The Human Rights Museum, life under the military dictatorship and my strong reactions to it

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30 January 2015 11am, Santiago, Chile the day I went to the Human Rights Museum was the day my political view changed forever. In the space of 2 hours I’d developed a real appreciation of democracy and an urge to fight to protect human rights like never before.

BRIEF FACTS ABOUT THE MILITARY DICTATORSHIP ACCORDING TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS’ MUSEUM

During the dictatorship laws were passed which banned other political parties from forming,the government was reorganised and civil servants were made redundant. Many people who opposed the dictatorship were jailed in very bad conditions after being interrogated and tortured. Prisons and detention centres were set up in schools and public buildings which were loaned out from people in favour of the dictatorship. The press was under heavy censorship, all books were burned and trade unions were stopped. The DINA (Direccion de Inteligencia Nacional) was created, an intelligence service ruled by the armed forces.

Some people were exiled after agencies had worked to get exit permits for prisoners in 1974. It was these exiled people who alerted the UN and made the rest of the world aware of what was going on in Chile. Many exiled artists came back to Chile when the dictatorhip ended. In 1980 Pinochet held a new election – some say this was rigged and many votes were counted in the names of dead people, but Pinochet supporters say it was fair. Either way Pinochet stayed in power protected by the Constitution which he himself had created.

MY REACTIONS TO THE MATERIAL

When I first entered the Human Rights Museum I read through a list of countries with human right infringments and the investigations that were being carried out to bring war criminals to justice. I was just stunned by how many countries worldwide had been affected by military dictatorships, invasions, civil wars or uprisings (some lasting for 30 years) and how many unsolved crimes had stemmed from this and how many people had gone missing without a trace (some still haven’t been solved and the people hadn't ever been found.) Most of the countries affected were in Africa, Asia, Central America and South America. Practically every country in South America had had a military dictatorship. Only two countries in Europe had been listed as having human rights violations – Yugoslavia with the Balkans war still unsolved and Germany during WW2, from which most war criminals had been brought to justice. There were some countries still having serious political problems like Burundi which since gaining its independence in July 1962 has had problem after problem.

After seeing this information I felt three things all at once – I felt proud for being born in a country in which we have enjoyed political stability for so long, I felt also very ignorant as the only dictatorship I’d ever learned about at school was WW2 under the Occupation and I knew nothing about military dictatorships. I felt guilty for not using my vote at every opportunity I’d had as now I see democracy as something to be cherished and from now on I will always use my vote.

All over Chile there are lots of memorial sights for victims of the military dictatorship under General Pinochet, some of the bodies found and some never found. There are many cementeries with big tombs all over South America, a lot grander than the small graveyards I’ve seen in Europe. So far the only memorial I’ve seen in Chile is the statue of President Salvador Allende, located outside Palacio de la Moneda.

Nothing I’d ever seen in real life documentaries about WW2, nor films such as Schindler’s list or The Pianist could have even compared to the live video footage of the horrors I’d seen in this museum which took place during the military dictatorship. I saw Salvador Allende give his last speech, on 11 September 1973, given from the Presidential Palace to the public on one of the last radio stations to not be taken over by the dictatorship. He apologises to the public, saying he will be with them always and to keep on fighting for democracy. In the background there are shots being fired at the palace and bombs going off.

I also saw and heard the televised army’s speech to the public explaining that the country was now being brought under control of the army to keep order and to protect all citizens from the evil clutches of Marxism. Pinochet then gave his speech and explained this was necessary, a sacrifice every Chilean citizen needed to make and persuading them the takeover was in their best interests. I saw the live broadcast of the tanks lining up in front of the Presidential Palace ready to shoot, I saw footage from the protests of a student being shot by police and I heard videoed accounts from children who claimed that under the regime the authorities had made them take their clothes off and beaten them.

I then asked myself three questions – how when comparing both the two leader's voices (Allende’s soft caring and comforting voice and Pinochet’s raspy, sinister voice) and the material of speeches from Allende, the former socialist president and General Pinochet, how could anybody even the rich or the aristocracy) have supported Pinochet. It is like showing somebody a clip of the scene in the last star wars trilogy of darth vador with the light saber fighting Luke Skywalker on the platform, or showing somebody a clip of Gandalf the wizard in Lord of the Rings defeating an ork. In Star Wars we all hope Darth Vador falls to his death. In Lord Of The Rings, Orks are coloured black for evil and Gandalf is coloured white for good so why would somebody support the evil orks. Yet apparently, half the population of Chile supported Pinochet then, and half supported Allende, and the split is said to be very similar today. But why would Pinochet get so much support in 1973 when the world saw in the 1940s the horrors suffered under the Nazi party. It’s something I’ll investigate.

The second question I asked myself was why would the military rise up and overthrow a socialist government when for example in France, revolutions have been made BY the common people FOR the common people's interest AGAINST the King. When social inequalities had caused too much strain, the poor rose up. However, here we are talking about a bunch of people who don’t want equality yet in my opinion the rich suffer from inequality as do the poor. If you are rich and other people in your neighbourhood are poor you need to protect your property by building high gates, training dogs to guard your property all day long and you can never know if you have true friends or friends who want you for your status or money. For example, look at how unhappy many of the people in Alwoodley, in Leeds are. On the other hand, reasonably well-off people don’t spend every day worrying about every penny they spend and may have true friends and a decent standard of living and still be able to give to poorer people than themselves and at the same time meet their own needs. Therefore being reasonably well-off would give a well-balanced body and mind, so logically equality would suit all human beings whether rich people know it or not. How will they ever know if they never have the opportunity to try it out. By having less fear of your neighbour, the poor have more to give and the rich have less to lose. Inequality is not in the interests of human beings.

My third and final concern was that I’ve been far too harsh on British politicians. I’ve felt some of their views and policies were too right wing, but after comparing their views and policies to those of right wing dictatorships I don’t know what I was concerned about. Yes, in my opinion Camerons' laws on tuition fees and his privatisation of some parts of the NHS does create inequalities and is not beneficial for the state, but we did have the right to choose him as Prime Minister, he didn’t force his way into parliament by using tanks and I’m still allowed to walk the streets at 9pm without being shot. I’m so grateful that I’m living in a democracy not a dictatorship. This is what us Brits as one, as a community have chosen and we had the choice to elect David Cameron.

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