krj@na.toronto.edu (Ken Jackson) (11/07/88)
Bulletin of the Chile Campaign for Human Rights
October -- November 1988
(Condensed e-mail version)
Directed by Professor Israel Halperin,
Mathematics Dept., University of Toronto,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 1A1.
Telephone: (416) 978-4156
1981-84: International Campaign Professor J.L. Massera (Uruguay)
1984-86: International Campaign Orlov and Shcharansky (USSR)
1986-86: International Campaign Orlov (USSR)
1986- : International Campaign All Victims Chile
The Chile Campaign is directed by Professor Israel Halperin (Ph.D.
Princeton, 1936) Fellow and Gold Medalist of the Royal Society of
Canada. It will escalate until world-wide opinion, without violence,
brings an end to all abductions, torture and murder by official and
unofficial agents of the Pinochet regime.
The campaign has the support of:
Claudio Arrau Margaret Atwood Samuel Beckett
Saul Bellow Leonard Bernstein Robertson Davies
Sir Colin Davis Charles Dutoit Odysseus Elytis
Maureen Forrester Northrop Frye William Golding
Arthur Miller Czeslaw Milosz Yves Montand
Sir Georg Solti Patrick White Elie Wiessel
Sir George Porter (President, The Royal Society)
Jo Benkow (Speaker of the Norwegian Parliament)
Dr. Paulo Renato Costa Jonga (Rector, Unicamp, Brazil)
Dr. Klaus Ring (Rector, Univ. J.W. Goethe, Frankfurt)
Ephriam Katzir (former president of Israel)
Lord Brian Flowers (Rector, University of London)
Dr. George Verhaegen (Rector, Free University of Brussels)
Dr. O. Bastiansen (President, Norwegian Academy of Science
& Letters)
Jack Lemmon (Star of the movie "Missing")
Lord Alexander Todd, Linus Pauling and 110 other Nobel Laureates
Academicians from several countries including many in the Royal Society
(U.K.), the Royal Society of Canada, the Australian Academy of Science,
The Royal Norwegian Society of Science and Letters, The Norwegian
Academy of Science and Letters.
Many present and former Rectors, Chancellors and Presidents of
Universities; Clergymen, Artists and Writers; and thousands of others
in all walks of life in many countries.
Supporting Organizations:
The New York Academy of Sciences
The Committee of Concerned Scientists
Math Section (Royal Society of Canada)
Comite' des Physiciens Francais
The Norwegian Physical Society
Comite' Yuri Orlov (Switzerland)
Actors Equity of New Zealand and Australia
Canadian Labour Congress
Ontario Federation of Labour
The Criminal Lawyers Association (Canada)
National Academies of Science of Bolivia and India
Canadian Committee of Scientists and Scholars
Comite' des Mathematiciens (France)
The German Physical Society
The Chemical Institute of Canada
Fellowship of Reconciliation
Alliance Canadian Cinema, T.V. and Radio Artists
United Steelworkers of America
The Jesuits of Canada
The Association of Canadian University Teachers of English
The Law Union of Ontario
National Math Societies of Calcutta, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Norway
and Portugal
Faculty Associations of Canadian Universities: Toronto, Brock,
Mt. Alison, Western Ontario, Moncton, Simon Fraser, British
Columbia, Windsor, McMaster, Laval, Guelph and Trent
P.E.N. International Playwrights, Essayists and Novelists (Canadian
Centre)
Social Responsibility and Justice Committee, United Church, Australia
Inter-Church Committee on Human Rights in Latin America (Canada)
Division of World Outreach (London Conf., United Church, Canada)
The Pavlovian Society of North America
The German Commission for Rights of Chilean Women
The Ontario Chapter of the Chilean College of Physicians
Brazilian Society for Mathematics, Applied and Computing (SBMAC)
Latin America Society of Biophysics
ACM Committee on Freedom of Science
Asocia'cion Universita'ria y Cultural Andres Bello (Chile)
Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture
Swedish Committee for Freedom of Science
The Committee of University Scientists of Germany (FRG)
Faculty of Science of the University of Witwatersrand (South Africa)
Federal Australian University Staff Associations
(A more complete list of supporters is given in the Bulletin.)
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Pinochet has announced measures which promise a decrease in abuse of human
rights, but abduction and torture continue. The promises are not actually
carried out.
Msgr. Cristian Precht, Vicar General of Santiago, August 1987:
"The time has come to stop arguing about whether or not there is
torture; we all know that there is torture."
In August 1987, the Chilean Bishops' conference denounced the
continued use of torture.
Typical cases reported to the Chilean Commission on Human Rights:
- Pedro Marin Hernandez, 31 year old doctor, beaten by Chilean Security
Forces (CNI), electric current applied to his genitals, then raped
by a male CNI agent.
- Leopoldo Francisco Orrego Saez, 28 years old, electric current
applied to temple, hands, ears, legs; warned he would pay dearly
if he reported the torture.
