On September 15, 1973, Osvaldo BURGOS LAVOZ, 43 years old, an agent at the Banco del Estado in Pitrufquén and a member of the Partido Socialista, and Walter Raúl STEPKE MUÑOZ, 24 years old, a farmer with no political affiliation, were apprehended.

Both were detained in front of witnesses while traveling in a pickup truck from Catrico toward Pitrufquén. Once subdued and tied up in the back of the vehicle, they were taken to an unknown destination and remain disappeared to this day.

On the same day, Pedro CURIHUAL PAILLAN, 24 years old, a union leader, was apprehended at the Plaza de Pitrufquén. His family members state that their detention of him was denied at the local police station, even though there were witnesses to the event.

His whereabouts remain unknown to this day. Also on September 15, Einar Enrique TENORIO FUENTES, 42 years old, a teacher at the Liceo de Pitrufquén, councilman, and Secretary General of the Partido Socialista in the Cautín Province, was detained at his home.

After searching the house and interrogating his spouse and daughter, they took him blindfolded to the police station. He was seen by witnesses at that facility. Since that date, and despite the efforts of his family, he remains disappeared.

On September 19, 1973, Luis Caupolicán CARFURQUIR VILLALON, 49 years old, Administrator of the Pitrufquén Hospital, a member of the Partido Radical, former councilman of that municipality, and a leader of the Central Unica de Trabajadores, also disappeared in Pitrufquén.

He had been detained on September 18 by Carabineros officers at his home in the early hours of the morning. At that location, he was beaten and placed into a vehicle owned by a civilian in the city, which took him to an unknown destination.

The Carabineros subsequently denied his detention, and he has been disappeared since that date. On September 21, 1973, Juan Héctor ÑANCUFIL REUQUE, 21 years old, a laborer and member of the Juventud Socialista, was detained when he went to report to the police station after police officers raided his home.

His family states that his detention was later acknowledged at that facility, and they were reportedly informed of his transfer to the Temuco Prison, a place he never reached. His whereabouts have been unknown since that date.

On October 18, 1973, Ismael Rolando BOCAZ MUÑOZ, 31 years old, a communist militant and official at the Municipality of Pitrufquén, was detained in front of witnesses. The Carabineros reportedly denied the detention to his family members afterward.

He remains disappeared to this day. On October 25, 1973, Luis Anselmo FERNANDEZ BARRERA, 32 years old, an artisan, was detained in front of witnesses. An independent leftist, he had participated in the land seizures that gave rise to peasant settlements in the area.

His family members were also reportedly told at the police station that his detention had not occurred. Celso AVENDAÑO ALARCON, 47 years old, President of the Los Boldos settlement and a furniture maker by trade, was also detained and taken to the Pitrufquén police station.

His family was later reportedly informed that he had been transferred to the Temuco Prison, where he was never found. In the nine cases referred to, the detentions have been verified, and no news of any of them has been received by their families or through State agencies.

Therefore, this Commission has reached the conviction that they were forcibly disappeared by State agents. These acts constitute a grave violation of the human rights of these victims.

Source: Rettig Report

This Monday, September 8, the Agrupación Nacional de Empleados Públicos (ANEF) will hold a ceremony to inaugurate a memorial in honor of the public officials who were forcibly disappeared and killed during the dictatorship.

The tribute will be attended by government authorities, social organizations, and human rights groups. "This is done with all the respect we, as an organization, have for preserving the memory of our country.

On this occasion, we want to immortalize our officials and leaders, who also bequeathed to us their ethics and union struggle, and who were murdered during the worst period of our history. And in remembering our fallen comrades, we also issue a call for life and peace," commented ANEF Secretary General Bernardo Jorquera.

Joining the ANEF leaders who announced the memorial was Deputy Tucapel Jiménez—son of the ANEF union leader of the same name, who was murdered by Army agents in 1982—as well as the leader of the Agrupación de Familiares de Ejecutados Políticos, Alicia Lira.

There are more than 380 cases that will appear on a plaque at the ANEF headquarters, which will be inaugurated on Monday, September 8, at 11:00 a.m. The list was provided to the union by the Ministry of the Interior and includes President Salvador Allende Gossens and Tucapel Jiménez. "This inauguration dignifies the working class and the union movements," said Alicia Lira, who is the widow of a Treasury official murdered in the first days following the coup d'état. "These acts of keeping memory alive, of remembering the fallen, are important because memory is fragile and it is good to keep it alive. We want young people to never again experience that dark history we went through as a country, and that is why it is important to remember the fallen and seek truth and justice, with the goal that these things never happen again," affirmed Deputy Jiménez.

Source: cronicadigital.cl 5/9/2014

Date: 05-09-2014