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 General Pinochet has frequently
insisted that his actions can only be judged in Chile since they were carried out
on a national scale. The existence of “Operation Condor,” however, proves his claims
are misguided. The dictators of Chile, Uruguay, Brazil , Paraguay and Bolivia—along
with security forces in Argentina even before that country’s coup in 1976—embarked
on a programme of co-operation aimed at killing their opponents or making them disappear.
They decided to make Asuncion the headquarters of the programme, or rather their
plans for eradication. Hence the interest in papers from the period found in Paraguay.
The documents that can be consulted in Asuncion are mainly police archives covering
Paraguay alone. Besides, as is already known, the discovery of these files dates
back to October 1992, when they were made available for viewing (albeit with some
difficulty) through the Supreme Court.
It is quite possible to argue from a strictly technical point of view that UNESCO
should attach great importance to these archives. But the enormous interest stirred
by these files and their details of disappearances and murders has given the “archives
of terror” a wider symbolic importance. This was clearly shown by the press coverage
in many countries devoted to the joint mission organized by UNESCO and
a group of French specialists.1
We are faced with a find that has aroused the deepest emotions. That is why we think
it vital that UNESCO officially show its interest in these files
echoing the terrible events that destroyed democracy in the southern cone of America.
I am convinced that, in the eyes of UNESCO, the symbolic importance of these archives
as perceived by public opinion must rate as the chief consideration—and one that
goes far beyond the simple contents of the files.
There is good reason to believe that other archives exist in various Paraguayan ministries
and above all in the records of the armed forces or their intelligence services.
Documents are probably to be found in other countries. The presidents of the nations
involved should follow the example of Brazilian President F. H. Cardoso, who has
opened his country’s military archives for viewing.
On a wider front, the time has come throughout Latin America for memory to be regained.
Many people have held, in good faith or not, that the conflicts of the past had to
be forgotten so a new future could be built. As a result, the past was set up in
opposition to the future. This is a mistake. A country or an individual that fails
to face up to the past is unable, in general, to face up to the future. Democracy
cannot be built if the motives and workings of dictatorships are not understood.
1. This mission visited
Asuncion in May 2000 following a request from the Paraguayan authorities for help
in putting these files on the Memory of the World Register, one element of a programme
aimed at safeguarding and promoting the documentary heritage of humanity to ensure
records are preserved and available for consultation.
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