The fifth chamber of the Santiago Court of Appeal has ordered the Chilean Navy to remove from its facilities the images of Admiral José Toribio Merino, who belongs to the military junta that Augusto Pinochet used to take control of Chile after the Salvador Allende coup d’état on September 11.1973 , 50 years ago. The judges have relied on the guarantee of non-recurrence, which leads to measures to prevent human rights violations, which contrasts with the preservation of “photographs and portraits of people who were part of a de facto government during which they committed crimes against humanity,” says the judgment published this Monday, which classifies the actions of the Navy as “arbitrary and illegal”.
The case began with the protection complaint of the lawyer Luis Mariano Rendón, who was a victim of political imprisonment, according to the Valech II Commission, a body unprecedented in the world that tried in democracy to make reparations to the prisoners and those tortured by the dictatorship. The expert condemned “the maintenance of honors for José Toribio Merino Castro in different units and naval departments” and explained in court the role of Merino, who led the Navy during the 17 years of the dictatorship. “By paying homage to those who have been responsible for promoting a systematic policy of violating fundamental rights, the exact opposite is being done, that is, threatening to repeat the reported violations, since an individual’s behavior is responsible for the violation proposed the rights of their compatriots as an example,” Rondón assured the court.
During the course of the case, the Chilean Navy clarified that all honorifics (including a bust) had recently been withdrawn and that only a portrait and photograph of Merino currently remain, which made up his positions as Commander-in-Chief of the Navy and Commander-in-Chief of the First Naval Zone . According to the military institution, they were part of a chronological gallery that included all the authorities who held those positions throughout history, so it wasn’t a particular tribute to Merino. According to the Chilean Navy, Merino voluntarily retired in 1990 “without having been charged, prosecuted, charged or convicted of any crime”. It is “reasonable” for the Bundeswehr if the institution commemorates a former commander “without the latter having a political connotation”.
The Court of Appeal ordered the withdrawal of the portrait and photograph of Merino from the General Secretariat of the Navy and the Commander-in-Chief of the First Naval Zone respectively, giving three days to do so. However, he did not agree to one of Rendón’s requests that these images be replaced with memorials to the victims of human rights abuses committed by members of the Navy.
Last June, the Santiago Court of Appeal ordered the Navy to remove a statue of Merino from the front of the Valparaíso Maritime Museum, about 100 kilometers from Santiago.
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