CHILE
Agreement between London, Madrid and Spain prevented Pinochet’s extradition
to Spain
FORMER dictator Augusto Pinochet managed to escape extradition from Britain
to Spain thanks to a secret political agreement between the London government
and former Chilean president Eduardo Frei, according to the British weekly
The Observer, citing Chilean sources on January 7.
The Observer quoted ANSA news agency to the effect that the agreement was
personally prepared over "many months" by British Prime Minister Tony Blair
and his foreign minister, Robin Cook.
With Frei’s collaboration and the participation of Spanish Prime Minister
José María Aznar, Chile, Britain and Spain orchestrated Pinochet’s return to
his country last year.
Pinochet has been detained in London on October 16, 1998, on the request of
Spanish Judge Baltazar Garzón, who accused him of genocide. After extensive
proceedings, Pinochet returned to Chile on March 3, 2000, after British Home
Secretary Jack Straw had announced that he would allow him to leave "for
health reasons."
Meanwhile, Mireya García, vice president of the Association of the Relatives
of Disappeared and Detained Persons, stated on January 8 that the military
had turned over data to President Ricardo Lagos related to disappeared and
detained persons, with the intention of negotiating Pinochet’s impunity.
García told Prensa Latina that as a result of the information that was turned
over, "the armed forces don’t want to negotiate just Pinochet’s impunity,
but that of all members of the military implicated in violations of human
rights in Chile."
Lagos issued a public statement to the effect that top military leaders
turned over the report on disappeared and detained persons during the
dictatorship (1973-1990), and emphasized the circumstances related to about
200 cases which could be clarified in the courts.
Beyond those 200 cases, the relatives of the disappeared are upset that the
report only deals with information on crimes committed between September 1973
and March 1974 (which are covered by the Amnesty Law), and data on acts
perpetrated by the DINA are omitted.
Official Chilean government reports indicate that during the dictatorship
there were more than 3,000 victims, and of that total 1,197 persons are still
unaccounted for.
http://www.granma.cu/ingles/ener2/2pinoche-i.html
