Amnistia
Amnistia Internacional
At the offices of Amnesty International (Amnistia) at Huelen 164, I had the opportunity to speak with the director about my project. Sergio L. is a roundish balding man of about 60. His tired and rugged appearance speak to the arduous and determined experience amnistia has had over the past 30 years fighting for derechos humanos in Chile.
We discuss the role of human rights organizations in the fight for justice in Chile. As I present the basics of my project by framing the success of human rights over the past 15 years, he is quick to remind me that although 600 militares have been put through procesos only about 10 have actually been convicted. He goes on to question how far Judge Guzman actually could have gone with the prosecutions versus what he accomplished (Guzman retired in 2005.) We discuss how most recently Pinochet was stripped of immunity (in February/March) in the case of Operacion Colombo in which 119 individuals were killed in Argentina (in what was reported to be a fire fight, but later discovered to be a massacre.)
He gives me a list of local organizations to call as well as names of individuals who work in human rights in Santiago. After I asked about what kind of demonstrations or campaigning Amnesty does in Santiago he told me about "Free Desmeralda," a campaign to release documents about disappearances and torture that occured on the navy ship Desmeralda. Sergio points out that campaign messages become far more salient when national symbols on invoked.
I will be using the website amnistia.cl for its library of the history of derechos humanos in Chile and for a history of their written reports to the UN Commission on Human Rights. Additionally, I will be using fasic.org, a christian churches foundation for further human rights information. Finally, the vinculos section of the amnistia website will lead to other human rights pages in Chile.
Tucked away on Av. Huelen on the 2da piso with no signs or indications that it even exists, the office of Amnesty International is particularly underwhelming for a city and a country where it experienced its vanguard success in bringing human rights to the forefront of the international agenda. With Pinochet under house arrest and various military officials under threat of indictment, what and who are they hiding from?
However, I am reminded by Sergio and by the receptionist that Amnesty offices have been brutalized by bombs and terrorism from the side it fights against. After all, when you are working to subvert terror and abuse, you can only expect to fall somewhat victim in the process.
Besides, how would a central and aggressively present Amnesty office further their cause? It seems that that Amnesty better sirves as an elusive intellectual force, finding their power in a network of ideas that spreads throughout Chile and the world, rather than an obtensibly limited geographical footprint which can be targeted and eliminated. What is not physically present cannot disappear easily.
At the offices of Amnesty International (Amnistia) at Huelen 164, I had the opportunity to speak with the director about my project. Sergio L. is a roundish balding man of about 60. His tired and rugged appearance speak to the arduous and determined experience amnistia has had over the past 30 years fighting for derechos humanos in Chile.
We discuss the role of human rights organizations in the fight for justice in Chile. As I present the basics of my project by framing the success of human rights over the past 15 years, he is quick to remind me that although 600 militares have been put through procesos only about 10 have actually been convicted. He goes on to question how far Judge Guzman actually could have gone with the prosecutions versus what he accomplished (Guzman retired in 2005.) We discuss how most recently Pinochet was stripped of immunity (in February/March) in the case of Operacion Colombo in which 119 individuals were killed in Argentina (in what was reported to be a fire fight, but later discovered to be a massacre.)
He gives me a list of local organizations to call as well as names of individuals who work in human rights in Santiago. After I asked about what kind of demonstrations or campaigning Amnesty does in Santiago he told me about "Free Desmeralda," a campaign to release documents about disappearances and torture that occured on the navy ship Desmeralda. Sergio points out that campaign messages become far more salient when national symbols on invoked.
I will be using the website amnistia.cl for its library of the history of derechos humanos in Chile and for a history of their written reports to the UN Commission on Human Rights. Additionally, I will be using fasic.org, a christian churches foundation for further human rights information. Finally, the vinculos section of the amnistia website will lead to other human rights pages in Chile.
Tucked away on Av. Huelen on the 2da piso with no signs or indications that it even exists, the office of Amnesty International is particularly underwhelming for a city and a country where it experienced its vanguard success in bringing human rights to the forefront of the international agenda. With Pinochet under house arrest and various military officials under threat of indictment, what and who are they hiding from?
However, I am reminded by Sergio and by the receptionist that Amnesty offices have been brutalized by bombs and terrorism from the side it fights against. After all, when you are working to subvert terror and abuse, you can only expect to fall somewhat victim in the process.
Besides, how would a central and aggressively present Amnesty office further their cause? It seems that that Amnesty better sirves as an elusive intellectual force, finding their power in a network of ideas that spreads throughout Chile and the world, rather than an obtensibly limited geographical footprint which can be targeted and eliminated. What is not physically present cannot disappear easily.
posted by Lauren at 11:08 PM
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