Pinochet, Once Chile's All Powerful President...
It seems that Pinochet’s all-powerful regime, which had controlled every element of Chilean life for years since the coup in 1973, has at last come to an end. With poor health, accusations of corruption, drug trafficking involvement, and the loss of his precious immunity, Pinochet has been left all alone.
Because of Pinochet's declining health, the courts have repeatedly dropped human rights charges against him, but the tax evasion case stands. The victims of the dictatorship by Pinochet continue to seek justice.
This month the Supreme Court stripped Pinochet of immunity, paving the way to try him on charges involving torture and kidnapping at a secret detention center where hundreds of dissidents were killed for political reasons in which many still remain unaccounted for today. However, the possibility of Pinochet going on trial appear remote, despite his being stripped of the immunity he enjoyed as a former president in at least four indictments.
It seems unbelievable that it took almost 17 years for the courts to uplift the immunity protecting Pinochet since the end of his presidency in 1990. The only thing keeping him out of jail appears to be his poor health, which his doctors say includes diabetes, arthritis and mild dementia. Therefore, only because of his age are human rights charges against him dropped. Pinochet faces scores of criminal lawsuits for the human rights violations, but it's money, not human rights, that has isolated the general.
For a long time Chileans remained deeply divided on Pinochet’s legacy. Many saw him as a brutal dictator who ended democracy and led a regime characterized by torture and favoritism towards the rich, while others believed that he saved the country from communism, safeguarded Chilean democracy and led the transformation of the Chilean economy into Latin America's most stable and fastest growing economy. However, On Sept. 11, the 33rd anniversary of the military coup against socialist President Salvador Allende, only two women appeared at his house for what used to be a day of great celebration for Pinochetistas. Pinochet, once Chile's all powerful president, appears to be no more.
Tag: last301
Because of Pinochet's declining health, the courts have repeatedly dropped human rights charges against him, but the tax evasion case stands. The victims of the dictatorship by Pinochet continue to seek justice.
This month the Supreme Court stripped Pinochet of immunity, paving the way to try him on charges involving torture and kidnapping at a secret detention center where hundreds of dissidents were killed for political reasons in which many still remain unaccounted for today. However, the possibility of Pinochet going on trial appear remote, despite his being stripped of the immunity he enjoyed as a former president in at least four indictments.
It seems unbelievable that it took almost 17 years for the courts to uplift the immunity protecting Pinochet since the end of his presidency in 1990. The only thing keeping him out of jail appears to be his poor health, which his doctors say includes diabetes, arthritis and mild dementia. Therefore, only because of his age are human rights charges against him dropped. Pinochet faces scores of criminal lawsuits for the human rights violations, but it's money, not human rights, that has isolated the general.
For a long time Chileans remained deeply divided on Pinochet’s legacy. Many saw him as a brutal dictator who ended democracy and led a regime characterized by torture and favoritism towards the rich, while others believed that he saved the country from communism, safeguarded Chilean democracy and led the transformation of the Chilean economy into Latin America's most stable and fastest growing economy. However, On Sept. 11, the 33rd anniversary of the military coup against socialist President Salvador Allende, only two women appeared at his house for what used to be a day of great celebration for Pinochetistas. Pinochet, once Chile's all powerful president, appears to be no more.
Tag: last301
posted by Rhett at 12:00 PM
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