Interviews From The Short Century

Lucía Pinochet

Death, torture and disappearance

Santiago, March 1999 .

“ Pinochet? Chileans see him as a cancer. A hidden and painful illness. You know it’s there, but you're afraid to talk about it...to even say its name. So you end up pretending it doesn’t exist. Maybe you think that by ignoring it, it will just go away without you having to confront it.” The waitress at Café El Biógrafo , a popular hangout for poets and students in the picturesque bohemian Santiago barrio of Bellavista, known for its colourful houses, couldn't have been much more than twenty years old. She may not even have been born when General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, the “ Senador vitalicio ” [Senator-for-life] as he is known here, was either giving orders that would see his opponents “killed, tortured and forcibly disappeared” - as the families of the more than thirty thousand desaparecidos claim - or ruling with an iron fist to ensure that Chile was free from the threat of communism - as his admirers insist. And yet she is keen to talk to me about Pinochet, and she has some forthright views: “It’s all about Pinochet here. Whether you're a fan of his or not, you can't deny that he is present in every part of Chilean life. He's part of our politics, clearly. He lives large in everyone's memories, in my parents’ stories, in teachers’ lessons. He’s in novels, non-fiction books, the cinema. That's right, in Chile even films are either for or against Pinochet. And yet somehow we continue to pretend that he isn’t there...”

This stubborn old man, who faced up to the British justice system “with the dignity of a soldier”, this “poor old guy” (as whispered into my ear by the concierge at the Círculo de la Prensa , where during the shadowy years of the military dictatorship, people loyal to the General would come to “pick up” pesky journalists right in front of the Palacio de La Moneda, where Salvador Allende died in the midst of the coup) had become a lumbering giant whose presence was felt in every corner of every street of every quarter of Santiago, a city that seemed to me uncertain and inward-looking

He is the living memory of this country - a colossal, ubiquitous memory that embarrasses those who supported him and irritates those who opposed him. A vast, sprawling memory that clings to people's lives, hopes and fears, to Chile's past and to its future.

In October 1998, having retired as Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean army and been appointed Senator-for-life, Pinochet was arrested while in London for medical treatment and placed under house arrest. First at the clinic where he had just undergone back surgery, and then in a rented house.

The international arrest warrant had been signed by a Spanish judge, Baltasar Garzón, for crimes against humanity. The charges included nearly a hundred counts of torture of Spanish citizens and count of conspiracy to commit torture. The UK had only recently signed the United Nations Convention against Torture, meaning that all the charges related to events that occurred during the final fourteen months of his rule.

The Chilean government immediately opposed his arrest, extradition and trial. Thus began a hard-fought, sixteen-month battle in the House of Lords, then the highest court in the UK. Pinochet claimed diplomatic immunity as a former head of state, but the Lords refused in light of the severity of the charges and authorised the extradition, albeit with several restrictions. However, shortly afterwards, a second ruling by the Lords enabled Pinochet to avoid extradition on health grounds (he was eighty-two years old at the time of his arrest), for “humanitarian” reasons. Following medical assessments, the British Home Secretary Jack Straw authorised Pinochet to return to Chile in March 2000, nearly two years after he was put under house arrest.

It was at the end of March 1999, in the midst of this complex international legal battle, that I went to Santiago to monitor the situation for the daily Il Tempo and to interview Pinochet’s eldest daughter, Lucía. The House of Lords had just rejected Pinochet’s claim for immunity, and the plane that the general’s family and supporters had hoped would bring him home to Chile returned without him.

The reaction on the streets of Santiago was immediate. On March 24, the Chilean capital had awaited the ruling with bated breath. The city may not have been in lockdown, but there was a discrete Carabineros - military police - presence at potential flashpoints: the presidential seat at La Moneda, the British and Spanish embassies, and the headquarters of pro- and anti-Pinochet organisations. There was blanket media coverage, enabling Chileans to follow events minute by minute. With live satellite links to London, Madrid and various locations in Santiago starting at seven in the morning and lasting all day, it felt like a truly historical event. At around midday local time, less than an hour after the Lords had issued their ruling, two afternoon dailies were published in special edition. The headline of one of them put it very neatly: “Pinochet loses but wins”.

In the morning, the residents of Santiago had crowded round televisions in public places, from McDonald's to the smallest of bars, to follow all the crucial developments. Angry customers in one large city-centre store beseeched the manager to tune the TV into the live feed from London.

The situation had remained broadly calm until the late afternoon, when the first signs of tension began to surface. At four o’clock local time, there were the first clashes between students and the police in the city centre, at the crossroads between La Alameda ^[2] and Miraflores, with a dozen or so people injured and around fifty students arrested.

