Although Jack Straw is highly likely to confirm his view to send Pinochet
back
to Chile on health grounds, the item below shows that the British imperialist
bourgeoisie is progressive relative to the Chilean bourgeoisie, which is
ruling out a trial on principle.
Progressive people should support the campaign to prevent Pinochet being
sent back to Chile, not of course to support the British imperialist
bourgeoisie
(the things it is necessary to spell out!) but because that is in the
interests of
proletarian internationalism.
Chris Burford
London
==============================================
CHILE COMMITTEE AGAINST IMPUNITY - PIQUETE DE LONDRES
37-39 Great Guildford Street - London SE1 OES
Tel: 0171 261 9578 Fax: 0171 261 9291
e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
NEW INFORMATION:
1. The verdict will be given on Tuesday 15/2/00 from 14:00 PM.
We will have as usual, a demonstration outside the Court.
-----------
2. New Amendments to the Chilean Constitution Confers Absolute
Immunity to General A. Pinochet
A new amendment to the Chilean Constitution, approved by the Chilean
Parliament on the 19th January 2000, will confer the title of Former
President of the Republic to General A. Pinochet. This seemly innocuous
title has a constitutional status and gives the holder absolute immunity
from prosecution by the Chilean Courts. The Chilean government has been
insisting that once the ex-dictator General Augusto Pinochet has been
returned to Chile, the Chilean tribunals will try him according to the norms
of a just and formal judicial process.
However, without dwelling on the details of the existing political,
legislative and judicial reasons of why General Pinochet can not be
prosecuted in Chile, the Chilean people find themselves confronting a new
development that will ensure that General Pinochet can never be prosecuted
in Chile. On 7th September 1999, five Senators of the Republic put forward
a parliamentarian motion for a Constitutional Amendment named: "The
Establishment of the Statute of FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC".
This Constitutional amendment contains only one clause, the creation of
the statute of FORMER PRESIDENTS OF THE REPUBLIC. The motion, Congress
Bulletin 02397-07, was approved by the Senate in the especial session
(number 33) on 15th September 1999. On the 19th January 2000, the president
of the Republic Mr Eduardo Frei ordered the project to be marked
"Extreme Urgency". As a result of this, on 25th January 2000, the Lower
Chamber of the Parliament approved the project without any alterations.
This new law needs some minor administrative paperwork to become
part of the Constitution and thus consecrate the impunity of General Pinochet.
In particular, the amendment to the Constitution added 5 new paragraphs
to Article 30 of the Republic's Political Constitution. The object of such
amendment is to authorize Life Senators to resign their functions, -
presently not included in the Constitution - and gives new privileges to
former Presidents. This includes Pinochet, if he resigns his Life-
Senatorial post. Such privileges includes a life pension (c.a. $4000/per
month) and the award of the official title of "FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE
REPUBLIC". This title, which has a constitutional status, gives the
holder absolute immunity from prosecution.
As a consequence of this, Pinochet will get and maintain the
privileges given to all acting parliamentarians. These privileges mean that
he can not be prosecuted without a previous process of withdrawing the
Parliamentary Immunity. Although, the Chilean Civil Code, Article 611,
includes a procedure to withdraw the immunity of a member of Parliament
or Senator, it does not include a procedure to withdraw said immunity
from "Former Presidents". The privilege of immunity given to the new
status of Former President, as stated in the constitutional amendment,
will therefore be permanent as there is no mechanism to withdraw it.
This unethical constitutional amendment gives a new and fool-proof
warranty of impunity to the ex-dictator. Although, it is not possible to
think that the parliamentarian have involuntarily missed the non existence
of a mechanism for withdrawal of the privilege, the following was added to
the new article:
"A former President that has been declared guilty in a political
prosecution will not enjoy this privileges". This, of course, is not a
risk for Pinochet, unless he is prosecuted in Spain or Britain, he will
never be prosecuted for the crimes that he committed.
As a result of the above, if Pinochet is send to Chile, it will not be
possible to try him. He will enjoy privileges that no other Chilean has,
and will be untouchable by the Courts. Once the Chilean government has
the certainty that Pinochet is on his way back to Chile, the Constitutional
amendment will be quickly and quietly finalised, in order to give the
international community the false impression that Pinochet can be tried
in Chile.
