-817.
The arguments put forward by the representatives during this public hearing
(supra Having seen paragraph 15), in which, in brief, they stated the following:
a) They had requested provisional measures owing to the ineffectiveness of the
measures adopted by the State in the context of the precautionary measures.
Guards are only provided to the places of residence; the measures were
adopted unilaterally by the State, and they are provided by officials who do
not have appropriate training to offer this service: they are unarmed and they
require the support of the local police to carry out their tasks. In addition, the
guards at the domiciles do not even know the family or the other beneficiaries
who are protected. The mobile telephones given to the beneficiaries so that
they can communicate with the Coastguard are the only measure that has
been mutually agreed with the State. However, it has not been an effective
measure, because the Coastguard has no protocol regarding what to do when
it receives a telephone call. The beneficiaries have telephoned and no one
answered or the person who answered did not know who they were;
b) They stated that, according to the official explanation, Tamara Bolívar, Iván
Torres, Luis Alberto Alcaína and Marcos Gallardo are fugitives from justice and
their whereabouts is being sought. They indicated that David Hayes, Gustavo
Cruz, Dante Caamaño and Hugo Álvarez have met violent deaths;
c) Regarding the transfers that had been requested, it required a year and a half
to obtain authorization to transfer Miguel Ángel Sánchez, and, on July 4,
2006, this measure had not been executed. They are opposed to the transfer
that the State says it will make of Juan Pablo Caba, because they have not
requested it. He should not be transferred 800 kilometers from his family.
Following the issue of the President’s Order, the State has not been in
communication with the representatives to coordinate any type of measure.
Most of the beneficiaries of the measures have filed denunciations before the
Judiciary;
d) They requested that, as a measure of protection, members of the Hayes and
Torres families should be protected by guards; the latter should be trained
personnel and not personnel of the security forces who work side by side with
the police of Chubut Province. They stressed that what happened to Valeria
Torres on April 23, 2006, occurred outside her home. They also requested the
following measures: a guarantee that the granddaughters of María Millacura
can attend school normally; a subsidy for Marcos and Valeria Torres since
they are unable to work owing to their “situation which is well known
throughout the town and the Province, so that the labor market is totally
closed to them,” and both they and their mother are looking for Iván every
day during daylight hours and “every day they are threatened”; financial
resources so that María Millacura can continue looking for her son; a
guarantee that Miguel Ángel Sanchez will be transferred to Río Grande
urgently, because he has denounced that in the police station where he is
currently detained, he is tortured by the chief of police and his deputy; a
“special protection program” for Tamara Bolívar, Gerardo Colin and Walter
Mansilla, because they are street children; and an urgent and effective
investigation, since this is the only way to safeguard the life and physical
integrity of all the beneficiaries and to ensure that those responsible for the
disappearance of Iván Torres realize that they will be prosecuted; and