The General´s Case

The General´s Case

Since our hero, General Pinochet, returned to Chile, many things have been going on. The Appeals Court of Santiago decided by 9 votes to 11 to strip the General as Senator of the republic. Things of course did not stop there. Since this was such a transcendental issue, the Supreme Court had to rule in favor or against the decition approved by the Appeals Court. Unfortunately now the Supreme Court decided to rule in favor of the Appeals Court by 16 votes against 6, and take away Pinochet´s immunity as Senator. Of course, Pinochet himself has vowed to fight for his innocence against this "political farce". This means he will break his silence, and we should expect him to prove his innocence, as he has nothing to hide. Now the leftist Judge Juan Guzman wants to apply medical tests to the General so as to impede him from defending himself properly. These are sad times for Chile. How did we ever get to this sad state of affairs? We must first examine this case from the beginning. The case is that President Lagos, since before he was elected, mentioned that Pinochet should be judged in Chile. This was also partly to the European socialist´s international pressure to their man, Lagos, to have the General tried in case Spain or Britain failed to do so. Otherwise, why in all these 10 years was Pinochet not tired if he was so guilty as they are desperately trying to prove? Only pressure and convienience. The new socialist government, once in power, wanted to prove itself to the world how tough and democratic it was, so it decided to bend to outside pressures. It even invited the Belgian government to become part in the alegations. Of course, realizing the circus was somewhat over, the coward socialist government of Belgium lightly refused. Pinochet gave the chance to make the socialist government in Chile look well placed in the world, and it gave the chance to the Chilean courts to look renovated, efficient, and "democratic". Once more Pinochet seems to be the "scapegoat" to everyones problems. We must remember that if Lagos had been a wise man, wanting to quell artificial divisions, could have put the Pinochet case under the carpet, and let this old soldier die in peace. However it chose the latter, and by playing with fire, they might burn themselves.

Lagos biggest lie to date of course has been when he has claimed that the government does not interfere in the judicial decitions about Pinochet´s impeachment as Senator. Firstly, the State Defense Council (CDE), leaded by Clara Sczaranski, has been involved from very early in the accusations against the Senator. This means that the state of Chile is officially part of this process. Another important thing to mention is that many of the lawyers against the General are Socialists and Communists. Also one of the lawyers is a deputy of the Socialist party. Let us not forget that the Socialist Party is in government, and Lagos, Chile´s actual president, belongs to that political entity.
But first we must look at the more obvious details that everyone seems to forget. Any senator of the republic must be impeached by votes through Congress, and not through the Tribunals. Lagos knowing that this would pose a problem and make things muddier for him and his cronies, decided to give it a judicial face, not the obvious political circus acusation. Even if his impeachment is done through the courts, this does not mean it is not a political trial. So now because of his decition, the supposeddly apolitical courts had to be dragged into this whole affair and decide on which side they were on. This is not merely a trial of Pinochet as a man. It is a trial of a whole government, the whole free-market process, a trial of a nation´s most sucessful period. This is what its at stake here now. It means wether Chile will continue to grow and prosper like a developed nation, or wether we will start asking questions about our system and engage in bitter debates and slide back to underdevelopment. It is also a trial of the image of our Honorable Military. This is what is anacceptable to many patriotic Chileans.

Moreover, This impeachment is illegal and unconstitutional. It is funny that no one notices it: But everyone seems to have forgotten that there is something called the Amnesty Law introduced by the Military Government for deaths on both sides from 1973-1978. The impeachment is been decided only for the so called Death Caravan case, which was carried out in 1973, and is covered by an Amnesty. Besides there is no proof whatsoever that Pinochet ordered the deaths of those people or anyone else. There are no written memos that have been signed by pinochet saying "eliminate them all" nor any other such thing. This so called Death Caravan was just raids against militant leftists that were carrying guns and were killed, once captured. Nothing to do with Pinochet and the Junta who was in Santiago forming their first cabinet.

Pinochet´s 140-something accusations are a joke. The many accusations that were filed against him while in London and since he has been back, have no real substance whatsoever. If we examine one of the cases, it is about a kid killed in 1987 by a stray bullet shot by the Police during a firce street confrontation, from a helicopter. This is of course very sad, and the perpetrators of the accidental killing should if they are not already, be in jail for such a big mistake. But tell us how in the world does that have to do with Pinochet??? What is the relation if any? Is there any rationality for blaming this on the aging General? None. It is all a continuing vengeance. If things like this make the President of the nation responsible, then L. Johnson, Jimmy Carter, Nixon, and every other US president should be in trial for every act of police violence, miscalculation, or accidental killings. This does not make sense. Then if we take this absurdity further, Bill Clinton should be judged because a black man was beaten up in L.A. by the L.A.P.D., which means his rights and integrity were not respected. Its all Clinton´s fault because he was President of the nation. Now if we have any reason or notion of sense, it makes this accusations absurd. Such is Pinochet´s case. Behind all this circus are of course the same people, the communists, the socialists and the so called human rights groups (leftist rights). The 8 lawyers against the General, who were succesful in impeaching him as Senator, who support all these fantasies and want vengeance, belong to extreme leftist parties. Out of the 31 leftist lawyers against the General, another important traitor is the Jurist Nelson Caucoto, who in his thirst for vengeance, has accumulated 46 cases. Now let us examine them one by one:

-Eduardo Contreras (Communist Party) -5 accusations.
-Hiram Villagra (leftist independent) -2 accusations.
-Hugo Gutiérrez (Communist Party) -16 accusations.
-Alfonso Insunza (leftist independent, close to Socialist Party) -5 accusations.
-Carmen Hertz (ex-communist) -3 accusations.
-Juan Bustos (Socialist Deputy) -5 accusations.
-Boris Paredes (leftist independent) -1 accusation. -This lawyer is the most radical and stupid of them all, claiming Pinochet was crazy.
-Clara Szczaranski (ex-socialist, president of the State Defense Council).
Leftist conspiracy? You bet. These extremists are all out to get him.

The biggest joke of course, is that another of the endless senseless acussations are from none other than members of the FPMR or MIR, the two biggest terrorist groups that the Military Government had to fight in order to maintain order. members of these groups are none other than cold blooded killers who killed women and children, along with other innocent people because they were "capitalists". What a joke, now these people, protected in all the European socialist countries, pose themselves as "human rights activists". This is a big insult to the real victims and should be stopped. Recently, the new Commander-in-Chief of the Military, Gen. Ricardo Izurieta visited General Pinochet today in his home in Santiago, in La Dehesa. The Military, a big part in the life of the General, has shown its solidarity and support for its ex-Commander-in-Chief throughout this "circus" saga. The numerous Pinochet supporters marched from the Pinochet Foundation to the General´s home, to show their continued support and condemn the Supreme Court´s politicized ruling.

Pinochet´s accusations and whole impeachment circus propaganda is nothing but rubbish to put on "trial" one of the most efficient, clean, and successful government that Chile ever had. However, whatever happens to the great General, The Military Government´s numerous achievements will continue to fly high.