DATE=1/18/2000
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=LAGOS / PINOCHET (CQ)
NUMBER=5-45263
BYLINE=BILL RODGERS
DATELINE=SANTIAGO
CONTENT=
INTRO: The possible return to Chile from Britain of
former dictator Augusto Pinochet may create a dilemma
for Chilean President-elect Ricardo Lagos - who was the
candidate of the governing center-left coalition. As
VOA's Bill Rodgers reports from Santiago, the incoming
Socialist president has until now resisted pressure
from his supporters who are calling for the prosecution
of Mr. Pinochet for human rights violations.
TEXT: The strong feelings surrounding Mr. Pinochet
were evident Sunday night, as Mr. Lagos gave his
victory speech to thousands of supporters gathered in
front of Chile's presidential palace, La Moneda. In
the middle of his speech about equality and justice,
the crowd interrupted Mr. Lagos with loud chants:
/// ACT CROWD CHANTING ///
Prosecute Pinochet, prosecute Pinochet - people chanted
for almost a minute as Mr. Lagos waited for calm.
Then, in a remark that did not please many in the
crowd, he said the issue will be up to the courts.
/// LAGOS SPANISH ACT ///
In my government, as President, the courts will decide
-- and we will abide by the decision of the courts.
/// CHANTING AND JEERING ACT OUT ///
The election victory of Mr. Lagos, a Socialist and
forceful critic of Mr. Pinochet when he was in power,
is seen by many Chileans as a chance to prosecute the
84-year old ex-strongman for the human rights
violations committed during his rule. Some three
thousand were killed or disappeared after the 1973
military coup that brought General Pinochet to power.
Thousands more were arrested and tortured during his
17-year rule.
But until Mr. Pinochet's detention in Britain in
October 1978, the victims of his repression had no hope
of seeing the former dictator brought to justice. In
Chile, he enjoys immunity from prosecution because of
an amnesty law and other measures.
Despite the government's center-left political
orientation, it has viewed Mr. Pinochet's arrest and
pending extradition as a violation of Chilean
sovereignty and has pressed for his release.
President-elect Lagos, who is a member of the governing
coalition, called Concertacion, has supported the
Chilean government's policy. Mr. Lagos has also backed
President Eduardo Frei's efforts to secure Mr.
Pinochet's return to Chile on humanitarian grounds.
Now, with that prospect in sight, Mr. Lagos is likely
to face renewed pressure by his supporters to take a
stronger stand on the Pinochet issue.
But so far, Mr. Lagos appears willing to resist this
pressure, and let any future prosecution run its course
through the Chilean courts if Mr. Pinochet returns.
However, as Jorge Schaulsohn, a Lagos campaign advisor,
acknowledges -- it is unlikely the former dictator will
ever be tried in Chile because of the laws that provide
him with immunity and the support he enjoys in the
armed forces.
/// SCHAULSOHN ACT ///
Lagos has always said this is a judicial matter,
that for humanitarian reasons Pinochet should be
come back to Chile and be brought to justice,
which is not going to happen - under any
government.
/// END ACT ///
//OPT// Mr. Lagos, instead, seems to want to put aside
the divisive issues of the past like the Pinochet case,
and concentrate on Chile's future. Advisor Schaulsohn
says this is what most Chileans want.
/// SCHAULSOHN ACT ///
People don't want to dwell in the past. But this
is not to say that the country has undergone a
lobotomy and doesn't want to know what happened.
I think our democracy has deepened this past
year, awareness of the fact that atrocities were
committed has extended. But people want to look
to the future. People want to feel good about
their country, people want to have hope about a
better life for themselves and their children.
/// END ACT & OPT ///
But Mr. Pinochet's long detention in London has revived
memories of Chile's bloody past, and opened the doors
for the surviving victims of the repression to seek
justice. Chilean historian Alfredo Jocelyn-Holt
Letelier says these developments may trigger what he
considers to be a welcome historical debate in Chile.
/// JOCELYN-HOLT LETELIER ACT ///
Many of the things that have brought Pinochet to
court in the past year or 15 months are the sort
of things we have not debated in Chile. This
explains why he was never detained or brought to
trial in Chile. So, in a way, to have a debate on
Pinochet and the military government is something
that we would welcome in the sense that it would
allow us to understand where we are and where we
are going. It is a historical debate.
/// END ACT ///
This debate is likely to accelerate once Mr. Pinochet
returns home, which now appears likely. And as the
debate heats up, so will the pressure on President-
elect Lagos to take a more active role in ensuring the
former dictator is prosecuted. (Signed)
NEB/WFR/KL
18-Jan-2000 14:29 PM EDT (18-Jan-2000 1929 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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