Ewen MacAskill Field Notes Part Two

Monday, July 25, 2016.

A good day. This assignment is not just about Kozak but about Chile’s struggle to come to terms with its past. One human right lawyer told me that Chile had gone some way to confronting the truth of what had happened – though some dispute that – but remains a long way from reconciliation.

I went to the Vicaria de la Solidaridad, which was set up by the Catholic Church to collate human rights abuses and has thousands of cases in its filing cabinet. I interviewed Maria Luisa Sepulveda, who has had senior roles in the various commissions investigating human rights abuses.

In the afternoon, I spent three hours interviewing Angela Bachelet, mother of the president. Both she and the president, Michelle, were held at the Villa Gramaldi. Angela Bachelet, who is 90, apologised in advance, saying she suffered memory lapses. But she provides a detailed account of what happened. Some journalists have a rough idea beforehand of the story they want and guide interviewees towards the kind of quotes they want. I prefer, like some other journalists I know well, a more passive and patient approach: to let the interviewees tell the story as they want it. Hence the three hours.

Went to dinner at Jonathan Franklin’s house: an eclectic, multi-national mix of guests. Jonathan’s attempts to find a military source not proved fruitful yet but he did come up with some great info, pages and pages of declassified material from the state department about Kozak. That was written at the time and provides a real insight.

Tuesday, July 26, 2016.

The key interview: with Silvia. She tended to be circumspect about her husband, saying she did not know much, and I wondered how forthcoming she would be. But it was a wonderful interview, full of detail. What was satisfying is that she did not attempt to exaggerate Kozak’s role, in fact, if anything, downplayed it, keen to stress the role of others.

In the afternoon, met at his home Jose Zalaquett, one of the best-known human rights lawyers in Chile, imprisoned by Pinochet and served on the truth and reconciliation commission.

Friday, July 29, 2016. London.

Although I am no longer in Santiago, there are various strands I can pursue. In the state department docs, many of the cables that mention Kozak were written by a US diplomat who is still alive. So I will try to track him down. I also want to find Sheila Cassidy, another prisoner Kozak helped: she is British and that would give me a British line in the story. Jonathan Franklin is also pursuing various lines, including access to the Chilean foreign ministry, people who worked with Kozak and the elusive military member from the time.

Text by Ewen MacAskill.

For of Ewen’s reporting, visit his project, “Latin America’s Schindler.”

Ewen MacAskill Field Notes Part One

Saturday, July 23, 2016. 

Second full day in Santiago. The morning is spent at the Villa Grimaldi, the most notorious of the Pinochet secret detention centers. Yesterday was spent at the Museo de la Memoria Y Los Derechos Humanos, the memorial to those tortured and killed after the coup. It was a good primer. I also met for the first time Silvia, Kozak’s widow and the key to this story: she knows him best and has opened the door to a wide range of contacts. Without her help, this story would be hard to put together.

I did not do much research before leaving London, mainly because I was engaged in other stories. But I did have time to Skype Kozak’s son, Nikolai, who was impressive. I made a few other calls too but they proved less productive.

At the Villa Grimaldi, I was shown around by Rodrigo del Villar Canas, a former member of a militant left-wing group that was tortured there and who Kozak helped leave. A lot of it was demolished when the secret police left it but there is enough left to provoke memories, all of them harrowing. Although reporters put a lot of store on remaining objective - especially Brits who tend to avoid physical shows of emotion - I could not do anything other than hug Rodrigo at the end.

In the afternoon, I met another victim from that time at her home, Marcia Scantlebury, who was helped by Kozak and later became a director of the National Television of Chile.

Sunday, July 24, 2016.

Last night I had dinner with the Guardian’s long-time Chile correspondent, Jonathan Franklin, who offered to help try to track down some military from the time who would have known Kozak or at least provide a take on why they behaved as they did and whether they have any regrets. Franklin is deepy impressive, author of the best-selling account of the 33 trapped Chilean miners and still full of enthusiasm for journalism, bursting with ideas. He said he would try to Pinochet Foundation.

I have tried to find former military people through other routes but it proving harder than I expected. I am sure I could do it if I had more time.

Text by Ewen MacAskill.

For of Ewen’s reporting, visit his project, “Latin America’s Schindler.”