CHILE - VIRTUAL TRUTH COMMISSION

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5a. The Pinochet Arrest

The Spanish Court Case

In November 1998, eleven judges on Spain's National Court have ruled unanimously that under international law, Spain has the legal right to bring charges against Mr. Pinochet for crimes against humanity and to seek his extradition from Britain. This contradicts a ruling by the high court in London that he is immune from prosecution as a former head of state. But the court ordered that he remain in detention, pending an appeal to the House of Lords. If Spain's exemplary effort to extradite Mr. Pinochet and try him for murder succeeds, it will be the first judge and jury that Mr. Pinochet or any member of the junta has faced for the crimes they committed during a 17-year reign of terror.Norman Solomon, Media and Memory: The Arrest of a Dictator, From Newsgroup, misc.activism.progressive, October 22, 1998.

Eleven SOA Grads Among Chilean Officers Cited in Spanish Human Rights Case Among the 30 high-ranking officials of the Chilean dictatorship who are named in a writ presented on March 13, 1998 by plaintiff lawyers Joan Garces and Manuel Murillo and presented to the Central Instruction Tribunal Number 6 of the Audencia Nacional in Spain, requesting that Judge Manuel Garcia Castellon immediately indict Augusto Pinochet and the other high-ranking officials of the Chilean dictatorship for the crimes of genocide, terrorism, torture, and illegal arrest followed by disappearance, were eleven military officers who are graduates of the U.S. Army School of the Americas. They include:

Ernesto Baeza Michelsen (Comando y Estado Mayor, 1964): Former head of Investigations Police who allegedly chose 50 members of his institution to take part in the action known as Covem, in which 14 people were arrested. Of the 14, one, a journalism student, Eduardo Jara died as a consequence of the torture he received.
Humberto Gordon Rubio (Infantry Weapons, Operaciones y Mantenamiento de Radio, Tank Gunnery Course, 1954-1955): Former head of the CNI secret police and also former member of the military Junta.
Eduardo Iturriaga Neumann (Basic Airborne Course, 1965): Head of the DINA's international operations. According to testimony by Luz Arce (ex political prisoner arrested by the DINA secret police, who later became a DINA collaborator) Iturriaga and other officers of the DINA used political prisoners that had been tortured into collaborators as secretaries and analysts in their offices.
Miguel Krassnoff Marchenko (Contrainsurgencia Urbana, 1974): Former member of the DINA, known by political prisoners held and tortured at Villa Grimaldi, Tres Alamos and Cuatro Alamos. Implicated in the death by torture of former Spanish diplomat Carmelo Soria in 1976. Took part in the assault on the residence of former president Salvador Allende who was deposed by the Army in Sept. 1973. Known for his violent treatment of prisoners.
Fernando Laureani Maturana (Combat Arms Orientation, 1971): Former DINA member. Implicated in the 1974 kidnapping and disappearance of brothers Juan Carlos and Jorge Elias Andronico Antequera, Lauriani's was one of the few cases of military crimes to be tried after Pinochet's brutal dictatorship. Unfortunately, Pinochet brought all of his influence to bear and the case was finally handed to a military court, which absolved Lauriani and closed the case.
Odlanier Mena (Comando y Estado Mayor, 1970): First head of the CNI secret police. Luz Arce, a political prisoner who was tortured by DINA officials, testified that Mena offered her freedom in exchange for working three years as a spy for the DINA.
Guillermo Salinas Torres (Contrainsurgencia Urbana, 1974): Linked to the assassination of Spanish citizen Carmelo Soria.
Other SOA graduates that face charges in the Spanish court case include Pablo Belmar Labbe (Basico/ Orientacion para oficiales, 1968) Washington Carrasco Fernandez (Contra-Resistencia, Informacion Militar para Oficiales, 1961) and Rene Patricio Quilhot Palma (Combat Arms Orientation, 1971).
Source: Michael Katz-Lacabe, School of the Americas Watch, "Eleven SOA Grads Among Chilean Officers Cited in Spanish Human Rights Case."

In December, 1998, Father Roy Bourgeois of School of the Americas Watch took hundred of documents on American involvement to Spanish Judge Baltazar Garzon. . The close relationship between Pinochet and the U. S. included:

After coming to power, Pinochet presented the School of the Americas with a ceremonial sword that hung in the commandant's office until the early 1990's.

4 Chilean graduates of the School of the Americas who have been charged by the Spanish Court with crimes of genocide, torture, and disappearances have been implicated in the 1976 murder of Spanish U. N. official Carmelo Soria, whose neck was borken during a torture session. These include Miguel Krassnoff Marchenko, Jaime Enrique Leppe Orellana, Guillermo Salinas Torres, and Pablo Belmar Labbe.

