Juan Guzm路n Tapia, the Chilean judge known around the world for indicting Augusto Pinochet, will present a lecture titled"Human Rights During and After Chile鈥檚 Dictatorship" Nov. 13 (Thursday) at 4:15 p.m. in the auditorium of the Hesburgh Center at the University of 91吃瓜.
Co-sponsored by 91吃瓜鈥檚 Kellogg Institute for International Studies and Center for Civil and Human Rights, the lecture is free and open to the public.
Currently director of the Center for Human Rights at the Universidad Central de Chile, Guzm路n will speak about his prosecution of Pinochet after he was appointed in 1998 to investigate charges against the former dictator and his murderous regime.
A film on the confrontation between Guzm路n and Pinochet will set the stage for Guzm路n鈥檚 lecture.鈥淭he Judge and the General,鈥漺hich follows the twists and turns of the efforts of Guzm路n and others to overcome Pinochet鈥檚 immunity and claims to be too ill to stand trial, will be shown Nov. 12 (Wednesday) at 7:30 p.m., also in the Hesburgh Center auditorium. The screening is free and open to the public.
Produced and directed by Elizabeth Farnsworth and Patricio Lanfranco, the film explores whether Chile can find truth and reconciliation through a legal accounting of its recent violent past.
For Guzm路n, a man who says that his investigations 鈥渙pened the eyes of [his] soul,鈥漷here is one clear choice:鈥淎 wounded country needs to know the truth.鈥�
The screening is a collaboration with the award-winning PBS documentary series P.O.V. ( ), the Kellogg Institute and the Center for Civil and Human Rights.
On Sept. 11, 1973, Pinochet seized power from Chile鈥檚 democratically elected president, Salvador Allende. Thousands of Chileans were tortured, killed or disappeared in the coup鈥檚 aftermath; the Pinochet regime lasted 17 years.
A conservative judge, Guzm路nwho had supported the couptook his job as investigator seriously, pressing ahead with the case despite intense social and political pressure to desist. Guzm路n鈥檚 memoir has been a bestseller in Chile, which continues to vigorously debate the period.
鈥淭he Judge and the General鈥漟ollows two of Guzm路n鈥檚 investigations. One is the killing of a young sociology professor during the 鈥渃aravan of death,鈥� when Pinochet鈥檚 right-hand man, General Sergio Arrellano Stark, flew in a helicopter from town to town, listing the names of those to be executed. The second involves a law student and political activist who disappeared, whose mother was forced to lead Pinochet鈥檚 secret police to her daughter鈥檚 hiding place in order to save her granddaughter鈥檚 life.
_ Contacts: Elizabeth Rankin, writer/editor, Kellogg Institute, 574-631-9184,_ " erankin3@nd.edu ":mailto:erankin3@nd.edu ; Therese Hanlon, events coordinator, Kellogg Institute, 574-631-4150, " Therese.Hanlon@nd.edu ":mailto:Therese.Hanlon@nd.eduTopicID: 30307