DATE=1/11/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CHILE-PINOCHET REACT (L)
NUMBER=2-257976
BYLINE=BILL RODGERS
DATELINE=SANTIAGO
CONTENT=
INTRO: In Chile, there is mixed reaction to the news
former dictator Augusto Pinochet has been ruled unfit
to stand trial in Spain over human rights abuses
committed during his 17-year rule. But as V-O-A's Bill
Rodgers reports from Santiago, the Chilean Government
expressed satisfaction over the recommendation by the
medical team that examined Mr. Pinochet.
TEXT: Officials at the Pinochet Foundation in Santiago
expressed satisfaction at the news from Britain; but
also caution. Foundation Vice President Hernan Guiloff
told reporters Tuesday the development does not
represent a victory.
/// GUILOFF SPANISH ACTUALITY ///
He says this opens the door to hope for Mr. Pinochet's
release. However, he says the decision is not a
"victory" and that there is nothing to celebrate.
Despite this, a crowd of Mr. Pinochet's supporters
gathered outside the foundation's headquarters --
cheering and chanting slogans.
Meanwhile, opponents of the former dictator expressed
surprise and dismay. Julia Urquieta belongs to a
masjor human rights group. She says her organization
still hopes Britain will decide to extradite Mr.
Pinochet to Spain.
/// URQUIETA SPANISH ACTUALITY ///
Otherwise, she says her group will try to put the
former dictator on trial if he returns to Chile.
The Santiago representative of Human Rights Watch says
the former dictator's absence has opened the doors to
the investigation and prosecution of some of the
violations that occurred during his dictatorship. But
the representative, Sebastian Brett, warns all this may
change if Mr. Pinochet returns.
/// BRETT ACTUALITY ///
We're concerned that if he comes back there may be a
significant relapse in the trials and the possibility
of bringing justice to this country.
/// END ACTUALITY ///
Meanwhile, the Chilean Government, which requested the
medical examination, expressed satisfaction over the
conclusion by doctors that the 84-year-old retired
general is not physically fit to stand trial. In a
carefully worded statement read late Tuesday by Foreign
Minister Juan Gabriel Valdes, the government said its
representations to Britain about Mr. Pinochet's health
have been endorsed.
/// REST OPTIONAL ///
/// VALDES SPANISH ACT ///
For months, Chile has been asking Britain to release
the former dictator on humanitarian grounds.
British authorities detained Mr. Pinochet 15 months ago
at the request of a Spanish judge who wants to
extradite and prosecute the former dictator for alleged
human rights violations. General Pinochet came to
power in 1973, after overthrowing Socialist President
Salvador Allende in a bloody coup. More than three
thousand people were killed or disappeared during his
17-year rule. (Signed)
NEB/WFR/TVM/WD
11-Jan-2000 23:46 PM EDT (12-Jan-2000 0446 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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