There were plenty of appeals for calm, mainly from members of the government. The inflammatory remarks from General Fernando Rojas Vender (the pilot who bombed La Moneda during the 1973 coup d’état and the commander of the Chilean Air Force), who on the previous Tuesday had publicly stated that the climate in Chile was becoming “similar to how it was in 1973” had been condemned in the strongest terms by the government, which forced Rojas into a public retraction.

Now all eyes were on Mr Straw. The propaganda machine of Pinochet’s supporters was ready to roll, aiming to discredit the British Home Secretary whom they accused of publicly and forcefully endorsing the Chilean left on a trip to the country in 1966. Some people claimed they could prove that the young Mr Straw had held an informal meeting with the Chilean president at the time, Salvador Allende, who had invited him for tea.

As you can imagine, there were plenty of things I wanted to discuss as I made my way to Lucía Pinochet's house.

*****

Inés Lucía Pinochet Hiriart is Augusto's oldest daughter. She is an attractive woman who carries her age well and her tainted surname even better. The only reason she is not with her siblings in London, by her father's side, is that she has her leg in plaster. So she has been forced to stay in Santiago with the unenviable task of representing, and above all defending, the Senator-for-life.

We meet in her beautiful home in a well-to-do part of the city, and with her windows open we can hear demonstrators chanting pro-Pinochet slogans. With her three sons - Hernán, Francisco and Rodrigo - by her side, she speaks to me for nearly an hour, during which we cover the current situation with her father and, inevitably, the future of Chile as a whole.

What do you make of the “humanitarian” ruling that has just been given in your father’s case?

I would rather my father had been granted the full immunity he was entitled to as the former head of a sovereign state. Instead of a criminal trial, it has become a political debate about alleged torture, genocide and other crimes, bowing to pressure from socialists and people who claim they want to defend human rights.

Have you spoken to your father? How has he taken it?

My father is not happy about it. They had warned him about the possibility of a “humanitarian” ruling. And he's certainly not best pleased about Jack Straw handling the whole thing.

This is the man who people here claim took tea with Salvador Allende on a visit to Chile in 1966?

Exactly. We’ve known this for years. When they arrested my father in London, Straw said he had achieved a lifetime’s ambition. Go figure.

So this has now shifted from being a legal case to a humanitarian one...

It's always been all about politics! It was nonsense ever talking about a trial; the only things on the agenda in London should have been presidential immunity and territorial sovereignty, not torture.

Nevertheless, many commentators have observed that this is an historical ruling that sets an important legal precedent. Do you share that view?

Of course, because it's the first time we have seen a situation like this. Remember, international conventions have been in place for many years, but there has never been a trial nor a court of justice for judging and possibly punishing human rights violations. My father is being used as a guinea pig!

What is your father's state of health?

You must remember he is eighty-three years old and has just gone through major surgery. He's recovering slowly, but he's diabetic and he needs daily treatment and check-ups.

Do you fear for his health if he is extradited?

Yes, it could really set him back. And I’m particularly worried about my mother's health. She hasn't felt up to following the most tense moments of the case. When she heard the Lords’ sentence on TV, she was taken ill and the doctors had to give her several injections to reduce her blood pressure.

Do you feel let down by the English justice system?

No, because I don't think this is about the English as a whole. It's more about the people currently in power in the UK. And as we know, they are lefties.

Do you think there are people in England who are sympathetic to your cause?

Lots of English people are behind us. I discovered that when I was over there recently. Lots of people came up to me to show their solidarity. And it's not in their interests, because my father’s case is costing the British taxpayer a lot of money.

Do you think President Frei has acted strongly enough?

I think he could have been a little more forceful, but he's done enough and I thank him for that. I definitely would have liked to see him ensure that the international community treats our country with the respect it deserves. It is unacceptable that a former head of state, senator and commander-in-chief is being detained abroad.

How do you plan to mark the occasion if your father returns to Chile?

With the family. Having him come home will be the biggest celebration of all.

On his return, will he go straight back to the Senate or, as some people here are suggesting, will he allow the dust to settle and first spend some time in one of his many houses, like in Bucalemu, El Melocotón or Iquique?

Look, I honestly don’t know why people over here are getting so worked up about it. The last thing my father wants is to cause problems. To harm or create division in Chilean society. All he wants is for Chile to finally be able to move towards lasting peace and national reconciliation, so it can continue along the difficult path to economic growth. That’s why he may not make an immediate return to the Senate if he thinks it will help.

Have you spoken to him about it?

No, it's just what I think. What he has said to me though, time and again, is that he desperately wants to come back without causing any problems. My father wants to be a force for unity, not division.

Do you think your father is ready to hand himself over to the Chilean authorities?

I’m utterly convinced that he's happy to answer any questions they may have for him. That doesn’t mean he feels guilty; he knows he's not guilty. But, as I said, he has always had, and continues to have, great respect for the Chilean justice system.

Do you agree with your brother Marco Antonio’s assertion that there were abuses of power during your father’s period of rule?

