Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) was recognized for his decades-long effort to bring human rights and democracy to Chile this week with the country's highest civilian honor--the Orden of Bernardo O'Higgins award. The award, established in 1965, recognizes achievements in humanitarian and social cooperation. Harkin is leading a trip to the region with Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Bernard Sanders (I-VT); Representatives George Miller (D-CA), Jared Huffman (D-CA), and Rush Holt (D-NJ).
Harkin received the award along with Representative Miller.
In March 1976, less than three years after Chile's democratically-elected president was assassinated in a military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet with assistance from the Nixon Administration, Harkin, Miller, and a third colleague, former Congressman Toby Moffett (D-CT), traveled to Chile to investigate claims of human rights abuses carried out by Pinochet's Junta. Harkin uncovered the Villa Grimaldi, a detention center used by the military junta, during that visit.
Upon returning from their trip, the lawmakers led legislative efforts to stop U.S. aid to Pinochet's military regime and pressed for the extradition of junta members who were found responsible for the September 1976 assassination in Washington, D.C. of a Chilean national and his American colleague who were working against the Pinochet regime. Harkin and Miller continued to work together on human rights issues involving Chile and other countries throughout their 40-year long careers in Congress. Both lawmakers have announced that they will retire at the end of this year.
Senator Harkin issued the following statement upon receiving the award:
"During my first trip to Chile, exactly 38 years ago this week, I visited Chile for very different reasons. It was one of my first fact finding trips as a Member of Congress and our delegation was examining reports of human rights abuses. At the time, Chile was in a terrible state. It is amazing to see how far the country has come since the referendum to oust Dictator Pinochet from power.
"Today, Chile is a model of good governance across the region, with strong democratic institutions, a stable political system, and steady economic growth. Chile is a nation with a history of liberation from colonial rule and, later, dictatorship and, now, has a future of prosperity and opportunity shared by all Chileans-- a future where Chile shines as a beacon of democracy and human rights across all of the Americas.
"I thank the government of Chile, President Bachelet and Foreign Minister Munoz for this great honor, which I am pleased to receive alongside my friend and colleague, George Miller."
Harkin's discovery of the Villa Grimaldi is just one piece of his long track record of ending human rights abuses that dates back to 1970. As a junior Congressional staffer, Harkin travelled to Vietnam and discovered hundreds of political prisoners in "tiger cages." Despite the objections of his superiors, his photographs of the tiger cages were published in magazines around the world leading to the release of hundreds of abused prisoners. His commitment to protecting vulnerable populations has not wavered since that time.