Democracy Now! - 40 Years After Chile Coup Family of Slain Singer Victor Jara Sues Alleged Killer in...

7/29/2019 Democracy Now! - 40 Years After Chile Coup Family of Slain Singer Victor Jara Sues Alleged Killer in U.S. Court Se

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40 Years After Chile Coup, Family of Slain Singer Victor Jara SuesAlleged Killer in U.S. Court

Monday, September 9, 2013

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This week marks the 40th anniversary of whats known as the other 9/11: September11, 1973, when a U.S.-backed military coup ousted Chiles democratically elected

president Salvador Allende and ushered in a 17-year repressive dictatorship led byGeneral Augusto Pinochet. Were joined by Joan Jara, the widow of Chilean singerVctor Jara, who has just filed a civil lawsuit in U.S. court against the former militaryofficer who allegedly killed Jara 40 years ago. Jaras accused killer, Pedro Barrientos,has lived in the United States for roughly two decades and is now a U.S. citizen.Jaras family is suing him under federal laws that allow U.S. courts to hear abouthuman rights abuses committed abroad. Last year, Chilean prosecutors chargedBarrientos and another officer with Jaras murder, naming six others as accomplices.We also speak with Almudena Bernabeu, an attorney with Center for Justice andAccountability, who helped file the Jara familys lawsuit last week. "I saw literallyhundreds of bodies that were piled up in what was actually the parking place of themorgue," Joan Jara says of finding her husbands body 40 years ago. "I recognized

him. I saw what had happened to him. I saw the bullet wounds. I saw the state of hisbody. I consider myself one of the lucky ones in the sense that I had to face in thatmoment what had happened to Victor. I could [later] give my testimony with all theforce of what I felt in that moment and not the horror, which is much worse, ofnever knowing what happened to your loved one. That happened to so many families,so many women who have spent these 40 years looking for their loved ones who weremade to disappear."

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AMY GOODMAN: Today we look at another September 11th. It was 40 years agothis week, September 11, 1973, that General Augusto Pinochet ousted Chilesdemocratically elected president, Salvador Allende, in a U.S.-backed military coup.The coup began a 17-year repressive dictatorship during which more than 3,000Chileans were killed. Pinochets rise to power was backed by then-President Richard

Nixon and his secretary of state and national security adviser, Henry Kissinger.

In 1970, the CIAs deputy director of plans wrote in a secret memo, quote, "It is firmand continuing policy that Allende be overthrown by a coup. ... It is imperative thatthese actions be implemented clandestinely and securely so that the USG [thats theU.S. government] and American hand be well hidden," unquote. That same year,President Nixon ordered the CIA to, quote, "make the economy scream" in Chile to,quote, "prevent Allende from coming to power or [to] unseat him."

After the 1973 coup, General Pinochet remained a close U.S. ally. He was defeated in1988 referendum and left office in 1990. In 1998, Pinochet was arrested in London on

torture and genocide charges on a warrant issued by a Spanish judge, Baltasar Garzn.British authorities later released Pinochet after doctors ruled him physically andmentally unfit to stand trial.

Last week, Chiles judges issued a long-awaited apology to the relatives of loved oneswho went missing or were executed during the Pinochet dictatorship. This is JudgeDaniel Urrutia.

JUDGE DANIEL URRUTIA: [translated] We consider it appropriate and necessary.We understand, for some citizens, obviously, its too late, but nothing will ever be toolate to react to what may happen in the future.

AMY GOODMAN: The relatives of some victims have rejected the belated apologyand called for further investigations into deaths and disappearances during thedictatorship. Chilean President Sebastin Piera said the countrys courts had failed touphold the constitution and basic rights.

PRESIDENT SEBASTIN PIERA: [translated] The judiciary did not rise up totheir obligations or challenges, and could have done much more, because, byconstitutional mandate, its their duty to protect the rights of the people, to protecttheir livesfor example, reconsidering the appeals, which they had previously

massively rejected as unconstitutional.

AMY GOODMAN: Meanwhile, on Sunday thousands of Chileans took to the streetsof Santiago to mark the 40th anniversary of the military coup and remember thethousands who disappeared during the brutal regime that followed. This is the

president of the Families of Executed Politicians group, Alicia Lira.

ALICIA LIRA: [translated] Forty years since the civil military coup, the issue ofhuman rights, the violations during the dictatorship are still current. This denial of

justice, there are more than 1,300 processes open for 40 years, for 40 years continuingthe search for those who were arrested, who disappeared, who were executed without

the remains handed back. Why dont they say the truth? Why dont they break theirpact of silence?


