Arquus delivers 5 Bastion armored vehicles to Chilean Carabineros

[Judi Lynn]

Defense News February 2024 Global Security army industry
POSTED ON THURSDAY, 29 FEBRUARY 2024 16:22

Effective December 28, 2023, this new contract aims to strengthen the vehicles of the Chilean police forces with the production and delivery of 5 Bastion vehicles. This contract strengthens cooperation and confirms the good commercial relations between the Chilean Carabineros and Arquus. Scheduled for delivery in 2024, the production of the Bastions has already begun at the Arquus Limoges New Vehicle Production Center of Excellence.



With a total authorized weight in load (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating - GVWR) of 12 tons and a carrying capacity of up to 10 passengers (2+8), the Bastion is equipped with enhanced protection (Picture source: Arquus)

The arrival of the Bastion in the Chilean police force is a major asset for the modernization of their fleet and the improvement of their operational capabilities. They complement the range of Arquus vehicles already present in Chile: delivery in 2009 of Petit Véhicule Protégé (PVP) and in 2014 of a Sherpa APC Ladder. The Bastions will be assigned to the southern macro-zone of Araucanía.

Developed from 2012, the Bastion was specifically designed to meet customer requirements: robustness and exceptional mobility capacity. Today, renowned and approved, it is one of the benchmark vehicles in operational theaters worldwide.

More:
https://www.armyrecognition.com/defense_news_february_2024_global_security_army_industry/arquus_delivers_5_bastion_armored_vehicles_to_chilean_carabineros.html

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Expression meets repression
Social movements and police violence in Chile
Topics
STATE OF POWER
Publication date:16 May 2021

Chile's national police, the Carabineros, have a long and bloody track record of silencing groups demanding their labour, social and economic rights. Their continued existence and violence shows how the Carabineros serve as a key institution for maintaining social structures that perpetuate social injustices that benefit the elite.

October 2019 marked a watershed in Chile. The social uprising was the eruption of silenced and ignored demands, grievances and aspirations that had been building up for decades. In the words of one of the main slogans: ‘It’s not 30 pesos, it’s 30 years’. The slogan represented the anger at an economic development model instituted by the Pinochet dictatorship – and followed afterwards – that has led to more precarious living conditions and generated one of the most unequal societies in Latin America.

On 19 October, the government declared a constitutional state of emergency, which restricted freedom of movement and assembly. It sent the military out onto the streets and imposed a seven-day curfew,(external link) but this did not stop the protests. On the contrary, despite violent repression, huge demonstrations continued to be held daily. Carabineros, the Chilean national police force, used tear gas, water cannons filled with chemicals causing burns, and rifles loaded with heavy metal pellets against children, teenagers, protestors, artists and journalists. Many were arbitrarily detained. A Carabinero even entered, shot at and wounded adolescents at school. The authorities and the Carabineros intimidated Chilean artists who joined the public demonstrations.

Every day there were so many injuries that health professionals set up volunteer stations near the protestors’ meeting places to offer them assistance. But even the Red Cross health posts were attacked by the Carabineros. At that time, the COVID-19 pandemic had not yet begun so there was no objective or reasonable justification to prohibit mass gatherings.

By reason or by force: the state’s brutal response to Chile’s awakening
The October 2019 social uprising has been compared to the August 1949 ‘Chaucha revolution’ in Santiago. Both were characterised by a precarious economic situation, social discontent caused by the government’s failure to meet social demands and a hike in public transport fares, as well as the subsequent protests and severe repression that left several dead and injured. While there are clear similarities, the two historical moments also differ due to the government responses.

In 2019, force rather than reason prevailed, whereas in the Chaucha revolution, the government of Gabriel González Videla was forced to reverse its decision, change the cabinet and undertake extensive economic and political reforms. Videla even lowered the transport fare and created a reduced tariff for students(external link). The Sebastián Piñera administration, by contrast, opted to ignore the underlying causes of the conflict. It strengthened and supported the repression carried out by the Carabineros and invoked the internal state security act(external link), thus criminalising the social movement(external link).

As a result, the excessive use of force by the Carabineros and army violence in the name of order and security has become a regular occurrence. Reports published by international organisations such as Amnesty International,(external link) Human Rights Watch,(external link) the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights(external link) and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights(external link) condemned the excessive state violence – and the resulting serious human rights violations.

More:
https://www.tni.org/en/article/expression-meets-repression

[Judi Lynn]

1. The Caribeneros served Pinochet faithfully:

Human rights abuses in Chile under Augusto Pinochet were the crimes against humanity, persecution of opponents, political repression, and state terrorism committed by the Chilean Armed Forces, members of Carabineros de Chile and civil repressive agents members of a secret police, during the military dictatorship of Chile under General Augusto Pinochet from 1973 to 1990.

