INTERVIEW | National Security Expert: "The Country Needs to Be Transmitted Calmness"

Although Richard Kouyoumdjian does not find the proposal by Senator José Miguel Insulza to consider a state of emergency in the Metropolitan Region unreasonable, he emphasizes that this measure should be limited to conveying tranquility to public opinion and supporting the police, with the necessary legal adjustments.

The defense and national security expert, Richard Kouyoumdjian, believes that, in an environment of great insecurity due to the extreme violence exhibited by organized crime present in the country, the priority should be to convey calm in the Metropolitan Region. In other words, it is essential to stabilize the situation and, aside from taking reactive measures, it is necessary to thoroughly assess the landscape because, he asserts, “we are not seeing the true dimension of the problem.”

In this regard, he stated that if the presence of military personnel on the streets brings tranquility, then, he asserts, it should be evaluated. While he does not find Senator PS José Miguel Insulza’s words about declaring a state of emergency in this context of peace and tranquility unreasonable, he points out that it must be very different from the imagery associated with the state of emergency during Pinochet’s time. “It is not about militarizing the Metropolitan Region, especially since there are not enough troops for that,” he says.

“There is no intention of reverting to old-style states of emergency or a complete militarization of the Metropolitan Region, which could be the idea of some, and which is logistically impossible due to a lack of military resources. Initially, if it becomes necessary and there is broad political agreement, the potential use or presence of military forces in the Metropolitan Region should only be carried out for two purposes: 1) to reduce the level of violence, and 2) to convey tranquility to public opinion.”

Their use, he adds, “should be limited to the above, and eventually, in a second phase, support police work by providing perimeter security for the police. The latter would involve modifying critical infrastructure to enable its use in support of the police. Obviously, appropriate RUF would be needed,” he points out.

In a conversation with “Al Pan Pan” with Mirna Schindler, he compared the situation to stabilizing a patient in intensive care: “The first thing doctors do is stabilize the patient. At this moment, the Metropolitan Region needs a signal of stability, peace, and tranquility.”

Kouyoumdjian also emphasized that it is crucial to investigate and make an accurate diagnosis of the situation: “We need to structure this system, we need to organize the task forces that will work to ensure that we are effectively targeting the right issues.”

In this sense, he criticized the government’s measures as a “strategy of more of the same,” pointing out that there is no innovation in the proposals to combat crime and organized crime.

Kouyoumdjian stressed that security will cost more money and that the country will need to finance more technology, more Carabineros, and more PDI, but he warned that this must be done in a structured manner to avoid wasting resources. “Chile will have to spend more on security. We will have to finance more technology, more Carabineros, more PDI. But if we do not approach this from a structured perspective, it could be like throwing money out the window,” he stated.

Full interview

July 18, 2024

Source: El Mostrador