THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release November 13, 2000
STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY
Today the Department of State, the Central Intelligence Agency, the
Department of Defense, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National
Archives and Records Administration, and the Department of Justice are
releasing newly declassified and other documents related to events in
Chile from 1968-91. These documents are part of a discretionary review
of U.S. government files related to human rights abuses, terrorism, and
other acts of political violence prior to and during the Pinochet era in
Chile. National Security Council staff coordinated this interagency
effort on behalf of the President.
Agencies made an initial release of approximately 5,800 documents
on June 30, 1999, concentrating on the period from 1973-78, which
corresponds to the period of the most flagrant human rights abuses in
Chile. A second release of over 1,100 documents concentrating on the
years 1968-73 followed on October 8, 1999. While the focus for this
final release was on documents dated from 1978-91, additional documents
from the earlier periods also are being released today.
This third and final release consists of more than 16,000
documents, including approximately 13,050 from the Department of State,
1,550 from the CIA, 620 from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 370
from the Department of Defense, 310 from the National Archives, 110 from
the National Security Council, and 50 from the Department of Justice.
Information has been withheld from some of the released documents to
protect the privacy of individuals, sensitive law enforcement
information, and intelligence sources and methods; or to prevent serious
harm to ongoing diplomatic activities of the United States.
One goal of the project is to put original documents before the
public so that it may judge for itself the extent to which U.S. actions
undercut the cause of democracy and human rights in Chile. Actions
approved by the U.S. government during this period aggravated political
polarization and affected Chile's long tradition of democratic elections
and respect for the constitutional order and the rule of law.
The Chilean people deserve our praise and respect for courageously
reclaiming their proud history as one of the world's oldest democracies.
Healing the painful wounds of the past, Chileans from across the
political spectrum have rededicated themselves to rebuilding
representative institutions and the rule of law. The United States will
continue to work closely with the people of Chile - as their friend and
partner - to strengthen the cause of democracy in Latin America and
around the world.
A complete set of the released documents is available for public
review at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland. They also
are being released simultaneously in Chile. Copies of the documents
will be available on the Internet at http://foia.state.gov. Also
available at this website are copies of the September 2000 Hinchey
Report on "CIA Activities in Chile" and the relevant 1975 Church
Committee reports on Chile.
30-30-30
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