Rights Trends In Chile' (Human Rights Watch, 2018) <https://www.hrw.org/world-
report/2018/country-chapters/chile> accessed 13 June 2018.
y con ella cinco ideas secundarias. Ejemplo: Primera idea: le definición de un museo de la
memoria. Ideas secundarias: formas de reaccionar ante la impnidad del gobierno y la
justiciar chilena, formas de conectar a la Sociedad chilena con su pasado para cumplir un
compromise moral y politico de no repetición. Etc. Luego una segunda idea principal, y lo
mismo. Y luego una tercera y lo mismo. Cada idea es un capítulo en tu artículo, y es major
prometer poco y que salga más, a prometer mucho y que lueo te quedes corta. Tu texto
quedará así en el esquema:
Introducción
Idea principal 1 (Capítulo 1)
Idea secundaria 1
Idea secundaria 2.
Idea secundaria 3

Idea principal 2 (Capítulo 2)

Idea secundaria 1
Idea secundaria 2
Ideasecundaria 3.

Idea principal 3 (Capítulo 3)

Idea secundaria 1
Idea secundaria 2
Idea secundaria 3

Conclusiones.

Bibliografía

Ojo, cada una de las ideas deben ser desarrolladas. Por tratarse de un texto
argumentative, debes ser cuidadosa con el manejo de argumentos. No uses párrafos
contextuales (quitan mucho espacio), salvo que sea necesario.

Chapter 2: Museums of memory and victims redress

Chapter 3: case study-

Chapter 4: conclusions

Bibliography
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