The Honorable
William Brownfield
Avenida Andres Bello 2800
Santiago, Chile
Via fax: 56 2 330-3710
Dear Ambassador
Brownfield,
Thank you for your reply of
As I'm sure you know, on
I
strongly believe that the U.S. Government should be doing much, much more in
regard of solving the case of disappearance of Prof. Weisfeiler. As you mention in your letter, the FBI has
offered to provide lie detector tests to members of the military patrol who may
have been involved in my brother's disappearance. This proposal, first made several years ago,
is the only concrete expression of investigative support in the case. Polygraphs
are not commonly used in the Chilean legal system. More than a year ago I was informed by
then-Legal Attaché Kevin Currier that all possible witnesses refused to
participate in the polygraph exam and, as you said, "There is no way to
compel them." And during our December 2002 trip to
It
is time to go beyond the lone offer of polygraph support and pursue the many
other ways for the U.S. Government to actively, aggressively, professionally
and diplomatically support the investigation.
The FBI has many other investigative techniques and technologies that
could be provided to the Chileans authorities.
The FBI could, for example, provide technical assistance for
investigation of Colonia Dignidad. As
you know, President Lagos has publicly told the New York Times that
I also want to explore with you what the
Embassy, and the legal attaché, can do on its own in terms of enhancing and
advancing the investigation. For
example, you now have photographs of the military patrol that Defense Minister
Michelle Bachelet provided to Judge Solis after I met with her in December
2002. The
I would also like to know if the Embassy
has looked for and located the two consular officers who traveled to the area
of Boris's disappearance in October 1985 and wrote in their reports of various
informants who suggested a cover up of what happened to my brother. I believe that it is time to disclose to
Judge Solis the names of all local informants who talked to embassy officials
in October 1985 (Embassy cable,
Among the most obvious actions that
your Embassy can take is simply finding former diplomat Larry Penn and the
former Deputy Chief of Mission George F. Jones, and asking them to clarify a
one paragraph memorandum dated February 21, 1985—which indicates that Mr. Penn
only a few weeks after Boris disappeared had received information from a source
that my brother was still alive. Despite
the fact that I have flagged this memo and its potential leads at almost every
meeting with State Department and FBI officials, I do not believe any effort
has been made to pursue further information about this mysterious and troubling
memorandum—the first document to suggest that Boris Weisfeiler had not drowned
in the river but was still alive.
I would also like to know from you
whether the Embassy has provided Judge Solis with the original tapes of
"Daniel's" testimonies made by then-attorney Maximo
Pacheco during Daniel's first two interviews, according to declassified
documents dated
Finally,
I would like to ask your official support for advancing publicity around this
case. At the time when Chileans are
openly discussing what to do about the disappeared prisoners and other human
rights atrocities of the past, it would seem only logical that the
I
would like to see a public reward offered for any information on the welfare
and whereabouts of Boris Weisfeiler. I
understand that offering such a reward is not often done by the
·
Creating
and distributing advertisements and posters—HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN? —
requesting information on the whereabouts and fate of Boris Weisfeiler. I would like to coordinate with the Embassy
on this so that information can be vetted and assessed by professionals rather
than just my family.
·
Holding
a Press Conference to call attention to Boris's disappearance and request
informants to come forward and announcing guarantees for the security of any
informant's identity.
·
Using
the criteria set forth recently by President Lagos, calling for informants to
contact the Judge or the U.S. Embassy and be protected from prosecution.
In other words, I am seeking your
initiative and assistance in raising the profile of this case in
As I discussed with the State
Department officials in
I hope to hear from you soon
regarding these concrete proposals for actions that can and should be taken to
find my brother.
Sincerely,
Olga Weisfeiler
Cc: Robert Jackson, Director, Office for
the Promotion of Human Rights and Democracy;
Jeanette Davis, Bureau of Democracy, Human rights, and Labor;
Len Kusnitz, Deputy Director, Brazilian and Southern Cone
Affairs;
Congressman
Barney Frank;
Senator Edward
M. Kennedy;
Senator John F.
Kerry;
Peter Kornbluh,
National Security Archives;
Attorneys: Alene
Shafnisky, Hernan Fernandez, Joanna Heskia.