Chile's fight for justice
by Jeremy Corbyn, M.P.
SOURCE: http://www.poptel.org.uk/scgn/articles/0101/page8.htm
DATE: January 1, 2001 (approx.)
The world saw the brutality of Pinochet's 1973 coup against Allende's elected
government. The bravery of ordinary people in opposing the junta was amazing.
Over 7000 people died or disappeared.
However, this was a brutal government with a serious economic purpose. The coup
was brought about by multinationals to protect their investments and was
supported by Washington because they were determined there should be no more
Latin American examples of social change by redistribution of wealth. One of the
early visitors to Chile after the coup was Milton Friedman who proceeded to
reduce wages, smash unions and privatise welfare. Thatcher and Pinochet shared
an obsession about the mining industry and its unions. Britain supplied arms and
soft pedalled on human rights. During the Falklands war it happily used Chilean
bases.
I went to Chile in 1990 to see the end of Pinochet and the restoration of
democracy. Those more cautious on the left emphasised the limitations of the new
constitution and the immunity sought by the perpetrators of the terror. Many of
the excesses were conveniently forgotten in some dubious haze of
'reconciliation'. Legal efforts to put the officers on trial generally came to
nought.
In 1998 Judge Garson in Spain got an arrest warrant for Pinochet and
successfully applied for his extradition from the UK. The legendary arrest and
the endless court hearings meant he was kept for 503 days, until Jack Straw
announced he was unfit to stand trial under UK law. The General was taken home.
However, during the 503 days human rights issues were discussed and hundreds of
cases brought before the courts. My visit was at the invitation of human rights
groups to speak at a huge meeting at Vila Grimaldi, the former Santiago torture
centre, and meet the living victims and relatives. The day after we were back in
the High Court where Pinochet won his habeas corpus writ against arrest. The
case has to go back to the Supreme Court. Whilst there was enormous anger at
this, I was struck by how few supporters of Pinochet came out on the streets. A
march against the immunity of the perpetrators of the terror attracted 5000. The
legal cases against Pinochet mount up so he will never escape legal action.
Whilst the process against Pinochet in Europe and Chile is obviously an enormous
step forward there are ominous noises from the military right who have insisted
that the National Security Council meet. The role of the military and its
distance from democratic control is not questioned sufficiently.
In the wake of the arrest, information has begun to come out. In the US
thousands of documents have been de-classified and installed in the National
Library of Chile. In Paraguay the Operation Condor papers are being microfilmed
for public display and even Sroessner has an arrest warrant against him.
In Britain the Foreign Office have told me they will only release documents
under the thirty year rule and that there is insufficient evidence to mount a
case in Chile for the murder of William Beausire and Father Michael Woodward,
both British nationals.
The day I arrived in Chile there was a unique event. Those tortured in the
Velodrome section of the national stadium were allowed, for the first time, to
visit it at sunset. I walked with them as poetry was read and victims or their
families spoke at the spot where a brutal act took place. All this against a
back drop of a wonderful sunset against the magnificent Andes. Joyce Horman,
widow of Chanie of 'Missing' fame, joined Fabiola Letelier in symbolically
cleansing the ground. Getting the truth will take longer and putting the
perpetrators on trial will not be easy, but it must happen and the lessons of
where globalised greed leads to have to be learnt.
