Relatives of victims of the military dictatorship in Panama demand justice

As explained to the press Maritza Maestri, of the Committee of Relatives of the Dead and Disappeared of the Military Dictatorship in Panama, Héctor Gallego, for more than 20 years, no one has been punished and compensation has not been complied with.

On the occasion of Tuesday of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, established by the United Nations, Maestri denounced that his uncle was among the people whose whereabouts are unknown and so far he has not been punished for this fact.

He also noted that compared to other countries in the region, where there was a dictatorship and criminal proceedings were instituted, little progress has been made in the isthmus in terms of bringing justice to victims and families.

He considered that “the complicit silence continues, impunity and the situation in which the state does not deal with this issue as it should be.”

On the other hand, he noted the unwillingness of the current government of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) to recognize an agreement signed in 2019 during the administration of Juan Carlos Varela with members of the commission.

Last June, the Comptroller General of the Republic reported that he supported compensation, contained in Case No. 13.017-C of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, for the relatives of the victims of the military dictatorship from October 1968 to December 1989, attached to the Commission of Relatives of the Killed and Disappeared in the Western Province of Chiriqui.

In Panama, at least 116 cases of murder and disappearance of people – mostly citizens – were documented by the Truth Commission in 2002.

The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (signed by 96 countries and ratified by 57 countries) declared August 30 as the International Day of Victims of Enforced Disappearance, which began to be observed in 2011.

GCM / Ga