EDITORIAL: Pinochet's arrest a less

[suriya@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

Subject: EDITORIAL: Pinochet's arrest a lesson for dictators 

Editorial & Opinion 

      EDITORIAL: Pinochet's
      arrest a lesson for
      dictators

      IF the image of Che Guevara and his black
      beret is an icon for leftist revolutionaries,
      then Augusto Pinochet with his dark
      glasses and military fatigues is
      unmistakenly the icon for the fascist right. 

      Indeed the former Chilean dictator has
      remained unrepentant over his 17-year
      iron-fisted rule. It was a glorious task to
      wipe out his ideological enemies, he said.
      That 4,299 political opponents were killed
      or unaccounted for didn't matter. After all, it
      was ''war''. 

      Pinochet rode to power in a bloody military
      coup against the democratically-elected
      socialist government of President Salvador
      Allende. During the coup, he sent war
      planes to bomb the presidential palace
      where Allende was holed up. The president
      eventually died from mysterious bullet
      wounds. 

      Like many Latin American military
      dictatorships during the Cold War, Pinochet
      was backed by the CIA. Then, democracy
      meant electing pro-US regimes not
      left-wing governments. 

      The Pinochet regime was unrelenting in
      pursuing its enemies, including among the
      one million Chileans who went into exile.
      General Carlos Prats, Allende's interior
      minister, was murdered in a Buenos Aires
      bomb blast along with his wife, Sofia.
      Another Allende minister, Orlando Letelier,
      was blown up in his car in Washington.
      Implicated in both assassinations was the
      Chilean secret police, the dreaded Dina. 

      After Pinochet lost a referendum in 1990,
      he handed over power, but not before he
      secured a seat for life in the Senate, a
      position which he created himself to give
      him immunity from prosecution over the
      crimes he was accused of committing
      during his rule. It was Pinochet's key
      demand before he relinquished power.
      Ironically, the place in which he now seeks
      refuge is the same august institution he
      destroyed in 1973. 

      As a result, Pinochet is virtually untouchable
      in his own country despite there being 12
      lawsuits against him filed by relatives of
      victims. His diplomatic immunity as a
      senator and a 1978 amnesty law issued by
      his regime has so far enabled him to shield
      himself and those responsible in the military
      from the law. 

      But while Pinochet may have negotiated
      immunity in his own country, he cannot
      escape the long arm of international law.
      And little did he know that it would be his
      visit to Britain that would prove to be his
      undoing. Only last month, he declared
      Britain to be the most ideal place to live. In
      previous trips to London, he went on a
      shopping spree for military equipment; he
      had his health checked by the best doctors
      the British can offer; and he even had tea
      with former prime minister Margaret
      Thatcher. 

      No wonder, the last thing he expected was
      to be arrested. But then again, he didn't
      figure that Prime Minister Tony Blair, unlike
      Thatcher, may not be so inclined to roll out
      the red carpet. The British police, acting on
      an extradition warrant from Spain in
      connection with allegations that Pinochet
      murdered Spanish citizens while in power,
      had him detained pending further action. 

      Chilean President Eduardo Frei reacted
      with fury over the arrest. ''It is only for
      Chilean courts to try events that occurred in
      Chile,'' he said. Perhaps he has forgotten
      about the International Criminal Court
      treaty, signed in June by 120 countries. 

      The court was established to prosecute
      cases of genocide, crimes against
      humanity and terrorism if the country where
      these crimes was committed is unable, or
      unwilling, to bring the culprits to justice.
      While the ICC treaty is still in the process of
      ratification which could take up to five
      years, the Pinochet case is clearly a sign of
      things to come. 

      That spells trouble for dictators everywhere.
      Asia, too, has its fair share of dictators and
      some, such as South Korea's Chun
      Doo-hwan, had been brought to face justice
      while Indonesia's Suharto could soon be
      hauled into court. Others, such as those
      heading Burma's military junta, will now find
      it a little harder to sleep easy at night. 

      At 82, perhaps punishment comes a bit too
      late for Pinochet. By persevering, however,
      the relatives of the victims may not so much
      achieve justice for the dead, but send out a
      clear message to dictators: you can run, but
      you can't hide forever. 

      The Nation