October 16, 1998 arrest at a hospital

On Oct. 16, British police arrested Chile's former dictator Augusto Pinochet at a London hospital where he was recovering from a herniated disc operation. The British acted on an extradition request from Spain where a judge has charged Pinochet with committing atrocities against Spanish citizens in Chile during and after Pinochet's bloody coup in 1973.Peter Kornbluh, "The Chile Coup - The U. S. Hand" , October 25, 1998.

Pinochet Extradiction

November 6, 1998. The Spanish cabinet approved Judge Baltasar Garzon's request to seek the extradition of former Chilean dictator (and current senator-for-life) Gen. Augusto Pinochet Ugarte from the United Kingdom to stand trial for genocide and other crimes against humanity. In response, the Chilean government recalled its ambassador from Madrid for "consultation," but said diplomatic ties with Spain would not be broken or suspended. Lawyers arguing for extradition say Pinochet is not entitled to immunity because the crimes he is accused of--including at least 3,000 killings and disappearances connected with his Sep. 11, 1973 coup against democratically elected socialist president Salvador Allende--are not official functions of a head of state, but rather crimes against international law.

The basis of Garzon's original warrant against Pinochet was his alleged participation in the deaths of Spanish nationals. Many other nations whose citizens were killed during the Pinochet regime have either filed requests for Pinochet's extradition, or are considering such requests. France issued a provisional detention order to Britain on Nov. 3 while a formal extradition request is prepared; Switzerland has prepared a formal request but is holding it so that the Spanish request will be processed first. On Oct. 29, Italian Justice Minister Oliviero Diliberto asked the Milan Attorney General's office to open a murder investigation against Pinochet in response to a suit filed by a Chilean exile living in Italy. Four German nationals have filed suit against Pinochet for torture and deprivation of liberty, and similar suits have been filed in Sweden, Belgium and Luxembourg. [ED-LP 11/4/98 from AFP]

In the United States, Justice Department officials are reportedly considering seeking Pinochet's extradition so that he can stand trial for the 1976 killings of former Chilean foreign minister Orlando Letelier and his assistant, US national Ronni Moffitt, in Washington DC, and the disappearances of two US citizens, Charles Horman and Frank Teruggi, in Chile in 1973. According to department spokesperson Bert Brandenberg, the possibility was being discussed in the middle ranks of the department, but neither Attorney General Janet Reno nor the White House had formally discussed or approved such a move. Any such suit would be complicated because of deep US government and Central Intelligence Agency involvement in the 1973 coup and Pinochet's subsequent reign of terror--thousands of US government files on the era remain secret. [New York Times 11/7/98]

Source: "Spanish Cabinet Calls for Pinochet's Extradition, Weekly News Update on the Americas, Issue #458, November 8, 1998. Published weekly by the Nicaragua Solidarity Network of Greater New York , 339 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10012 * 212-674-9499 fax: 212-674-9139. For more information, contact wnu@igc.apc.org. Other websites with information on the Pinochet extradiction case include:

Organizations

Amnesty International, USA
600 Pennsylvania Ave. SE
Washington, DC 20003
Voice: (202) 544-0200, ext. 235
Fax: (202) 546-7142
Email: csalinas@aiusa.org
Website: http://www.amnestyusa.org/
Contact: Carlos Salinas

Center for Constitutional Rights
666 Broadway, 7th Floor
New York, New York 10012
Voice: (212) 614-6464
Fax: (212) 614-6499
Contacts: Peter Weiss and Michael Ratner

Center for Justice and Accountability
588 Sutter Street, #433
San Francisco, CA 94102
Voice: (415) 544-0444
Fax: (415) 544-0456
Email: Shawn@impunity.org
Contact: Shawn Roberts

Chile Committee for Justice
84 Whitehall Park
London N14 BTN
Voice: 011-44-171-263-7538
Email: chilejustice@cwcom.net
Contact: Diane Dickson or Claudia Bracchtta

Human Rights Watch
1522 K Street NW, Suite 910
Washington, DC 20005
Voice: (202) 371-6592
Fax: (202) 371-0124
Email: hrwdc@hrw.org, hrwnyc@hrw.org
Website: http://www.hrw.org
Contacts: Joel Solomon, solomoj@hrw.org
Reed Brody, brodyr@hrw.org

Institute for Policy Studies
733 15th St., Suite 1020
Washington DC 20005
Voice: (202) 234-9382
Fax: (202) 387-7915
Email: saraha@igc.org
Contact: Sarah Anderson, x227

Lawyers Committee For Human Righs
333 Seventh Ave., 13th Floor
New York, NY 10001-5004
Voice: (212) 845-5200
Fax: (212) 845-5299
Email: lchrbin@lchr.org
Website: http://www.lchr.org
Contact: L. Camille Massey

NGO Coalition for an International Criminal Court
c/o World Federalist Movement
777 UN Plaza
New York, NY 10017
Voice: (212) 687-2176
Fax: (212) 599-1332
Email: cicc@igc.apc.org
Website: http://www.igc.apc.org/icc

Websites

Amnesty International
http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/intcam/pinochet/
(Documents from on the Pinochet case)

