This sixth verse of the Chilean National Anthem was rarely sung under the elected governments that preceded the 1973 military coup, but was revived during the military government when schools were required to sing the full version every Monday morning. After the return to democracy, the armed forces still sang the verse as a gesture of protest at moments of civil-military tension. October 1999 Vol. 11, No. 1 (B) CHILE WHEN TYRANTS TREMBLE: The Pinochet Case I. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS..........................................................................................................................1 A Dictator=s Arrest.........................................................................................................................................................2 The Dispute over Territoriality......................................................................................................................................3 Chile Unreconciled........................................................................................................................................................4 The Struggle for Justice.................................................................................................................................................6 Constitutional Reform ...................................................................................................................................................8 Declassification: the United States Opens Its Books .....................................................................................................9 Recommendations to the Chilean Government............................................................................................................10 Recommendations to the United States Government...................................................................................................11 II. BACKGROUND................................................................................................................................................................12 The Overthrow of Allende...........................................................................................................................................12 Political Genocide: the Spanish Accusation ................................................................................................................14 Restricted Immunity: Pinochet in the House of Lords.................................................................................................18 Chile: a Custom-Made Safe Haven..............................................................................................................................23 III. KEY ISSUES IN THE EXTRADITION............................................................................................................................27 Aut Dedere Aut Judicare .............................................................................................................................................27 A Single Act of Torture is Enough ..............................................................................................................................27 Torture as State Policy.................................................................................................................................................28 ADisappearance@ as Torture .........................................................................................................................................30 IV. REPERCUSSIONS IN CHILE...........................................................................................................................................31 Chile=s Transition on Trial ..........................................................................................................................................31 Minority Without a Voice: Press and Public Opinion .................................................................................................34 Pressure for Compromise ............................................................................................................................................37 The Amnesty Law: A Bone of Contention...................................................................................................................38 Trials in other countries.................................................................................................................................39 Unlocking the amnesty law ...........................................................................................................................40 AKidnapping is a Permanent Crime:@ the Caravan of Death ........................................................................................43 The CNI in the Dock ...................................................................................................................................................45 The Search for a Formula ...........................................................................................................................................47 V. THE U.S. GOVERNMENT=S RESPONSE........................................................................................................................50 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Sebastian Brett, Human Rights Watch researcher, wrote this report. Reed Brody, Human Rights Watch advocacy director and Helena Cook contributed material to Chapter II. The report was edited by José Miguel Vivanco, executive director of the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch; Anne Manuel, deputy director of the Americas Division; Cynthia Brown, Human Rights Watch program director; Wilder Tayler, general counsel, and Reed Brody. Human Rights Watch associates Jessica Galería and Monisha Bajaj helped produce it. Felipe González, director of the Research Department of Diego Portales University Law Faculty commented in detail on the report. We are extremely grateful to the Ford Foundation for providing funding to support our research costs, enabling us to closely monitor events in Chile and elsewhere for a six month period. I. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS The arrest and probable trial in Spain of former Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet have rekindled hopes of justice for thousands of victims of his brutal seventeen-year rule. The Spanish court=s action and the United Kingdom=s decision to initiate extradition proceedings reflect a new international determination C spurred on by the twin genocides in Bosnia and Rwanda and facilitated by the end of the Cold War C to bring to an end impunity for crimes against humanity. The case opened up new possibilities for the exercise of universal jurisdiction, in that the Spanish court sought to judge crimes alleged to have been committed by a former head of state in his own country and against his own subjects. The court verdicts establishing the lawfulness of Pinochet=s arrest and extradition were a dramatic lesson in the implementation of international human rights law. At this writing, growing rumors of Pinochet=s ailing health are fueling speculation that the U.K. authorities might order his release on humanitarian grounds. Whether or not Pinochet is eventually sent back to Chile, the international repercussions of the case have been and will continue to be enormous. Human Rights Watch has been deeply concerned about human rights in Chile since the establishment of its Americas division in 1981, and has monitored closely developments since Pinochet stepped down in 1990. Human Rights Watch intervened in support of the jurisdiction of the Spanish court in the hearings of Pinochet=s appeal in the House of Lords, pointing out that political and legal constraints in Chile made it impossible for Pinochet to be tried in his own country. As this report shows, a year from Pinochet=s arrest steps which must be taken to make Pinochet=s trial in Chile possible have still not been taken. The former dictator continues to benefit from parliamentary immunity and an amnesty law that has been invoked repeatedly in past years to prevent human rights prosecutions. However, the Pinochet case has had important and largely unforeseen consequences in Chile. The case has helped foster a more open debate about the legacy of the military government, has stimulated the action of the courts, and has created greater awareness of Chile=s international obligations in the field of human rights. Although the institutional, political, and legal obstacles to accountability remain in place, there is a sense that Chile has at last embarked on an effort to confront its past, the outcome of which is no longer easy to predict. Forebodings expressed by opponents of Pinochet=s prosecution that Areopening old wounds@ would destabilize Chile=s allegedly fragile democracy were shown to be greatly exaggerated. Except for moments of political tension and noisy street demonstrations when decisions went against Pinochet, there have been only isolated episodes of violence. Now under the command of a more youthful leadership, the military has avoided the menacing postures of the Pinochet years and has generally used constitutional levers to influence government decisions. Nor have the deep political divisions over Pinochet=s rule prevented contacts and discussions among all the political parties in a search for points of agreement on the human rights issue. The armed forces for the first time are participating in an open-ended debate, sponsored by the government, with human rights lawyers