“The Ministry of Human Rights, headed by Minister Silvio Almeida, has noted that in October, on the anniversary of the terrible death of Vladimir Herzog (October 25), there will be a reinstallation, that is, the continuity of the human rights organization. Commission Dead and Missing, with the aim of achieving historical justice,” Brazilian Justice Minister Flávio Dino told Lusa in Santiago, during the 50th anniversary of the military coup in Chile that took place this week.
Journalist, professor and playwright Vladimir Herzog was one of the most emblematic victims of the Brazilian dictatorship. As a Communist Party activist, he was tortured and murdered on October 25, 1975.
“The program will resume after being unnecessarily interrupted. The committee will now begin and its work will certainly yield results. The government will fulfill its role,” said Flávio Dino, regarding the possibility of tracking down and identifying people missing by the regime’s military. .
CEMDP was dissolved by former President Jair Bolsonaro on December 30, the penultimate day of his term, dedicated to hampering the Commission’s performance.
Since then, relatives of the victims, experts in the field and even international organizations have put pressure on the government of President Lula da Silva, for effective actions of memory, truth, justice and reparation, starting with the return of the CEMDP, the interruption of the what is considered illegal.
For example, on August 30, families of the victims presented President Lula with a Manifesto for the Reinstatement of the Special Commission on Political Deaths and Disappearances.
In March, the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship sent a decree on the return of work to the president for signature.
“We are taking all measures within the government so that the Commission can resume in a more solid way and not be exposed to the type of attack carried out by the government of Jair Bolsonaro, which is an illegal act, which the Federal Prosecutor has pointed out. The General Office itself has closed the Commission. The CEMDP is even a mandate of the Inter-American Court,” the Minister of Human Rights, Silvio Almeida, explained to Lusa.
During the interview with Lusa in Santiago, the minister emphasized the importance of the Commission, which for him inspired the Chilean government to create a similar body. This month, Chilean President Gabriel Boric launched an unprecedented policy to “locate, recover, identify and return the remains” of the 1,162 victims who disappeared during Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship (1973-1990). Of the 1,469 missing, only 307 were found.
“It seems to me that President Boric’s initiative is inspired by the initiative that Brazil has had since 1995, during the government of President Fernando Henrique Cardoso,” said Silvio Almeida.
The Special Commission was established in December 1995 with the aim of locating those who were killed or missing as a result of political activities during the military regime. The Commission has also issued opinions on compensation to the families of the victims.
But the opposite was the case during the government of Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2023), for whom the military coup was not a coup and the military avoided a communist dictatorship.
Before Bolsonaro shut down the Commission, he hampered its work by replacing four of its seven members.
The Brazilian Public Prosecutor’s Office opposed the decision, arguing that the CEMDP “is necessary for the perfect execution of the sentences imposed on Brazil by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights” and also opined that “it extinction is premature given the existence of pending cases, which require administrative measures such as recognizing victims, searching for bodies and remains, and registering deaths”.
So far, the Special Commission on Political Deaths and Disappearances has confirmed 434 deaths by the last military dictatorship. Of these, 210 have not yet been buried because they are still missing. A total of 377 state agents were identified as responsible for human rights violations.
Source: DN
