Word: chileans
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...Chilean court's decision may be the ultimate vindication of Judge Balthazar Garzon, the Spanish activist prosecutor who authored Pinochet's arrest pending extradition in Britain two years ago. Until then, putting Pinochet on trial in Chile had seemed unthinkable, with the military having only allowed a return to civilian rule in exchange for immunity. But the general's detention in Britain for 18 months, followed by the election of center-left prime minister Ricardo Lagos, who had once been a political prisoner under Pinochet, emboldened his accusers. Indeed, the general eluded a Spanish courtroom only by convincing a panel...
...Pinochet still enjoys considerable loyalty in the Chilean high command, two of whose members have warned publicly that the military won't cooperate with an investigation of their former boss. But this no longer intimidates his opponents, for the simple reason that a military coup is no longer a sustainable option. The essential precondition for the last one, after all, was active support from Washington, which saw the elected leftist regime of Salvador Allende as a threat to its regional interests. But the U.S. is no longer in the business of sponsoring coups. And that means the Chilean military...
...spell was broken two years ago in London, when British police arrested Pinochet for extradition to Spain on charges of kidnapping and torture. Although Britain eventually sent the Chilean strongman home on grounds of ill health, his sojourn there emboldened Chilean human rights advocates to press for Pinochet to be tried at home. Although the high court hasn't yet publicized its ruling, lawyers for both sides told reporters Wednesday it had gone against Pinochet. The general's problem is that, stripped of his power, he's no longer of much importance to any sector of Chilean society, and prosecuting...
General Augusto Pinochet may be fast approaching a meeting with his maker, but many Chileans believe he oughtn't be allowed to die in peace. Although the decision has not yet been made public officially, a number of Chilean sources have indicated that Chile's Supreme Court on Tuesday voted 12-10 to lift the former president's immunity from prosecution, opening the way to a slew of prosecutions for kidnapping, torture, murder and other human rights violations during the general's 17-year dictatorship. Pinochet eluded a court date in Spain earlier this year when the British government ruled...
...question mark over any attempt to pursue Pinochet has always been the reaction of the Chilean military, whose leadership remains supportive of its former commander in chief. "While the Lagos government is quite happy to see the courts going after the former dictator, a few weeks ago the heads of the different branches of the armed forces met with Pinochet to publicly offer their support. While a substantial part of the military would like to forget Pinochet and move on, there are still elements who believe what the dictatorship did was necessary to root out communists." But even if they...