"The more I knew those prisoners and listened to their thoughts, while, at the same time, I studied Marx and Engels, the more I became convinced that we were mistaken about the Communist Party," Pinochet wrote. "It was not just another party… it was a system that turns things on their heads, dismissing any loyalty…" he continued (Munoz, 2008, p. 28). As though justifying the cruelty he perpetrated on thousands of civilians -- in the name of him keeping a grip on his dictatorship -- he said he was "…troubled that these pernicious and contaminating ideas could continue and spread throughout Chile" (Pinochet quoted by Munoz, p. 28).
Human Rights Violations in Chile Under Pinochet
Nigel writes that in Pinochet's first five years as dictator of Chile, there was "…widespread and systematic murder, torture and enforced disappearance" (16). Even though the murders and disappearances were fewer after those first five horrific years under Pinochet, "…torture remained common," Nigel continues (16). When a civilian government took over Chile in 1991, the new president established the "National Commission of Truth and Reconciliation" which documented the following: a) 1,068 "confirmed cases of extra-legal or summary execution"; b) 957 cases that were confirmed of "enforced disappearance"; and c) other cases (641) for which a "conviction" could not be confirmed and another 449 in which not enough information was available (Nigel, 16-17). Interestingly, Pinochet was shielded from prosecution after he was out of office, because initially he was an army commander (until March 10, 1988) and couldn't be held accountable for his actions as dictator; and secondarily, he was sworn in as "Senator-for-Life" the next day, March 11, 1988. This amnesty he was afforded also was given to his colleagues and subordinates, in most cases (Nigel, 17).
Pinochet's Arrest in London
Although he was protected from prosecution for his crimes in Chile, he could not avoid being ensnared by two international arrest warrants, one issued by a judge in Spain and the other by highly placed judge in London (Nigel). Pinochet was charged with conspiracy to murder and to torture, and actual torture and hostage taking. Later an expanded list of crimes was added to the initial charges, including "genocide and murder, as well as conspiracy to commit murder" (Nigel, 18).
Could Pinochet actually be extradited from London? That was a question that hovered over the London legal establishment. The answer in time was, yes he could be extradited and returned to Chile, but he never was prosecuted. Kristin Sorensen writes that first the Supreme Court ruled that Pinochet was not fit to stand trail because of his mental and physical health problems. Later, the Santiago Appeals Court took Pinochet's immunity away from him but he died in 2006, was never convicted of his many crimes, and "cases against him have been dropped" (Sorenson, 2009, p. 4).
However, by June, 2007, the courts had prosecuted one of Pinochet's top generals, Raul Ituriaga Neuman, and he was to report to prison to serve a five-year sentence. He had been convicted of ordering the kidnapping in 1974 of Luis San Martin Vergara, a member of the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR). But Neuman never showed up and so apparently very few of Pinochet's bloodletting military brass ever were held accountable for the atrocities and other crimes (Sorenson, p. 3)
Neuman did leave a video statement: "I openly rebel against this arbitrary, biased, unconstitutional and illegal sentence… I was subjected to undue prosecution," he claimed (Sorenson, 4). He argued that like about 500 other members of the military who he had also been prosecuted unfairly. His prosecution took place he said "…under the complacent gaze of the government and institutions that do not defend our rights, which we are justly claiming" (Sorenson, 4). The spokesman for retired officers (who served with Pinochet) is Hernan Bayas, who issued a statement saying "Sooner or later, there will be a storm," which was not a very veiled reference to "military consequences" that Bayas claimed would be brought to bear if "human rights cases were not...
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