In a German television documentary, broadcast in mid-2019, he is seen happily walking through his farm in the province of Llanquihue, Los Lagos region.
A two-story wooden house, with some heads of wild animals, large wild boars, on the wall, built on a green meadow accompanied by flowers and trees, is the scene of a small interview given by General (r) Rodolfo Stange to Deutsche Welle about a European audiovisual story that runs along the Carretera Austral in southern Chile.
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An episode that becomes relevant for the short-lived appointment as “General Director Rodolfo Stange Oelckers” of the Academy of Police Sciences (Acipol), at the decision of the current director general of the Carabineros, Mario Rozas, but that after less than a day, and under a harsh attack by the opposition and relatives of the Detained Disappeared, finally came to nothing . He stepped back.
The above happened this Thursday. About the Deutsche Welle (DW) documentary a couple of years ago and in it, after a long time of silence, the retired senior officer makes a confession related to his participation, as head of the Carabineros de la Junta de Gobierno, between 1985 and 1990.
“I have nothing to do with the dead”, says Rodolfo Stange, when asked by the DW on the thousands of murders during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, of which he was part.
“Willcommen”
Through his land in Los Lagos, the Maullín river passes, his house is located in Paraguay Chico, a sector between Puerto Montt and Los Muermos. Your workers and friends tell you “Rolf” and there is a police station nearby.
And, say neighbors, it shows when he comes to spend a season at his house, there is more police movement.
“In 1973 Augusto Pinochet came to power in Chile, through a Military Coup. His Government, the Junta, was made up of the Commanders in Chief of the Air Force, Army, Navy and Carabineros. Rodolfo Stange is one of the last members, still alive, of the leadership of the dictatorship ”, contextualizes the voice-over of the DW to introduce the former senator-elect by the UDI.
He explains that Stange joined the Board in 1985, as head of the “military police” and he remained in office until the end of the regime in 1990.
Hand in hand with his German ancestry, Stange hangs on the door of his home a “welcome” (Welcome) and at the date of the report, he was 91 years old (2017).
Stange combines Spanish and German in conversation when he even plays with his little dog.
In any case, if you speak German, it is translated into Spanish.
As he walks through his house, he takes a framed photo and claims it looks like a painting, but it isn’t.
“In the Museum of Santiago there are all the generals, this is my photo”, then shows another, stuck to his wall, where Pope John Paul II appears, during his visit to Chile in 1987, the general (r) of the Aviation, Fernando Matthei – now deceased -, and Stange himself.
“The Germans gathered here,” he says, pointing his finger at Matthei and himself in the photograph.
“(Thus) they told us, in the sessions of the Governing Board. They teased us because we would suddenly say something in German to each other, when we had to change our minds, “adds Stange.
He also praises the few laws passed by the Governing Board. “Few, but very good. Today there are many laws, but not all of them are good ”, he explains.
“I’m innocent”
According to versions of Stange’s neighbors, the general (r) arrives at his country house in the spring, he does not have much machinery, most of them lease it, supposedly, to avoid being burned.
After talking about the importance of the Carretera Austral for Chile, which he described as “Essential, to have your own path and through our country”Stange does not acknowledge any involvement in the human rights violations that occurred in Chile, especially in the years that he was at the head of the police institution.
(Speaks in German) “Not that I say it was good, no, unfortunately. I have nothing to do with the dead. I am innocent, innocent of everything “Rodolfo Stange apologizes.
You can see the documentary here “Heading for Patagonia”:
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