The welcome given by the military for former dictator Augusto Pinochet, featuring an honor guard of top army commanders and elite special forces in combat gear, embarrassed the civilian government which has worked for the past 10 years to develop civilian rule in Chile. To compound problems, Pinochet jubilantly rose from his wheel chair, waved his cane and walked over to greet his welcomers, fueling lingering doubts about his inability to stand trial on grounds of ill health which the Chilean government had campaigned for from the British government.
The spectacle was humiliating for the survivors and families of the more than three thousand estimated victims of torture and murder commanded by Pinochet during his 17-year regime. Yet, while Pinochet returned home two weeks ago, he returned to a Chile much different than the one he left 17 months ago for back treatment in England.
In January, Chilean voters elected President Ricardo Lagos, a former ally of Salvador Allende who won fame fighting Pinochet’s dictatorship. Just days after Pinochet’s return, Lagos was inaugurated into office. Lagos, Chile’s first socialist president since Allende, has promised to fortify the young democracy and bridle the powerful military. Concerning Pinochet, the new president has appropriately called for the government and army powers to remain calm as the judiciary decides the general’s fate.
Further, while Pinochet was detained under house arrest in London, the Chilean judiciary began the prosecution of several military officers for human rights violations committed during the dictatorship. Just days after his return, a judge petitioned the Santiago Court of Appeals to strip Pinochet of his armor of immunity which he earned when he declared himself senator-for-life. And Judge Juan GuzmM-Ban continues with plans to probe the over 72 civil lawsuits filed against Pinochet for murder and torture.
While Pinochet has not yet been tried in a court of law, he has been tried in the court of public opinion and found guilty. Polls taken in Chile found that 70 percent of Chileans think that Pinochet is guilty of crimes against humanity. Fifty percent said they think he should stand trial, while the other 20 percent oppose a trial only for fear it would create political chaos.
No matter what happens next, Pinochet’s case set a historical precedent for human rights, and sent a loud and clear message that those who are guilty of crimes against humanity are not immune from prosecution outside their own country. Spanish courts issued an international warrant for Pinochet’s arrest and extradition, Britain arrested him, and Britain’s highest court rejected his claim for diplomatic impunity. The only thing that stood between Pinochet and a Spanish judge was British Home Secretary Jack Straw who showed ”a degree of compassion which General Pinochet never showed toward his victims,” as was so rightfully put by Amnesty International lawyer Geoffrey Bindman.
