General Augusto Pinochet has been ordered to stand trial and placed under house arrest for crimes he committed as military dictator of Chile. "This is an historic moment, not only for the families of the victims, but for all of Chile," proclaimed Carmen Hertz, one of the lawyers who has led the effort to prosecute Pinochet.
The court order came exactly three years after charges were first filed against Pinochet for the Caravan of Death - a special military expedition that travelled around Chile in helicopters, carrying out at least 75 summary executions shortly after Pinochet seized power in 1973. The bodies of 18 of these victims were never found. The husband of Carmen Hertz was among those abducted and disappeared by the Caravan while he worked as head of a radio station in one of Chile's largest copper mining regions. Hertz notes that the orders issued by the presiding judge in the case, Juan Guzman, "are an expression of justice and reparation for the tens of thousands of victims of the military dictatorship, not only those who were murdered and disappeared, but also for those who were tortured or forced into exile".
As word of the impending juridical declaration spread throughout the capital, Santiago, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in front of the court to hear the decision. Many carried pictures of family members who were killed or disappeared by the regime. Among the more notable were pictures of Victor Jara, the popular Chilean folk singer who was executed after he had his hands broken while playing the guitar in prison. Pictures of Arturo Prats, the general whom Pinochet replaced as head of the Chilean armed forces shortly before the military coup, were also displayed. A year later Prats was assassinated by a car bomb while living in exile in Argentina.
The demonstrators chanted "no amnesty, no impunity, the blood of our people cannot be negotiated", alluding to efforts by some of the country's politicians to exempt Pinochet from trail. The crowd also chanted "Allende, Allende, you are with us now", referring to the Socialist president of Chile who died when Pinochet seized power. On the day of the coup, Allende, in his final address to the nation, declared: "I am certain the cowardliness and the treachery [of the coup leaders] will be punished."
Lawyers for Pinochet immediately appealed Judge Guzman's decision. Their appeal will focus on trying to secure Pinochet's release for health reasons. Just three days before the court orders came down, Pinochet checked into a military hospital, allegedly because of heart problems. He was released the next day and flown to his ranch in a military helicopter. The appeal will go first to an appellate court and then to the country's supreme court. Most judicial observers in Chile believe these courts will uphold the prosecution of Pinochet.
Pinochet's legal plight took a turn for the worse last week when retired General Joaquin Lagos, who was in charge of the mining region of Chile where the Caravan of Death carried out many of its summary executions, directly implicated Pinochet on national television. The commanding officer of the Caravan, General Arellano Stark, told Lagos that "he was in charge", that he "was the official designed to intervene and undertake any necessary actions". Lagos later confronted Pinochet with information on those executed and "the cadavers that were pulverized" by Stark's caravan, but Pinochet refused to disown Stark's actions. Lagos was subsequently forced into early retirement by Pinochet.
If by chance Pinochet is exonerated of the charges against him for the Caravan of Death, there are many additional charges for which he will be prosecuted. On the very day that Guzman handed down his decision, the Mapuche Indians, who live predominantly in southern Chile, filed the 215th case against Pinochet. Persecuted by the large land owners and the army in the months after the coup, the Mapuches are charging Pinochet with the deaths of 93 members of their community, asserting that Pinochet is guilty of "genocide against the Mapuche nation".
Roberto Garreton, a prominent attorney who has handled human
rights cases in Chilean courts since 1974, proclaims: "This
day will go down in history as a turning point. The human right
movement has persevered. It has succeeded in indicting a dictator
who wrote his own constitution and decreed his own amnesty. After
leaving office he was protected by politicians who have lied to
the Chilean people and the world, asserting that we lived in a
democracy and that everyone wanted to forget about the past. Judge
Guzman and the human rights movement have given us justice and
the truth. They have changed Chile and the world."