- Raquel Marcela Espinoza Orellana, 24 year old woman, raped.
- Claudio Patricio Pino Cortes, beaten, died from injuries.
The Chilean Commission on Human Rights, 1987:
The number of cases of kidnappings by paramilitary groups during the
the first six months of 1987 was more than double the number in
1986. By the end of September, 108 kidnappings had been reported.
Not one agent has been punished.
Amnesty International, May 1988:
Cases in Chile of nearly 700 "disappeared" persons have been
sufficiently documented to have been presented to the courts, but
judicial investigations were blocked by higher courts or by the
security forces.
The Canadian Inter-Church Committee on Human Rights, September 1988:
Abuses documented during the past 12 months include systematic
torture, imprisonment of journalists, attacks on church and human
rights organizations, abductions and death threats by paramilitary
groups clearly linked to the official security forces.
Actions of foreign governments:
Fifteen years ago, in a shockingly bloody coup, Pinochet's armed
forces murdered the legally elected president, abolished Parliament,
replaced mayors by Pinochet appointees, subjected each university to
the control of a military boss, and smashed the unions. Within two
weeks of this coup, thirty foreign countries gave Pinochet formal
recognition.
Today, an international storm of condemnation of Pinochet has led
many governments to express disapproval of abuse of human rights in
Chile. But their agencies continue to finance an enormous flow of
investment and military supplies to Chile without which Pinochet
could hardly continue -- and this support makes no reference to a
required elimination of torture.
Letter of 22 December 1987 from the Government of Canada:
... Canadian representatives in November 1987 voted for the Mexican
sponsored resolution in the United Nation's Third Committee
condemning the human rights situation in Chile.
But the Chilean Ambassador in Ottawa wrote on 12 September 1988:
The Canadian representatives when voting for the Mexican resolution
have consistently denounced the bias against Chile in this matter of
human rights.
Canadian member of Parliament, Dan Heap, stated at a public meeting in
Toronto on 11 September 1988:
When I visited Chile in 1985, the Canadian Ambassador said to me:
"Chile, under Pinochet, was right to reduce the buying power of the
people so as to compete better in the international market. Canada
has the same problem and must use the same remedy."
From a letter sent to 316 Mayors in Chile, 1 July 1988:
... Canadians are disturbed by the reports of abduction, torture,
and even murder of persons not in favour with the present government
... many Canadians believe that, behind closed walls, the grave
abuse of human life continues ... we urge you to use your influence
to bring about a state of affairs in which all persons in Chile
enjoy the protection of their civil rights.
Message to every member nation of the Human Rights Commission of the
United Nations signed by 110 Nobel Laureates:
The inhuman practice of abduction, torture and oppression in Chile
has been condemned by world-wide opinion. The Human Rights
Commission has rebuked the Government of Chile but has failed to
take effective measures to stop the practice. This failure
undermines the credibility of the Commission and weakens the United
Nations. The undersigned Nobel Laureates call on the Commission to
take action that will be effective in stopping torture and
oppression in Chile.
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Bulletins are distributed in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese
and German three times a year.
Famous or not, you can raise your voice. Send a letter to the President
or Prime Minister of your country urging that all financial and economic
aid given to Chile should be conditional on the elimination of torture.
Then send a copy of that letter the Ambassador, Embassy of Chile, in the
capital city of your country (a more precise address is not necessary).
You can also help by either making a modest financial contribution in
support of the Bulletin or by offering to distribute the Bulletin. The
work of this campaign is done entirely by volunteers -- there are no
salaried employees. Our expenses are high, but they are exclusively
printing, postage and telephone. We distribute a tremendous number of
copies of the Bulletin, especially in Chile.
If you wish to support the campaign, fill in the form below and mail
it to
Professor Israel Halperin,
Mathematics Dept.,
University of Toronto,
Toronto, Ontario,
Canada, M5S 1A1.
---------------------- C U T H E R E --------------------------------
PLEASE TYPE OR PRINT.
Name: ___________________________________________________________________
Address: ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Institution: ____________________________________________________________
Telephone: _____________________________________________________________
E-mail: ________________________________________________________________
___ I wish to be listed as a supported of Chile Campaign for Human Rights.
___ I wish to make a financial contribution of _________ to the support
of the Campaign. Please make cheques payable to C.H.R. (Campaigns
for Human Rights).
___ I will distribute copies of the Bulletin to my colleagues.
Please specify
How many: _______
To whom: ______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Can you make the needed copies yourself: ____ Yes ___ No
---------------------- C U T H E R E --------------------------------
--
Kenneth R. Jackson, krj@na.toronto.edu (on Internet, CSNet,
Computer Science Dept., ARPAnet, BITNET)
University of Toronto, krj@na.utoronto.ca (CDNnet and other
Toronto, Canada M5S 1A4 X.400 nets (Europe))
(416) 978-7075