|
Items in cart [0] |
Questions? Call 888-624-8373 |
| Copyright © 2009. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Terms of Use and Privacy Statement |
Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page 1
Background
On November 6, 1984, the government of General
Augusto Pinochet declared a "state of siege" in
Chile. This action was taken, the government said,
because of an outbreak of political violence and to
counteract an increase in terrorism. There were
735 bombing attacks in 1984 according to the U.S.
Department of State.1
Chile has been under one or more "states of
exception" almost continuously since the military
coup in 1973 that brought Augusto Pinochet to the
presidency. The states include "state of danger of
disturbance to internal peace," "state of emer-
gency," and state of siege, which are provided for
under the Transitory Articles of the September 1980
Chilean constitution. A state of siege was put
into effect in September 1973 and remained in
effect until March 1978, when it was replaced by a
state of emergency. On March 11, 1981, a state of
danger to internal peace was put into effect con.
current with the state of emergency.
When a state of siege was declared in November
1984, a state of danger and a state of emergency
were already in force. Under Transitory Article
24, when the president declares a state of danger,
the minister of the interior is vested with the
authority to detain people incommunicado for up to
20 days without charges or to banish them to
internal exile ~ relegation ~ for up to 90 days,
subject to extension, without trial or judicial
1
OCR for page 2
2
appeal.
Lions, such as strict press censorship, suspension
of publication, and a curfew' the curfew was in
effect from midnight until MOO a.m. while the
delegation was in Santiago. A state of siege,
under Article 41, also allows the president to
banish people to internal exile until the state of
siege is lifted. (While the state of siege was
lifted on June 17, 1985, the other states of
emergency remained in effect.)
Following the November 1984 declaration of a
state of siege, reports of violations of human
rights in Chile began to increase significantly.
This led the Committee on Human Rights to consider
sending a delegation to Chile. Of particular con-
cern to the committee were reports that security
forces had detained several scientists, engineers,
and medical professionals, held them
cado detention, and subsequently banished them to
small villages in remote areas of the country. Uni-
versity teachers were also reportedly harassed or
dismissed from their jobs, presumably for political
reasons. These disturbing reports of new violations
The state of siege added more restric
· . ~
In ~ncommun~-
of human rights in Chile were added to the commit-
tee's long-standing concerns about colleagues re-
ported to have "disappeared" since 1973 and whose
cases had never been resolved. (Disappeared is a
term that has come to be used to describe people
who have vanished after being abducted by plain-
clothes or uniformed police or troops.) There was
also concern about colleagues who had been impris-
oned and about whom the committee had received no
further information, as well as allegations of tor-
ture by members of the Chilean security forces and
the possible involvement of medical professionals
in torture.
After February 2, 1985, when the state of siege
was extended for another 90 days due to "internal
con wlsion," strong support developed for a commit-
tee delegation within the Academy complex and from
a number of human rights organizations and profes-
sional scientific societies. With the approval of
Frank Press, president of the NAS, the delegation
OCR for page 3
3
of the Academy's Committee on Human Rights went to
Santiago on March 17 and was in Chile for almost
one week, until March 22.
The delegation to Chile had three major objec-
tives: (1) to meet with government and university
officials, members of the scientific and legal com-
munities, representatives of scientific, medical,
and human rights organizations, and victims of
human rights abuses to discuss the concerns of the
members of the Committee on Human Rights and the
U.S. scientific community regarding reports of
human rights abuses affecting scientists, engi-
neers, and medical professionals, (2) to gather
information on the status of colleagues reportedly
banished to internal exile or dismissed from their
jobs in recent months' and (3) to obtain informa-
tion on the whereabouts and legal status of scien-
tists and medical professionals who reportedly have
been imprisoned or disappeared since 1973.
Prior to the delegation's departure for Chile,
the committee staff arranged for meetings to be
held in Santiago with several human rights groups
and scientific organizations. In addition, the
delegates contacted several U.S.-based human rights
groups and professional societies to ensure that
the information on the cases about which the dele-
gation would be making inquiries was as up to date
and accurate as possible.
The presidents of both the American Physical
Society and the American Mathematical Society ex-
pressed support for the delegation and requested
that information be obtained on cases of particular
concern to their societies.
Committee chair Eliot Stellar wrote to Hernan
Felipe Errazuriz, the Chilean ambassador to Wash-
ington, about the committee's plans for the delega-
tion and requested that committee representatives
be given an opportunity to meet with him, before
the delegation's departure, to express the commit-
tee's concerns and to request appointments with
various government officials in Santiago. Ambas-
sador Errazuriz promptly agreed to meet with the
committee's representatives.