According to the Commission of Truth and Reconciliation (Rettig Commission) and the National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture (Valech Commission), the number of direct victims of human rights violations in Chile accounts for around 30,000 people: 27,255 tortured and 2,279 executed. In addition, some 200,000 people suffered exile and an unknown number went through clandestine centers and illegal detention.[citation needed]

The systematic human rights violations that were committed by the military dictatorship of Chile, under General Augusto Pinochet, included gruesome acts of physical and sexual abuse, as well as psychological damage. From 1973 to 1990, Chilean armed forces, the police and all those aligned with the military junta were involved in institutionalizing fear and terror in Chile.[1]

The most prevalent forms of state-sponsored torture that Chilean prisoners endured were electric shocks, waterboarding, beatings, and sexual abuse. Another common mechanism of torture employed was "disappearing" those who were deemed to be potentially subversive because they adhered to leftist political doctrines. The tactic of "disappearing" the enemies of the Pinochet regime was systematically carried out during the first four years of military rule. The "disappeared" were held in secret, subjected to torture and were often never seen again. Both the National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture (Valech Report) and the Commission of Truth and Reconciliation (Rettig Report) approximate that there were around 30,000 victims of human rights abuses in Chile, with 40,018 tortured and 2,279 executed.[2]

More:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_abuses_in_Chile_under_Augusto_Pinochet#Cuatro_%C3%81lamos

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POLICING PROTEST IN ARGENTINA AND CHILE

The Carabineros trace their establishment to 1541 as a police force aimed primarily at protecting the Spanish population from indigenous. As Chile developed economically in the 1700s, the police role expanded to include protection of business owners. In 1881, the Rural Police Security Force was formed and in 1896, the militarized police, Gendarmes, commenced primarily to protect elites and their holdings, particularly in mining communities. In 1902, the police became organized and centralized under the Interior of Ministry, eventually forming the Carabineros. From its inception, Chilean police forces have been closely tied to the military and tasked with protecting economic interests of the elite. A 1927 campaign portrayed the Carabineros as defenders of the public, cultivating a more citizen protection image, even though they were a militarized force. Despite the new image, the Carabineros continued to aggressively control social protest and unrest. In the 1960s, with financial help from the United States, they became more focused with the special task force on combating protest groups. Under Allende, the special group was disbanded and agrarian reform was implemented. The ensuing instability resulted in the military coup which instilled the Pinochet dictatorship.

Although given the constitutional right to protest in 1980, during the years after the dictatorship, protests were not as common as both the government and the people were focused on closure and stability. Given the focus on stability and justification for control of subversive groups, excessive police force was not regarded as wrongdoing in the law-and-order framework of Chile. According to police experts, excessive force in policing protest is justified as a way of maintaining public order and keeping citizens secure against violent subversive groups. Just as in colonial times, those labeled subversives tend to be indigenous, particularly the Mapuche, and other disenfranchised peoples.

Police reform in the 1990s and early 2000’s included disallowing arrest based on suspicion as well as detainee rights including a phone call, detention limitations, and the right to know the reason for arrest. Since police infractions are presided over in military court, police are often not held accountable. The Carabineros did not move from under control of the Ministry of Defense to the Ministry of the Interior until 2011. A focus on community relations, an increase in concern for citizen security, and domestic and international funding for police training and equipment has fostered a positive attitude toward police despite the continued use of excessive force against people deemed subversive.

The two largest and most widely distributed newspapers in Chile are conservative and credited with encouraging the military coup. Because the Pinochet government secured the funds that the two media groups borrowed during the dictatorship, their indebtedness contributed to the endorsement of governmental ideas as the norm. Starting in 1985, the Carabineros embarked on an image enhancement campaign consisting of a well-trained communications department offering information and seminars for journalists. Since 1990, the government has encouraged the media to promote a mindset of unity. For nearly 50 years, until 2001, media was limited in that any seditious comment against military or police was considered unlawful contempt for authority. The Chilean media continues to criminalize protesters portraying them as a violent and subversive. Unlike Argentina, Chilean police are the primary source journalists employ to obtain information about protests. The law-and-order framework does not include discourse on accountability as excessive police force is not viewed as wrongdoing.

More:
https://clcjbooks.rutgers.edu/books/policing-protest-in-argentina-and-chile/

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This article is more than 3 years old
Calls grow for radical reform of Chile's national police force

The Carabineros face 8,500 allegations of human rights abuses in the past year
Damning allegations of human rights abuses, cover-ups and impunity have prompted growing calls for a root-and-branch reform of Chile’s national police force, known as the Carabineros.

The force has been accused of a string of abuses since the outbreak of widespread protests a year ago – most recently when an officer was caught on camera bundling a 16-year-old demonstrator over the railings of a bridge in Santiago. The victim, named only as AA, fell 7 metres onto the concrete river bed, sustaining multiple fractures, and is now recovering in hospital.


This article is more than 3 years old
Calls grow for radical reform of Chile's national police force

The Carabineros face 8,500 allegations of human rights abuses in the past year

John Bartlett in Santiago
Wed 14 Oct 2020 01.30 ETD

Damning allegations of human rights abuses, cover-ups and impunity have prompted growing calls for a root-and-branch reform of Chile’s national police force, known as the Carabineros.

The force has been accused of a string of abuses since the outbreak of widespread protests a year ago – most recently when an officer was caught on camera bundling a 16-year-old demonstrator over the railings of a bridge in Santiago.

Police on bridge
Chilean police throw boy, 16, off bridge during protests
Read more
The victim, named only as AA, fell 7 metres onto the concrete river bed, sustaining multiple fractures, and is now recovering in hospital.

The officer responsible has been dismissed by the Carabineros – reportedly for an “administrative” misdemeanour – and charged with attempted murder.

But the government has reiterated its unequivocal support for the force and its leader, Gen Mario Rozas, under whose leadership the Carabineros have racked up more than 8,500 allegations of human rights abuses in the past year.

Last week, two Carabineros officers were charged with torturing six detainees last October. Four of the victims were children, and the youngest just 14 years old.

The court heard that the officers had beaten and insulted the detainees, then extracted powder from a tear gas canister and smeared it across their faces while they were handcuffed.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/14/calls-grow-for-radical-reform-of-chiles-national-police-force