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AMY GOODMAN: Just last week, the wife and two daughters of the legendaryChilean folk singer Vctor Jara filed a civil lawsuit in U.S. court against the formermilitary officer they say killed Jara almost exactly 40 years ago. Vctor Jara was shotto death in the midst of the 1973 U.S.-backed coup. First his hands were smashed sohe could no longer play the guitar, it is believed. Jaras accused killer, Pedro

Barrientos, has lived in the United States for roughly two decades and is now a U.S.citizen. Jaras family is suing him under federal laws that allow U.S. courts to hearabout human rights abuses committed abroad. Last year, Chilean prosecutors chargedBarrientos and another officer with Jaras murder, naming six others as accomplices.

Well, today well spend the hour with the loved ones of those who were killed underPinochet, and the attorneys who have helped them seek justice. First were joined byJoan Jara. She is the widow of Chilean singer Vctor Jara. She is the author ofAnUnfinished Song: The Life of Victor Jara, first published in 1984.

We welcome you back toDemocracy Now!

JOAN JARA: Thank you. Thank you.

AMY GOODMAN: Its great to have you with us and in studio here in New York, asvictims and those who have worked for justice in Chile gather for this 40thanniversary of the September 11th coup.

JOAN JARA: Indeed.

AMY GOODMAN: Talk about the lawsuit you have just filed.

JOAN JARA: Well, this lawsuit, which is for the central justice and accountability, isa civil lawsuit, but theour aim is not to receive pecuniary, because this doesnt helpat all. Its to reinforce the extradition petition, which was approved by the ChileanSupreme Court and is now in United States territory. Its somehow to support that andto appeal to public opinion here in the United States. We know we havethere aremany people here. In repeated visits here, I have met so many friends who havecondemned the coup on the 11th of September, 1973. And I appeal to all the peoplewho listen to Vctors songs, who realizeand for all the victims of Pinochet, fortheir support and appeal to theiryour own government to remit a reply positively tothis extradition request.

AMY GOODMAN: After break, well also be joined by your lawyer to talk moreabout the lawsuit. But describe what happened on September 11, 1973. Where wereyou? Where was Vctor?

JOAN JARA: Yeah, well, we were both at home with our two daughters. There wassomehow a coup in the air. We had been fearing that there might be a military coup.And on that morning, together, Vctor and I listened to Allendes last speech andheard all the radios, thewho supported Salvador Allende, falling off the air as, one

by one, being replaced by military marches.

Vctor was due to go to the technical university, his place of work, where Allende wasdue to speak to announce a plebiscite at 11:00, and Vctor was to sing there, as he did.


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And he went out that morning. It was the last time I saw him. I stayed at home, heardof the bombing of the Moneda Palace, heard and saw the helicopters machine gunfiring over Allendes residence. And then began the long wait for Vctor to come backhome.

AMY GOODMAN: And how long did you wait?

JOAN JARA: I waited a week, not knowing really what had happened to him. I got amessage from him from somebody who had been in the stadium with him, wasnt surewhat was really happening to him. But my fears were confirmed on the 11th ofSeptemberwell, Im sorry, on the 18th of September, Chile National Day, when ayoung man came to my house, said, "Please, I need to talk to you. Im a friend. Ive

been working in the city morgue. Im afraid to tell you that Vctors body has beenrecognized," because it was a well-knownhis was a well-known face. And he said,"You must come with me and claim his body; otherwise, they will put him in acommon grave, and he will disappear."

So then I accompanied this young man to the city morgue. We entered by a sideentrance. I saw the hundreds of bodies, literally hundreds of bodies, that were high

piled up in what was actually the parking place, I think, of the morgue. And I had tolook for Vctors body among a long line in the offices of the city morgue, recognizedhim. I saw what had happened to him. I saw the bullet wounds. I saw the state of his

body.

And I consider myself one of the lucky ones, in the sense that I had to face at thatmoment thatwhat had happened to Vctor, and I could give my testimony with allthe force of what I felt in that moment, and not that horror, which is much worse, ofnever knowing what happened to your loved one, as what happened to so manyfamilies, so many women, who have spent these 40 years looking for their loved oneswho were made to disappear.

AMY GOODMAN: Because he was so well known, there have been many storiesabout his death. Some said because he was this famous folk singer, guitarist, his handswere cut off.

JOAN JARA: No.

AMY GOODMAN: Others said they were smashed. How did you seewhat did yousee when you saw his body?

JOAN JARA: No, Ithis is not true. There was this invention of myths that I people,I suppose, thought would help. The truth was bad enough. There was no need toinvent more horrors. Vctors hands were not cut off. When I saw his body, his handswere hanging at a strange angle. I mean, his whole body was bruised and batteredwith bullet wounds, but I didnt touch his hands. It looked as though his wrists were

broken.

AMY GOODMAN: How long had Vctor played guitar? How long had he been

singing?