OCR for page 4
4
The meeting was held on March 15, 1985, at the
Embassy of Chile. It was attended by committee
member Christian Anfinsen, committee director Carol
Corillon, Ambassador Errazuriz, his minister coun-
selor, Octavio Errazuriz, and the ambassador's first
secretary, Alfonso Silva. The committee representa-
tives explained the purpose of the delegation's
visit to Chile and told Ambassador Errazuriz that,
although the visit would be private, a public report
would be issued following the delegation's return to
the United States. (The delegates felt strongly
that, given the private and information-gathering
nature of their trip and the existing political sit-
uation, they should maintain a low profile while in
Chile and decline any requests for interviews from
the press.) The committee representatives gave the
embassy officials a list of colleagues reported to
have been banished to internal exile without charges
or trial in recent months, or arrested or disap-
neared in vears nest (see Appendix A). Ambassador
Errazuriz was also given a list of Chilean govern-
ment and university officials with whom the members
of the delegation wanted to meet.
told the committee representatives that the
committee's lists would be sent to the Chilean
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and that the
ministry's assistance to the mission would be
requested.
Prior to the departure of the delegation, cour-
tesy visits were requested at the U.S. Department
of State with David Dlouhy, country officer for
Chile, and Elliott Abrams, assistant secretary of
state in the Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitar
fan Affairs. Baruch Blumberg and Carol Corillon
met with David Dlouhy and, since Elliott Abrams was
not available, they met with members of his staff--
James Thyden, director of the bureau's Office of
Human Rights, and Marianne Gustafson, regional
officer for Latin America. The delegates expressed
the committee's concerns and described the objec-
tives of the mission. They asked David Dlouhy to
request that the American Embassy in Santiago assist
the delegates in making appointments with Chilean
-
The ambassador
-
OCR for page 5
5
government officials. Mr. Dlouhy said that he would
convey the delegates' request.
While in Chile, the delegation members met with,
among others:
Ricardo Garcia Rodriguez, the newly appointed
minister of the interior
Mario Calderone, special ambassador for human rights
to the United Nations Economic and Social Council
in Paris and the Human Rights Commission in
Geneva
Enrique Carvallo Diaz, director of the Diplomatic
Academy Andres Bello
Leonidas Irarrazaval Barros, member of the Council
of Advisers to the Foreign Minister
Rafael Retamal, the elected president of the Supreme
Court
Cardinal Raul Silva Henriquez
James D. Theberge, U.S. ambassador to Chile
Paul Depis, French ambassador to Chile
The rectors and staff of the Universidad de Chile
(University of Chile) and Universidad Catolica
de Chile (Catholic University of Chile)
Members of the Academia Chilena de Ciencias
(Chilean Academy of Sciences)
Members of the Academia Chilena de Medicina
(Chilean Academy of Medicine)
Members of the Colegio Medico de Chile (Medical
Association of Chile)
Members of the Comision Chilena de Derechos Humanos
(Chilean Human Rights Commission)
Members of the Vicars de la Solidaridad del
Arzobispado de Santiago (Vicariate of Solidarity
of the Archdiocese of Santiago)
Members of the Asociacion Universitaria y Cultural
Andres Bello (Andres Bello University and Cul-
tural Association)
Members of Corporacion de Investigaciones Econo-
micas pare Latinoamerica (CIEPLAN, Center for
Economic Research for Latin America)
Members of the Corporacion de Promocion
Universitaria (Center for the Advancement of
Universities)
OCR for page 6
6
Members of the Comision Nacional Contra la Tortura
(National Commission Against Torture)
Members of the Fundacion de Ayuda Social de las
Iglesias Cristianas (Christian Churches' Social
Assistance Foundation)
(For additional information about the human rights
and scientific groups and associations contacted in
Chile, see Appendices B and C, respectively.)
In addition to these meetings, Chilean scien-
tists in Santiago invited Professors Blumberg and
Debreu to give scientific lectures in their fields
of specialization. Professor Blumberg ]
ectured on
hepatitis B virus and the prevention of primary
cancer of the liver at the Hospital Cl~nico/Univer-
sidad de Chile, and Dr. Debreu lectured on economic
equilibrium and the function of prices at CIEPLAN.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
medical professionals
