Symbol of dictatorship abuse, Chilean sees justice coming

Carmen Quintana attends a tribute for slain photographer Rodrigo Rojas, outside the Gabriela Mistral museum, in Santiago, Chile, Tuesday, July 28, 2015. During a street demonstration on July 2, 1986, soldiers doused Rojas and then 18-year-old Quintana with gasoline and set them ablaze. Rojas died four days later. Quintana survived and underwent lengthy treatment for severe burns at a Canadian hospital. Her scarred face later became a symbol of the atrocities committed by Pinochet's dictatorship. A Chilean judge last week charged seven former members of the military in the burning death of Rojas, and four other ex-soldiers were being questioned on Monday. (AP Photo/Luis Hidalgo) Carmen Quintana attends a tribute for slain photographer Rodrigo Rojas, outside the Gabriela Mistral museum, in Santiago, Chile, Tuesday, July 28, 2015. During a street demonstration on July 2, 1986, soldiers doused Rojas and then 18-year-old Quintana with gasoline and set them ablaze. Rojas died four days later. Quintana survived and underwent lengthy treatment for severe burns at a Canadian hospital. Her scarred face later became a symbol of the atrocities committed by Pinochet's dictatorship. A Chilean judge last week charged seven former members of the military in the burning death of Rojas, and four other ex-soldiers were being questioned on Monday. (AP Photo/Luis Hidalgo)

By Associated Press July 29, 2015 4 min read

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) – Her scarred face long ago became a symbol of the atrocities committed during Chile’s 1973-90 dictatorship led by Gen. Augusto Pinochet. Now Carmen Quintana finally feels justice is being done.

Soldiers drenched a then 18-year-old Quintana and 19-year-old Rodrigo Rojas with gasoline and set them ablaze during a street demonstration on July 2, 1986. Rojas died four days later. Quintana underwent lengthy treatment for severe burns to more than 60 percent of her body.

For decades their attackers enjoyed impunity. But last week a judge charged seven former members of the military with the attack after a soldier testified about the case, breaking a nearly three-decade pact of silence.

Quintana said Tuesday that she is confident more perpetrators of dictatorship-era rights violations will come forward.

“I think this pact of silence that is breaking apart after so many years is a milestone for our country. It’s a before and after in the struggle for human rights,” Quintana said as she paid homage to Rojas by pinning a photo to a memorial in Santiago for the late photographer. “From now on many more soldiers, who are burdened by their conscience, will talk because they know what they did. They murdered and forcibly disappeared people.”