Council of Rectors demands the "immediate end of the use of pellets and pellets by Carabineros in public demonstrations"

11/11/2019
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  • Council of Rectors demands the "immediate end of the use of pellets and pellets by Carabineros in public demonstrations"
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 After almost 200 people have suffered eye loss, the CRUCH -through a public statement- argued that “public order is not a system of physical coercion in fact on the population nor can it be guaranteed through massive physical injury, because this represents the order of fear and a systematic violation of human rights ”.

The rectors called on the political authority to absolutely prohibit the use of these elements and presented an appeal for protection before the Santiago Court of Appeals, so that the uniformed police completely refrain from using riot guns and their ammunition during peaceful mobilizations.

"It is unacceptable that the existence of a police protocol authorizing such use is used as an argument," said the executive vice president of the Council of Rectors of Chilean Universities (CRUCH), Aldo Valle, when releasing a public statement from this institution, demanding the "immediate end of the use of pellets and pellets by the Carabineros" in public demonstrations.

This approach arises as a result of the serious physical damage that 197 people have suffered - according to the report of Sunday, November 10 from the National Institute of Human Rights (INDH) -, who suffered eye loss as a result of the use of these elements, within the framework of the citizen mobilizations that take place throughout Chile since October 18.

"This fact is a serious violation of the fundamental rights of the human person, which is intolerable in a State of Law," said the rector Valle, who released the public statement accompanied by the rectors Diego Durán (U. Católica del Maule), Darcy Fuenzalida (U. Técnica Federico Santa María), Juan Manuel Zolezzi (U. de Santiago de Chile), Claudio Elórtegui (Pontificia U. Católica de Valparaíso), Jaime Espinosa (U. Metropolitana de Ciencias de la Educación), Emilio Rodríguez (U. de Tarapacá), Patricio Sanhueza (U. de Playa Ancha) and Eduardo Silva (U. Alberto Hurtado), representing the 29 members of the Council. The general secretary of CRUCH, María Elena González, was also present.

The rector Aldo Valle said that “we make this statement in response to the fact that the General Director of the Carabineros, Mario Rozas, has said that it will be restricted to a limited use. This statement surprises us because the existing protocols to date establish precisely that this use must be limited. Unfortunately, from this statement it can be deduced that the protocol of the same body of Carabineros de Chile has been breached ”.

The Council's statement also rejects the notion that the institution can use these elements in restricted cases. "What is needed is for the political authority to issue an absolute ban on the use of these elements, as it is not enough to regulate their use, ultimately leaving their application to the discretion of the police," the rectors assert. Along the same lines, they maintain that "restricting them to cases determined by the police themselves continues to represent a threat and a violation of the safety and integrity of those who dissent in these public demonstrations.".

In this context, “we say to the authorities and, of course, to the Minister of the Interior, that public order is not a system of de facto physical coercion over the population nor can it be guaranteed through mass physical injury, because this represents an order of fear and a systematic violation of human rights.”.

Protection resource

This Monday, the rectors Claudio Elórtegui (PUCV), Eduardo Silva (UAH), Juan Manuel Zolezzi (USACH), Aldo Valle (U. de Valparaíso), Ignacio Sánchez (Pontificia U. Católica), Ennio Vivaldi (U. de Chile) , Carlos Peña (U. Diego Portales), Harald Beyer (U. Adolfo Ibáñez), and Álvaro Ramis (U. Academia Humanismo Cristiano), filed an appeal for protection before the Court of Appeals of Santiago.

In the first place, the academic authorities request that you completely refrain from using anti-riot shotguns and their ammunition, in the context of the peaceful demonstrations that will be called hereinafter and in which students and the general public will participate. .

In addition, the court was asked to provide a thorough report on the regulations governing the Carabineros and on the substantive training measures that the institution has developed to ensure that these regulations are effectively respected by its officers.

The appeal also demanded that the Carabineros provide detailed information about what type of deterrent elements they intend to use specifically in the subsequent demonstrations that take place.

The executive vice president of CRUCH thanked “the lawyers, the student leaders who have appeared together with the rectors, in this protection appeal and, specifically, I want to thank the professional work and the generous dedication that the lawyers Paula Vial, Nicole Neme and Claudia Sarmiento ”.

 

See full statement:  11.11.2019 CRUCH DECLARATION USE OF PELLETS