Pinochet's last legal ramparts crumble

By Isabel Hilton

LONDON: Friday's historic indictment of the former Chilean dictator, Gen. Augusto Pinochet, on charges of kidnapping, murder and concealment of crimes was a moment that few of those who suffered under his dictatorship had ever expected to see.

Despite the disappearance of some 4,000 people at the hands of his security forces, and the continuing efforts of the relatives of his victims to uncover the truth, Gen. Pinochet's position, in Chile at least, seemed secure.

Before he stepped down as president, he erected a set of defenses against any future legal problems that had seemed impregnable: there was his continuing position as commander in chief of the armed forces, which he vacated only recently, and his position as senator for life, which gave him parliamentary immunity.

Finally, there was the continuing presence in the senate of nominated senators who seemed to guarantee that the parliament would never achieve a big enough majority to change the constitution.

In the 1980s, Gen. Pinochet put in place a law that amnestied crimes committed from the time of his 1973 coup, thus covering the period of the most violent repression. But lawyers have since argued successfully that in cases where the remains of the victims of presumed extra-judicial killings have not been found, the case should be considered one of ongoing kidnapping -- and therefore still open.

On the other side of the equation were the families of the victims who had been attempting for more than 20 years to bring legal cases connected with the extra-judicial executions and disappearances perpetrated under the dictatorship.

Few cases could prosper under the dictatorship, but when Gen. Pinochet vacated the presidency in 1990, the slow return to justice began.

For many of the families involved, there has been little progress until now. Many still do not know how their relatives were killed, by whom or what became of their bodies. But since the democratic transition began, the search for the bodies has been stepped up, aided by a slowly increasing willingness of witnesses to talk and the relentless accumulation of information obtained through judicial investigations.

Among the many cases that have been pending against Gen. Pinochet, those that have been investigated by appeal court judge Juan Guzman -- who on Friday took the historic step of indicting the former Chilean leader -- were among the most notorious. They include 74 killings perpetrated during a 10 day period in October 1973 -- an episode that is known as the Caravan of Death.

The caravan of death was led by Gen. Sergio Arellano Starck, and left a trail of victims: 15 in the town of La Serena, including Jorge Pena, founder of the national children's orchestra, 16 in Copiapo, 14 in Antofagasta and 26 in Calama. In each of the towns Gen. Arellano visited he picked out the names of detainees housed in the local jails or military barracks.

Some had been given sentences by adhoc military tribunals, others were awaiting release. By the time the caravan moved on, they were dead.

Judge Guzman has been investigating the caravan of death for several years and charges are pending against several of the officers who participated in the killings. In the last two weeks Judge Guzman has traveled to the towns of Copiapo, Antofagasta and Calama, in the north of Chile, where he staged several reconstructions of the events surrounding these killings and interrogated suspects.

The legal significance of the case rests on the fact that the prisoners were already in the custody of local military commanders when Gen. Arellano arrived. When the local commanders protested against the executions -- as several did -- Gen. Arellano cited his written authority from Gen. Pinochet.

Other witnesses have testified that they notified Gen. Pinochet of what had happened, but that he took no action. Under the military code, as well as the law of Chile, he had a responsibility to investigate and punish those responsible for the killings.

Jose Galiano, a respected lawyer and former army captain who this week asked Judge Guzman to formally indict Gen. Pinochet, argued in his submission to the judge that the crimes committed during the caravan of death, and several other episodes that occurred between 1973 and Gen. Pinochet's retirement as head of state in 1990 were of such magnitude that "they could only have been carried out under the orders of the head of state, or with his authorization, ratification and, in any case, his subsequent concealment".

Judge Guzman was not regarded as a firebrand in Chilean judicial circles. The son of a diplomat, he was seen by many as a relatively conventional middle-ranking judge who had no track record of political opposition to the regime.

But his determination to pursue his investigations has earned him the respect of human rights lawyers and the disapproval of those who continue to support Gen. Pinochet.

Sources close to the case believe that Judge Guzman -- who is now surrounded by police bodyguards -- is the target of an intelligence operation that has attempted to find evidence to discredit him.

The indictment is expected to provoke a severe reaction from Gen. Pinochet's supporters, who claim he saved Chile from the communism President Salvador Allende was trying to impose.

Gen. Pinochet has claimed that the killings were part of a war against a well-prepared military resistance, aided and armed by Cuba. In the last two weeks, however, I have spoken to numerous witnesses who say that the situation in the north of Chile at the time of the coup was peaceful.

All the witnesses, who include former military officers, deny there was armed resistance, and several point out that among men massacred were local mine managers and union leaders who, when the coup took place, acted to ensure the transition was free of bloodshed.

"This is not a matter of revenge," said Galiano. "An eye for an eye, or a tooth for a tooth. It is a matter of historical truth."

For Judge Guzman too, the Pinochet affair goes beyond politics to the reputation of Chilean justice, that he feels was badly tarnished under the dictatorship.

-- Guardian News Service