Colonia Dignidad Human Rights Association: «The State Cannot Politically Undermine the Clarification of Crimes Against Humanity»

Original article: Asociación por la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos Colonia Dignidad: «El Estado no puede, por decisión política, debilitar las condiciones para el esclarecimiento de crímenes de lesa humanidad» In a public statement, the Colonia Dignidad Memory and Human Rights Association, alongside several other human rights organizations, expressed their «deep rejection and concern» regarding the decision made by the government led by José Antonio Kast to halt the expropriation process of the former memory site, Colonia Dignidad. According to these groups, the government’s announcement «is not an administrative adjustment or a technical reconsideration: it is a regressive political act that undermines fundamental obligations and commitments of the State of Chile concerning memory, truth, justice, reparation, and guarantees of non-repetition. » «Colonia Dignidad was one of the main enclaves of repression, torture, and forced disappearance in Chile, a place where a criminal structure operated in coordination with state agencies.

We are not talking about just any land: we are talking about a site with judicial, evidentiary, and historical value, where it is still possible to find evidence regarding the fate of disappeared detainees,» they articulated in the statement. In this regard, they reiterated that the decision from Kast’s administration «is not neutral. It is a clear signal that this government is willing to backtrack on human rights policies, even in cases where there is official recognition of crimes against humanity and ongoing judicial processes.

» «Unacceptable Economic Argument» The organizations deemed the economic argument used by the government as «unacceptable. » «There is no transparent public basis to support the figures that have been suggested. Previous assessments—including studies commissioned by Germany through GIZ, agreed upon by the Mixed Commission, and facts from the Chilean State itself—have not been duly considered or verified.

Invoking cost, without transparency or technical rigor, is nothing more than an excuse to mask a political decision that has already been made,» they pointed out. At this point, they warned that «what is at stake here is much more than just an expropriation process. It is the credibility of the State in front of the victims, in front of society, and in front of the international community.

It is the signal sent about whether commitments to human rights are genuinely state policies or merely declarations subject to the will of the current government. » Moreover, they emphasized that «for the victims and their families, this decision represents a form of abandonment. It tells them that even when the State officially recognizes the crimes committed, such recognition can be relativized, postponed, or stripped of content.

It tells them that justice can wait. » «However,» the statement adds, «there are limits that cannot be crossed. The State cannot, through political decision, weaken the conditions for clarifying crimes against humanity.

It cannot disregard the evidentiary value of a site where there are open judicial cases. It cannot backtrack on obligations that arise from international human rights law. » «The victims and human rights organizations have been denouncing what occurred in Colonia Dignidad for over 50 years.

Thanks to that struggle, there is now a judicial truth that is no longer open to discussion, and a social memory cannot be dismantled by decree, even if that is the intention from those in power,» they highlighted. Finally, the signatory human rights organizations reaffirmed their commitment to «continue advancing the recovery of this space as a site of memory, promoting judicial investigations, and defending the indisputable right of victims and society to know the truth. » «This government may attempt to delay this process of recovering the former Colonia Dignidad, it may obstruct it, but it will not be able to stop it.

The truth is not reversible. Justice is not negotiable. Memory is not optional, because in the face of impunity and denialism, there is no possible neutrality!

» they concluded.