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News > Chile

Chile Denounces Over 350 Eye Injuries On Human Rights Day

  • Those attending the activity came with posters that had one eye drawn to remember the 352 people who have eye wounds.

    Those attending the activity came with posters that had one eye drawn to remember the 352 people who have eye wounds. | Photo: teleSUR

Published 10 December 2019
Opinion

People went to protest with posters that had one eye drawn to remember the 352 people who have eye injuries due to the excessive use of force by the carabineros.

After more than two months of mobilizations against the policies of right-wing President Sebastian Piñera, sectors of the population took to the streets Tuesday in what was called "March for the Eyes of Chile," in commemoration of the International Human Rights day.

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The Chilean people denounced the government's excessive violence after 352 people lost their vision partially or totally during the violent repression to social protests.​​​​​​ Organizations defending the rights of peoples mobilized to the meeting point for protesters at the renamed 'Plaza of Dignity.'

The main objective of the march was to denounce the violent repression by police that until Dec. 6, caused 3,449 injured, including 2,767 men, 397 women, and 254 children and adolescents, according to the National Human Rights Commission.

Those attending the demonstration came with posters that had one eye drawn to remember the 352 people who have eye wounds, of which 331 are from injury or trauma and 21 from bursting or loss.

The posters also show a message denouncing "the eyes of the people accuse the terrorist state."

For his part, the Director of the NHRC Sergio Micco said that the organization has proven on countless occasions that in the demonstrations have occurred serious violations of human rights. "We are facing a situation of denunciation of serious violations of human rights...there are abusive and negative behaviors that are continually repeated such as excessive use of riot guns," he commented.

352 Chileans have lost their vision totally or partially due to the repression of the Chilean State.
 

The Director of the Carabineros, Chile's military police Mario Rozas, announced the suspension of the use of pellets as an anti-riot tool, except in cases of "legitimate defense when it represents a death threat."

The measure follows a study by the University of Chile that states that these pellets are composed of only 20 percent rubber, while the other 80 percent have different elements, such as lead. However, on Nov. 23, Al Jazeera reported that Chilean police continue to implement pellets despite the official suspension of their use. 

The unrest in the South-American country was sparked by a government’s decision to increase metro fees but quickly spread to hold other social issues such as income inequality and swelling costs of living. The state’s response to the popular grievances has since led to the death of 23 demonstrators while around 3,000 have been injured.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) along with numerous other rights groups condemned the constant violations of human rights by police and military against the population in Chile. 

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