{"id":14122,"date":"2026-03-31T04:38:01","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:38:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elpregonerodechile.com\/?p=14122"},"modified":"2026-03-31T04:38:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:38:01","slug":"the-state-cannot-politically-undermine-the-clarification-of-crimes-against-humanity-el-ciudadano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elpregonerodechile.com\/?p=14122","title":{"rendered":"\u00abThe State Cannot Politically Undermine the Clarification of Crimes Against Humanity\u00bb El Ciudadano"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Original article: Asociaci\u00f3n por la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos Colonia Dignidad: \u00abEl Estado no puede, por decisi\u00f3n pol\u00edtica, debilitar las condiciones para el esclarecimiento de cr\u00edmenes de lesa humanidad\u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n\n

In a public statement, the Colonia Dignidad Memory and Human Rights Association, alongside several other human rights organizations, expressed their \u00abdeep rejection and concern\u00bb regarding the decision made by the government led by Jos\u00e9 Antonio Kast to halt the expropriation process of the former memory site, Colonia Dignidad.<\/p>\n

According to these groups, the government\u2019s announcement \u00abis not an administrative adjustment or a technical reconsideration: it is a regressive political act that undermines fundamental obligations and commitments of the State of Chile concerning memory, truth, justice, reparation, and guarantees of non-repetition.\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00abColonia Dignidad was one of the main enclaves of repression, torture, and forced disappearance in Chile, a place where a criminal structure operated in coordination with state agencies. We are not talking about just any land: we are talking about a site with judicial, evidentiary, and historical value, where it is still possible to find evidence regarding the fate of disappeared detainees,\u00bb they articulated in the statement.<\/p>\n

In this regard, they reiterated that the decision from Kast\u2019s administration \u00abis not neutral. It is a clear signal that this government is willing to backtrack on human rights policies, even in cases where there is official recognition of crimes against humanity and ongoing judicial processes.\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00abUnacceptable Economic Argument\u00bb<\/span><\/h3>\n

The organizations deemed the economic argument used by the government as \u00abunacceptable.\u00bb <\/p>\n

\u00abThere is no transparent public basis to support the figures that have been suggested. Previous assessments\u2014including studies commissioned by Germany through GIZ, agreed upon by the Mixed Commission, and facts from the Chilean State itself\u2014have not been duly considered or verified. Invoking cost, without transparency or technical rigor, is nothing more than an excuse to mask a political decision that has already been made,\u00bb they pointed out.<\/p>\n

At this point, they warned that \u00abwhat is at stake here is much more than just an expropriation process. It is the credibility of the State in front of the victims, in front of society, and in front of the international community. It is the signal sent about whether commitments to human rights are genuinely state policies or merely declarations subject to the will of the current government.\u00bb<\/p>\n

Moreover, they emphasized that \u00abfor the victims and their families, this decision represents a form of abandonment. It tells them that even when the State officially recognizes the crimes committed, such recognition can be relativized, postponed, or stripped of content. It tells them that justice can wait.\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00abHowever,\u00bb the statement adds, \u00abthere are limits that cannot be crossed. The State cannot, through political decision, weaken the conditions for clarifying crimes against humanity. It cannot disregard the evidentiary value of a site where there are open judicial cases. It cannot backtrack on obligations that arise from international human rights law.\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00abThe victims and human rights organizations have been denouncing what occurred in Colonia Dignidad for over 50 years. Thanks to that struggle, there is now a judicial truth that is no longer open to discussion, and a social memory cannot be dismantled by decree, even if that is the intention from those in power,\u00bb they highlighted.<\/p>\n

Finally, the signatory human rights organizations reaffirmed their commitment to \u00abcontinue advancing the recovery of this space as a site of memory, promoting judicial investigations, and defending the indisputable right of victims and society to know the truth.\u00bb<\/p>\n

\u00abThis government may attempt to delay this process of recovering the former Colonia Dignidad, it may obstruct it, but it will not be able to stop it. The truth is not reversible. Justice is not negotiable. Memory is not optional, because in the face of impunity and denialism, there is no possible neutrality!\u00bb they concluded.<\/p>\n

The following human rights organizations signed the statement:<\/p>\n

Centro Cultural 119 Esperanzas
Colectivo 119 de Familiares y Compa\u00f1eros
Agrupaci\u00f3n de Familiares de Ejecutados Pol\u00edticos y Detenidos Desaparecidos de Talca
Agrupaci\u00f3n de Familias Campesinas V\u00edctimas de Colonia Dignidad
Centro de Formaci\u00f3n Memoria y Futuro
Asociaci\u00f3n por los Derechos Humanos Parral
Fundaci\u00f3n Ciudadana de Derechos Humanos
Agrupaci\u00f3n de ex Presos Pol\u00edticos de Talca
Asociaci\u00f3n por la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos Colonia Dignidad<\/p>\n

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El Ciudadano<\/p>\n<\/div>\n