BBC Pinochet page
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/special_report/1998/10/98/the_pinochet_file/newsid_198000/198306.stm

Chilean British Committee for Justice
http://www.labournet.org.uk/www.labournet.org.uk/pinochet/index.html
(Updates on Pinochet case and other materials)

Derechos Humanos
http://www.derechos.org/
(Human rights site with materials on Pinochet)

National Security Archives
http://www.seas.gwu.edu/nsarchive/NSAEBB/NSAEBB8/nsaebb8.htm
(U.S.-Chile documents)

Judgments from the House of Lords
http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld199697/ldjudgmt/ldjudgmt.htm
(Judgments on the Pincohet case)

Redress
http://www.redress.org/
Text of Spain’s indictment against Pinochet

Transnational Institute
http://www.worldcom.nl/tni/history/pinochet.htm
http://www/worldcom.nl/tni/history/history.htm

5b. U. S. Newsmedia and Chile

The recent arrest of Gen. Augusto Pinochet presented a challenge to American news media. For a quarter of a century -- after a bloody coup brought Pinochet to power in Chile -- he didn't get much bad press in the United States. As time went on, it seemed that human memory had been buried alive. But Pinochet's arrest suddenly exhumed the legacies of his 17-year dictatorship

...Overall, American journalists have dodged the crucial roles of the CIA and Kissinger (still a media darling in 1998). Five days after Pinochet was arrested in London, a search of the Nexis database found that out of 806 major English-language news stories on the subject, only 34 had mentioned the CIA. Kissinger fared even better: Just six stories mentioned him, and only two of those were in U.S. media.
Meanwhile, some coverage has grotesquely understated the horrors of the Pinochet regime. The first sentence of the front-page New York Times report on Pinochet's arrest declared that he "came to symbolize the excesses of military rule in Latin America." Mass murder and widespread torture are merely "excesses"?
A range of daily papers weighed in with cogent editorials. "Justice may yet have its day," said the Chicago Tribune, which hailed the arrest. The Los Angeles Times was more skeptical of legal precedents but nevertheless concluded: "Finally we hear the wheels of justice turning." The New York Times commented that "his detention and possible prosecution are warranted under international law."
But top editors at two influential newspapers clearly hated to see Pinochet in custody. The Wall Street Journal went ballistic as it decried the injustice being done to Chile's "former strongman." The Washington Post also sounded quite distressed. "He did remove a democratically elected government and see to the killing of thousands and the detention of tens of thousands in 1973-1990," the Post noted, but "he also saw to the rescue of his country." The editorial added: "It is not only Chile's military right but others grateful for his positive role who are troubled now by his arrest in the British hospital he had sought out for back surgery. He is 82."
In sharp contrast to the euphemisms on this side of the Atlantic, the Guardian newspaper supplied British readers with succinct history: "Salvador Allende, the first democratically elected Marxist in Latin America when he was elected president in November 1970, presented an ideological and economic affront to the Nixon regime. ... Nixon tried to prevent Allende's victory by ordering the CIA to `make the economy scream.' Later, Kissinger told the CIA that `it is firm and continuing policy that Allende should be overthrown by a coup.' Three years later he had his way and Allende was dead."
Allende led a "Popular Unity" government that was dedicated to social uplift. It brought nutrition, health care, education and employment to millions of impoverished people in Chile. It broke new ground by ensuring that poor children had milk to drink. And it deepened democratic processes for much of Chilean society.
Almost without exception, news accounts give short shrift to the three years of enlivening changes that abruptly ended with the coup on Sept. 11, 1973. The suppression of memory has included the blanking out of vibrant and humanizing values nurtured during the Popular Unity era.
"The most premeditated manifestation of forgetting is depoliticization," Chilean sociology professor Tomas Moulian wrote recently. "It is also the most pernicious, as it saps the strength of social solidarity." By now, Moulian observed, Chile has come to resemble "societies that do not seek to transform themselves and have become trapped by the dullness of repetition. They no longer think in terms of emancipation because they believe that the system itself produces a degree of equality that no other social system can attain."
Source: Norman Solomon, Media and Memory: The Arrest of a Dictator, From Newsgroup, misc.activism.progressive, October 22, 1998. Norman Solomon is co-author of "Wizards of Media Oz: Behind the Curtain of Mainstream News" and author of "The Trouble With Dilbert: How Corporate Culture Gets the Last Laugh."

5c. Implications for the U. S.

Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights has written In Focus: The Pinochet Precedent which discusses the perspective of international law as well as U. S. law which recognize that national courts have universal jurisdiction to prosecute perpetrators of crimes against humanity, wherever they are found, but also observes that "U. S. opposition to Pinochet's arrest is political rather than legal. Washington fears that the precedent could be employed against American officials or allies and that a trial would reveal U. S. complicity in Pinochet's crimes." Proceed to Chile 6: Impact

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Updated February 15, 1999

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