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JOAN JARA: Oh, how long had he been singing? Since he was small. Since hewashe didnt really learn to play the guitar until he was adolescent, but his motherwas a folk singer, and he learned from her, yeah.

AMY GOODMAN: And how did you meet?

JOAN JARA: We met because in the University of Chile weVctor was a studentin the theater school, and I was a dancer in the national ballet, but I also gave classesin the theater school. Thats how I met him. He was an excellent student. He was atleast the best of his course. But we actually got together after, later, when I wasrecovering from when I was sort of ill, and he heard I was ill. He came to see me witha little bunch of flowers that I think he took out of the park, because he was penniless.

AMY GOODMAN: And you have two daughters together?

JOAN JARA: No, not together. My first daughter is actually the daughter of my first

husband, whom I had separated from, but she was very, very small when Vctor cameto see us that day. She was only a year old, slightly less than a year old. And shealways felt that Vctor was her father, and Vctor always felt that heshe was herdaughter. Shehesorry, Im not used to speaking English. So, they were very, veryclose.

AMY GOODMAN: And the hundreds of bodies you saw in this morgue. How manyof them were identified?

JOAN JARA: Cant tell you that. This particular young man who worked in theidentification, civilcivil registryI dont know what you call ithe wasoverwhelmed with what he had to do. I cantI cant tell you. I cantI cant tell.

AMY GOODMAN: Were you able to claim his body and bury him?

JOAN JARA: I wasI was one of the lucky ones. I was able to claim his body, butwe had to take it immediately to the cemetery and inter it in a niche high up in the

back wall of the cemetery. There could be no funeral. And after that, I had to go homeand tell my daughters what had happened.

AMY GOODMAN: Were talking with Joan Jara, the widow of Vctor Jara. And

were going to continue with her, as well as her lawyer. Shes just brought suit againstthe man she believes was responsible for his murder, among others. Were also goingto be joined by Joyce Horman, another widow of the coup. Her husband, CharlesHorman, American freelance journalist, was also disappeared and killed during thecoup. This isDemocracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. Its

been 40 years since the September 11, 1973, coup that overthrew the firstdemocratically elected leader of Chile, Salvador Allende, who died in the palace thatday as the Pinochet forces rose to power. Stay with us.

AMY GOODMAN: "Vivir en Paz," by Vctor Jara, the Chilean singer, songwriter,tortured and executed during the Chilean coup of Salvador Allende, September 11,

1973. This week marks the 40th anniversary the U.S.-backed coup. You can also go toour website at democracynow.org to seehighlights from our coverageover the years.
http://www.democracynow.org/special/1973_chilean_couphttp://www.democracynow.org/special/1973_chilean_couphttp://www.democracynow.org/special/1973_chilean_couphttp://www.democracynow.org/special/1973_chilean_coup


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This isDemocracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. Im AmyGoodman.

Our guest is Joan Jara, the widow of the legendary Chilean singer Vctor Jara. Lastweek she filed a civil lawsuit in U.S. court against the former military officer they say

killed Jara almost exactly 40 years ago. Vctor Jara was shot to death in the midst ofthe 1973 U.S.-backed coup within the next week. Joan Jara is author ofAn UnfinishedSong: The Life of Victor Jara.

Also with us is Almudena Bernabeu, attorney who helped file the lawsuit last weekagainst Vctor Jara killers. Shes with the Center for Justice and Accountability, whereshe directs the Transitional Justice Program.

Tonight there will be a majoreventwhere people from around the world will gatherwho have been involved with seeking justice since the coup took place. Pinochet roseto power on September 11th, and over the next 17 years more than 3,000 Chileans

were killed.

Almudena, describe this lawsuit, the grounds, the legal grounds on which you bringthis 40 years after Vctor Jara was killed.

ALMUDENA BERNABEU: Absolutely. This is underthese lawsuits arehappening in the United States, and theres an important number of them. They arecivil by nature, because its what theits a tort, which is a legal word, but, I mean,itswhat they really look for is a reward on damages. But really, the nature of theevidence and the relevance of the documents and everything that goes into the casereally doesnt distinguish, in my mind, between criminal and civil. Its under twofederal statutes in the United States called the Alien Tort Statute from 1789ironically, first Congressand the Torture Victims Protection Act, which is later onin 1992. And what they provide for is the right to victims, whether theyre aliensunder the ATS or also U.S. citizens under the TVPA, or what we call the TVPA, to

bring suit for human rights violations. The second statute provides for torture,extrajudicial killing, specifically. And the Alien Tort Statute allows you to bring in amore open or wide number of claims, including crimes against humanity, war crimesand slavery, many claims over the years. Colleagues and friends have brought suitunder these laws.

