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The Coordinator of Ocular Trauma Victims and Family Members, formed after the protests against the Chilean Government in 2019, confirmed the suicide of one of the young people affected. The deceased, 26, would not have recovered from a depression after becoming one of the 400 people who partially or totally lost their eyes, amid complaints of excessive repression by the public forces.
The suicide of Patricio Pardo, 26, rekindles the wounds of the 2019 anti-government protests in Chile. The most violent since the return of democracy in 1990.
The Coordinator of Ocular Trauma Victims and Families confirmed that the young man took his own life, after “he could not get out of his depression, after being mutilated by state agents.”
The authorities have not yet ruled to establish whether the suicide is directly related or not to the consequences that Pardo suffered from the demonstrations.
For the Coordinator, the State is directly responsible. “We cannot feel oblivious to this misfortune that mourns us all, for him and for all the comrades who have violated their rights, we cannot allow the State to continue abandoning us and damaging us day by day,” said the association that brings together the Most of the 400 protesters who suffered eye injuries during the social outbreak.
The Coordinator of Ocular Trauma Victims and Families confirmed through a statement the death (suicide) of Patricio Muñoz, a 26-year-old young man who was a victim of ocular trauma during the social outbreak of 2019. pic.twitter.com/rjoIrrpScI
– Radio Portales (@RadioPortales) December 11, 2021
Political figures of the country joined the claims for the death of Pardo. Communist deputy Carmen Hertz maintained that “impunity hurts the soul of society and tortures its members.”
For her part, the elected deputy Emilia Schneider said that “the victims of human rights violations have been abandoned by the State.”
And the writer and National Journalism Prize winner Faride Zerán stressed that “young people deserve to live in a just Chile, without impunity or denialist speeches.”
The National Institute of Human Rights (INDH) considered that Pardo’s death highlights the need to offer psychological help to the dozens of people affected by the violence unleashed during the mobilizations.
“It confirms the urgency of psychological support and a comprehensive reparation law for victims of human rights violations that occurred since October 18, 2019,” the organization said.
At that time, social discontent had been triggered by the increase in the price of the subway fare, but the accumulation of other non-conformities of the citizens added up and thousands protested against inequality and the economic model of the country.
Soon the demonstrations spread from the capital, Santiago, to other cities and lasted until March 2020, during which time the activists denounced excesses of the public force.
Eye injury victims in Chile continue to demand justice
After these demonstrations, the Chilean military, police and carabinieri came under the scrutiny of various organizations for allegations of human rights violations.
The images of young people with bloody eyes after being shot with pellets and tear gas canisters in the face shocked the world.
The Interior Ministry, for its part, condemned the looting, fires, damage to public property and clashes by hundreds of activists.
But after strong criticism for abuses of authority, Chilean President Sebastián Piñera promised that any violation of human rights by the security forces would be investigated. In December 2019, the Police recognized responsibility in cases of abuse.
The general director of the Chilean Carabineros, Mario Rozas, announced disciplinary sanctions from the expulsion of the police force to negative scores with an impact on the qualification of the carabineros involved.
Yet eye injury victims continue to demand justice. Last July, dozens of them demonstrated to demand reparation for all those who suffered eye injuries.
In October 2021, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in South America pointed out that it is regrettable that more than two years after the outbreak, the Chilean State has not fully recognized the human rights violations committed by its members. own agents.
The anti-government protests in Chile marked the history of the country and although as a result the Piñera Administration announced changes and promoted the drafting of a new Constitution, one of the main demands of the protesters, the episodes of violence remain in the memory of the citizens, while demanding reparation and justice.
With EFE and local media
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