To mark the International Day of the Disappeared, Bolivia’s President Evo Morales has demanded justice for the victims in his own country and around the world.
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Just a week earlier, Morales gave a green light to the government’s Truth Commission, which began investigations into the disappearances and violations of human rights during the dictatorships in the nation between 1964 and 1982.
The panel is tasked with gathering information about those who bear civil and criminal responsibility for the abuses. It will study murder cases, forced disappearances, torture and arbitrary arrests registered in Bolivia from Nov. 4, 1964, to Oct.10, 1982.
"We reiterate our commitment to justice for victims of dictatorships," Morales wrote on his official Twitter account.
En el Día Internacional de Víctimas de Desapariciones Forzadas reiteramos nuestro compromiso de justicia a víctimas de dictaduras. pic.twitter.com/ZzwbKYjHTB
— Evo Morales Ayma (@evoespueblo) August 30, 2017
"Accomplices and heirs of the dictatorships have been recycled into power under 20 years of neoliberalism. They have outstanding accounts with history," the Bolivian president said in another tweet.
According to Amnesty International, during Bolivia’s dictatorship years, 200 people were executed, 150 disappeared and 5,000 were detained for no reason.
Many of them were tortured under Operation Condor, an organized program of state-sponsored terror run by South American military dictatorships, which was tacitly supported by the U.S. government in the 1970s and 1980s.
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Morales also pointed to the example of the 43 disappeared students of Ayotzinapa, in Mexico, saying that the Mexican people and the entire world is still waiting for justice after almost three years.
"It is a day of reflection for all, when despite living in democracy there are still disappearances like that of the 43 people of #Ayotzinapa," he tweeted.
Es un día de reflexión para todos, cuando a pesar de vivir en democracia aún hay desapariciones como la de los 43 hermanos de #Ayotzinapa pic.twitter.com/0YrbPRH9Op
— Evo Morales Ayma (@evoespueblo) August 30, 2017
"It is a day of reflection for all, when despite living in democracy there are still disappearances like that of the 43 people of #Ayotzinapa."
The United Nations first declared August 30 as the International Day of the Disappeared in December 2010.
The body had signalled concern about the rise in forced disappearances in several parts of the world, including people who have been arrested or abducted.