Chile's latest step on path to truth

In 2003, this hard road posed an even more difficult challenge - that of setting up a commission where surviving Chileans, with their untold memories and pain, could be heard and, in this way, contribute with their testimonies to establishing truth in Chile and to healing the country's wounds.

I've been deeply moved by these thousands of testimonies - by the accounts of the victims. I've felt closely the magnitude of their suffering, the irrationality of the brutal cruelty they suffered, and the immensity of the pain. However, I believe that the courage to face this truth speaks well of Chileans and of the maturity we have attained. The report confronts us with an undeniable truth: Political detention and torture were institutional practices of the state. This was absolutely unacceptable and out of keeping with our nation's historic traditions.

Chile is, of course, not alone in having suffered such a chapter. It wasn't so long ago that Europe, which we now look to as a model of respect for human rights and individual liberty, went through a period in which the human rights of millions of its citizens were widely and terribly violated.

Yet history shows us that other countries suffering such experiences have healed the wounds of their past and built a present of freedom and prosperity - some with more ease than others. In none of them have memories been erased; instead, they have been transformed into part of a shared view of the past. And for new generations, the challenge is to preserve respect for human rights as part of a heritage shared by all of society.

In Chile, the work of this commission and the publication of its report has gone far beyond what many imagined. The testimony of each man and woman will be preserved in an individual file, forming part of the country's permanent archives.

Perhaps this is the most important step we can take to repair the victims' pain. We have put an end to their silence, restoring their dignity in the eyes of society. Of course, there will also be material reparation. It will be modest, but it symbolizes the obligation of the State to recognize its responsibility, and the details will be debated by Congress.

But that is not what is most important. What is most important is that the light of truth now illuminates the coexistence of Chileans. Because we have been capable of looking, unblinkingly, at the hard truth, we can now begin to defeat the pain, to heal the wounds.

I have spoken to my country from the ethical dimension of political life. In this 21st century, that should be the anchor of relations within every society, and of the international community.

In Chile, we have understood that if we want never to repeat a dark chapter of our history, we must never again deny it.

• Ricardo Lagos is the president of Chile.

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