RIGHTS-CHILE: Pinochet Could Face Trial

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Alicia Sánchez

SANTIAGO, May 24 2000 (IPS) - The Court of Appeals in the Chilean capital ruled Tuesday in favour of suspending the parliamentary immunity of former dictator Augusto Pinochet, opening the way for him to face trials for human rights violations committed during his regime (1973-1990), say unofficial sources.

Though the ruling will be formally announced in the next few days, once the 22 government ministers sign the resolution, various press sources affirm that, by a vote of 12 to 10, the Court of Appeals ruled to strip Pinochet of the criminal immunity that had been accorded him as senator-for- life.

The meeting of the appellate judges, originally slated for Wednesday, was pushed up without warning to Tuesday, and lasted just an hour and a half.

If the suspension of immunity is confirmed, as the sources say it will be, Pinochet would face justice for the crimes of the “Caravan of Death,” a military mission he allegedly ordered in 1973 that executed 72 political prisoners shortly after the military overthrew the Salvador Allende government.

The privileges enjoyed by Pinochet, who holds a lifetime seat in the Senate because he served as president, could be suspended for the more than 100 criminal complaints filed against him and currently under investigation by judge Juan Guzmán.

Neither the government nor the Judiciary has confirmed or denied Pinochet’s loss of immunity, which was reported by ‘El Mostrador’ Internet newspaper, among other media.

Rubén Ballesteros, president of the Court of Appeals, limited his comments to confirming that “the issue has been decided” and that “the ruling can no longer be changed.”

This ruling was preceded by growing tensions between the government and military leaders. In recent days, the armed forces and right-wing political parties made declarations calling for government intervention to prevent Pinochet from losing his political immunity.

To prevent further pressures, the Court of Appeals decided to move its meeting ahead by one day.

President Ricardo Lagos has maintained a firm stance before the demands of the military and the right-wing opposition.

“The country has the right to know the truth and that is absolutely compatible with my role as head of state. I know when to raise my voice and when not to. This is how I am and how I will be for the next six years” in the presidency, Lagos said in response to those who criticised his annoyance with the mounting political pressures.

“It is not necessary to prove to anyone the unity of the armed forces, because they are united behind the president of Chile,” Lagos said when he learned of a luncheon meeting last week attended by the military commanders, which some observers interpreted as a way to bully the government and the Judiciary.

Before the Court of Appeals met, Lagos had indicated that his government “would not interfere in the decisions of the courts of justice.”

“The end of the (democratic) transition begins with abiding by the rulings of the courts. Whatever the result of these rulings may be, I will demand respect for the independence and the decisions of the Judicial branch,” he stated.

“We cannot allow political intervention to erode the authority of our justice system ever again,” Lagos warned.

Viviana Díaz, a leader of the Association of Families of the Detained-Disappeared (AFDD), said that Chilean human rights activists have been waiting a long time, but the moment has finally come. “If they decided based on conscience, the resolution has to be to remove (Pinochet’s) immunity,” she said.

The president of the governmental State Defence Council, Clara Szczaranski, said that Pinochet’s likely loss of immunity would be “a clear signal that the decision involved a strictly legal analysis.”

“The country has suffered a long period of tensions. If the Judiciary resolved things in this way it is because of the impenetrable environment surrounding it. Here, no one is different before the law,” Szczaranski added.

The confirmation of reports that Pinochet has been stripped of his political privileges “would fill us with happiness,” said Mireya García, executive secretary of the AFDD.

“We are living in a state of law and the court ruled to remove the pressures to which it had been subjected. We hope this process concludes with the trial of Augusto Pinochet. It would be an historic event,” García said.

Pinochet’s legal defence, however, can still file an appeal before the Supreme Court, the country’s highest legal forum.