In, I guess, the jurisdictional basis, not to be overtechnical, but one of the more solidones has been the physical presence of the defendant in the United States, which iswhat I will say the Center for Justice and Accountability specialize. Other colleaguesat the Center for Constitutional Rights and other institutions have more experiencewith corporate cases and so forth. And in this particular instance, Pedro PabloBarrientos, the guy who has been investigated and identified by Chilean prosecutorsand judges as the author, through testimony, of Vctor Jaras assassination, waslivinghas been living for number of years, for almost 20 years, in Florida, of all

places. So

AMY GOODMAN: How did you find this out?
http://www.democracynow.org/events/2013/9/charles_horman_foundation_tribute_to_justice_1162http://www.democracynow.org/events/2013/9/charles_horman_foundation_tribute_to_justice_1162http://www.democracynow.org/events/2013/9/charles_horman_foundation_tribute_to_justice_1162http://www.democracynow.org/events/2013/9/charles_horman_foundation_tribute_to_justice_1162


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ALMUDENA BERNABEU: Weactually, came to the attention Chile televisionfirst, and they did a big program about both the investigation in Chile and thelikelihood of this personit was an interesting steplikelihood of this person beingthe Barrientos that was named in the pleadings in Chile. And after the program, the

judge ordered a couple of extra, you know, steps from a criminal investigation

standpoint, and they were able to identify him. And I was contacted by theprosecutors in Chile, with whom we have a relationship from prior work, to see if wecould actually corroborate one more step to see if he was the person. And he is thesame officer that left Chile, we believe between 1989 and 1990, and relocated inDeltona.

AMY GOODMAN: Do you believe the U.S. knew?

ALMUDENA BERNABEU: That he was in the United

AMY GOODMAN: Who he was?

ALMUDENA BERNABEU: Im not sure he was high enough, to be frank, from allthe information that we have right now.

AMY GOODMAN: Because he was granted U.S. citizenship.

ALMUDENA BERNABEU: He was granted U.S. citizenship. And what I dontIdont necessarily know that at the time that he was probably requesting to file hisnaturalization application, that the U.S. will know of his involvement. And I think thatthese guys specialize in lying in those applications, in my experience. So theres noway necessarily for the U.S. to know, although I do believe that, overall, the U.S.looked somewhere else when all these people were coming from Latin America in theaftermath of their conflicts, no question, particularly military men.

AMY GOODMAN: This Alien Tort Claims Act, which we have covered many timesin the past, you yourself have used in other cases. Very briefly, if you could talk aboutthe archbishop of El Salvador, scar Romero?

ALMUDENA BERNABEU: This really was an important case, on a personal andprofessional level. It was filed in 2003. And also with a little bit of this twisting offate, thea guy who was crucial to the assassination had been identified by the truth

commission, by U.S. important declassified documents and other sources, as thedriver, as the sort of right-hand man of Roberto DAubuisson, who conceived theassassination and sort of the whole plot. And he was the guy who drove the shooter tothe church, and he was living in Modesto, California, running an auto shop. And afterwe were able to establish that truthfully and corroborate it, we filed suit, which was avery important suit, I will say. It was the only time in the history of the crime for theconditions of El Salvador when any justice has been provided for this emblematickilling, and it was the first case

AMY GOODMAN: He was killed March 24th, 1980.

ALMUDENA BERNABEU: 1980.


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AMY GOODMAN: The archbishop of El Salvador, as

ALMUDENA BERNABEU: While celebrating mass, absolutely. And he was kind ofmarksin the history and the imaginary of Salvadorans, marks the beginning of their10-year civil war. It really was a declaration of war in the old-fashioned sense. It

wasand against all civilians and against the pueblo that he defended so much. It wasonea provocative statement, killing the archbishop, who had been in his homiliesand publicly condemning the actions of the army against the people of El Salvador.

AMY GOODMAN: Joan Jara, how did you figure out thatwho was responsible forthe killing of Vctor, your husband?

JOAN JARA: I didnt figure it out, because thethe Chilean army would not givethe information of whoof the officers who were responsible for the Chile stadiumwhere Vctor was killed. But gradually, within the proceedings of the case, officerswere named, especially by the conscript, under whosebecome orders, they were,

yeah. And its these people who were these soldiers of lesser ranks who haveidentified the officers who were responsible for the crimes.

ALMUDENA BERNABEU: Thats a very important point. Sorry, just totheresbeen no desire or willingness on behalf of the armed forces in Chile to collaboratewith the families and the victims struggling for 40 years. They have to rely, theinvestigators, in now testimony from these low-level soldiers, who dont have thatkind of pact of silence, and theyre providing information that is crucial for theirwork.

AMY GOODMAN: Joan?

JOAN JARA: Well, they say that they have had to have a pact of silence duringmany decades because they have been threatened by the armed forces, they should notspeak. And there have been many who have been very scared to give their testimonyuntil now.

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