Victims of Eye Trauma in Chile Demand Reparations

The Eye Trauma Victims rights group demanded Wednesday that the government of Chile guarantee effective reparations for the injured people and bring to justice those responsible for abuses of human rights.

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Marta Valdes, the spokeswoman of the organization, declared that in spite of the government's promise - made on Nov. 11 - of implementing an eye reparation program for the victims of State violence, the injured have still not received any assistance.

In an interview with Radio Universidad de Chile (University of Chile), Valdes stated that "the victims of eye trauma do not see that reparation coming" and not a single authority has met with them, and they have not spoken about real reparations.

She warned that "these are lifetime mutilations; there are many young people with eye trauma that cannot continue studying; there are many that will not be able to work because they depend entirely on their eyesight, and the government has not spoken about those repairs."

Data of the National Human Rights Institute indicate that more than 350 people have suffered from eye trauma due to police repression, which has been denounced nationally and internationally; however, the number of injured people has continued to grow.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) along with numerous other rights groups condemned the constant violations of human rights by police and military against the population in Chile.