CHILE: Pinochet Leaves Senate, Gains Immunity as Ex-President

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Gustavo González

SANTIAGO, Jul 5 2002 (IPS) - Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet resigned as life senator Thursday. But a “statute for ex- presidents” will continue to grant him immunity from prosecution in connection with human rights crimes committed during his regime.

The 86-year-old former de facto president’s (1973-1990) withdrawal from the Senate was seen as a possibility since Monday, when the Supreme Court declared him mentally unfit to stand trial on charges of covering up the October 1973 murder and disappearance of 75 political prisoners by a special army mission dubbed the “caravan of death.”

Chile’s highest court based its decision on court-ordered medical exams, which diagnosed the elderly retired general as suffering from “moderate dementia,” which would make him unable to adequately defend himself.

The same argument cited by the Supreme Court to suspend legal proceedings against Pinochet in the case of the “caravan of death” was widely seen as disqualifying him from functioning in the Senate, from which he was suspended in August 2000, when he was stripped of his legislative immunity.

Pinochet’s resignation was handed in Thursday afternoon to Senate President Andrés Zaldívar through an intermediary, Archbishop of Santiago Francisco Javier Errázuriz.

The former dictator reached his decision Wednesday night, in a meeting with his family, closest associates and team of lawyers.

His legal counsel recommended that he avail himself of the statute for ex-presidents, created by a law passed in March 2000, which gives former presidents the same immunity from prosecution enjoyed by legislators.

Under that law, former presidents cannot be brought to trial or deprived of their liberty unless a court revokes their immunity, in a ruling that can be appealed to the Supreme Court.

The statute also entitles ex-presidents to a monthly allowance of around 2,320 dollars, the same amount received by former cabinet ministers, plus extra expenses.

In the constitution passed in 1980, Pinochet introduced the post of senator-for-life for ex-presidents who have served at least six years. That left out Patricio Aylwin, the first president to govern Chile after the restoration of democracy in 1990.

By virtue of a political deal, Aylwin’s mandate was limited to four years, and the main argument underlying the creation of the “statute for ex-presidents” was that justice would be done by the first president of the transition period.

But human rights groups pointed out that the right-wing opposition parties decided to vote for the statute just when Pinochet returned from 503 days under house arrest in Britain, in March 2000, thus creating additional protection for the ex- dictator.

Pinochet was arrested in London in October 1998 after Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzón requested his extradition to try him for crimes against humanity committed during his regime, which killed or disappeared some 3,200 people, according to a 1991 truth commission report.

The former dictator is expected to formally register under the statute within the next few days, which will grant him immunity from likely new attempts to bring him to trial.

Pinochet still faces hundreds of human rights lawsuits in Chile.

The Group of Families of the Detained-Disappeared criticised Monday’s Supreme Court ruling, and announced that it would turn to the Inter-American Court of Justice in Costa Rica to bring Pinochet to justice.

The journalists association, which in 1999 brought a lawsuit against Pinochet for the murder and disappearance of 28 press workers, also complained about the Supreme Court verdict.

Pinochet became life senator on Mar 11, 1998, the day after he retired as army chief, a post he had held since August 1973. But he only acted as legislator until September of that year, when he began a tour of Europe that was cut short by his Oct 16 arrest in London.

Presidential spokesman Heraldo Muñoz said Pinochet’s resignation from the Senate was a “fitting, logical and necessary decision based on common sense.”

If he had not resigned, “it frankly would have been incongruous with the Supreme Court ruling that suspended legal proceedings against him on mental health grounds,” added Muñoz.

Interior Minister José Miguel Insulza said Pinochet’s decision “correctly interpreted” what the nation wanted and did not sadden anyone.

With respect to the “caravan of death” case, Insulza noted that “there are other people implicated who should and must be prosecuted.”

The president of the Group of Families of the Detained- Disappeared, Viviana Díaz, agreed that Pinochet’s presence in the Senate would have been inconsistent with the Supreme Court verdict. But she insisted that he must be held accountable for the rights abuses committed during his rule. “We do not believe he is crazy,” she said.

Supreme Court president Mario Garrido confirmed the court ruling Thursday, when he threw out a plea filed by lawyers for the plaintiffs in the “caravan of death” case challenging Monday’s ruling.

Senator Ricardo Núñez, president of the co-governing Socialist Party, said a legal decision disqualifying Pinochet from acting as senator would have been preferible, although he admitted that his resignation “has made things easier.”

Retired admiral Jorge Martínez Busch, a senator with the right- wing Independent Democratic Union, said Pinochet’s resignation was “a gesture to contribute to bringing about reconciliation among Chileans.”

Deputy Guido Girardi, the head of the co-governing Party for Democracy, called on the country to leave the past behind and look towards the future. “We must leave behind the Pinochet era, make sure there are no more Pinochets, and build a democratic, just, tolerant fatherland that respects diversity.”