My brother and I sometimes phrase things differently, but I’ve always maintained that there were occasional abuses. Remember, though, that this was a terribly difficult period in Chile’s tumultuous history - out-and-out war, an underground struggle between two sides. That’s why both sides occasionally overstepped the mark.

Do you think your father should ask for forgiveness?

My father does not feel guilty. If you think you're innocent, what are you asking for forgiveness for?

Do you agree with the recent comments of General Fernando Rojas Vender, who said that the climate in Chile was becoming similar to the period of office of the Popular Unity alliance?

General Rojas was only telling it how it is. The country is being torn apart and risks falling headlong into an uncertain and tragic future.

What do you make of the armed forces’ attitude to your father’s detention? There's talk of itchy trigger fingers.

If I were a military person, and a former commander-in-chief of my country had been arrested abroad, I would be outraged. I would see it as an attack on my country's sovereignty and a lack of respect towards the army. In fact, I think the military has shown remarkable restraint so far. I’m not sure I would have done in their position.

What do you expect from the army then?

I don’t expect anything. Just that they listen to their conscience.

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Mireya García

To forgive is impossible

During an emergency meeting of the National Security Council convened by President Frei at the Palacio de La Moneda, tensions in Chile, which were already running high from the Pinochet ruling in London, were further fuelled by some breaking news: another illegal detention centre dating from the military dictatorship had been discovered following revelations from Monsignor González, the bishop of Punta Arenas, where the remains of hundreds of desaparecidos had already been identified.

The detention centre was located in the extreme north of Chile, about seventy miles from Arica, in a desert region where its existence had long been suspected. It had come to light that the local judiciary had been secretly investigating the centre for several weeks. Despite the shroud of secrecy put around the case by local judge Juan Cristóbal Mera, comments by the local governor, Fernando Nuñez, revealed that the mass graves were located by the coast in the Camarones area. Very near to the city's old burial ground.

“ It must be stressed,” Governor Nuñez had told reporters, “that the geographical coordinates are not exact, but we know that the judge has already verified the existence of at least two graves. However, we will ask for the judge Juan Guzmán Tapia to be present if and when the remains of the desaparecidos are exhumed.”

The clues that led to this detention centre were provided by Bishop González, who said he had received the information “under the Seal of Confession”. It was not yet clear how many detention centres were concerned.

Against this background, and in order to discover more about what happened to the Chilean desaparecidos , I decided to interview the leader of the relatives’ association, the AFDD.

*****

Imprisoned, tortured, exiled. Mireya Garcia didn’t just lose her adolescence with Pinochet’s coup d’état. Her brother has been missing for more than a quarter of a century. Today, Mireya is vice-chair of the Association of Families of the Disappeared and Detained (AFDD), and she has fought continuously for the truth.

These mothers and grandmothers - each carrying their own burden of pain, each with a photo of a disappeared son, brother, husband or grandson - have been meeting every day for years in a blue apartment block near to the centre of Santiago. The walls of the courtyard are covered in faded photos of the desaparecidos , each accompanied by the same question: Dónde están? [Where are they?] Every so often, the wall of photos and the same unanswered question over and over is interrupted by a rose or some other flower.

What do you remember about those years, about the coup d’état?

It's all a bit vague. I was at home and I just remember hearing military music on the radio. Then loads of men in uniforms appeared on the streets. I wouldn't realise until later that this was a dark day in the history of my country.

How old would you have been?

I was in the Young Socialists in Concepción, a small city about sixty miles south of Santiago. I wanted to study, get married, have a family...but then everything changed. Quickly. Too quickly. I can talk about it fairly calmly now, but for years I couldn’t bring myself to dredge it all up again. Not even with my family.

They came for us one night. Only my brother and I were in the house. I was arrested (if you can call it that) and then tortured. If I’m honest, I find it hard to speak about how they humiliated me even now.

I never saw my brother again. When I later managed to escape to Mexico with my family, I realised that Vicente had vanished for good. It was gut-wrenching knowing that he might still be alive somewhere and I was thousands of miles away, unable to return to Chile so I could look for him, help him.

Is that when you decided to set up the AFDD?

Yes. There were so many of us who had been exiled to Mexico and had relatives who had been “disappeared” by the Pinochet regime. We held demonstrations in the street. It might not have scared such a brutal dictatorship, but at least people knew who we were. Knew what had happened.

When did you finally return to Chile?

After fifteen years. And I still feel like an outcast today. An exile in my own country.

What have you managed to find out about what happened to your brother?

Very little. Just that he was taken to a secret detention centre called Cuartel Borgoño, where he was tortured. The place doesn’t exist anymore. They bulldozered everything to get rid of any trace, any evidence.

Do you think the blame lies exclusively with Pinochet?

No. And that’s the crazy thing about Chile. There are still cases open against at least thirty individuals - generals, colonels, politicians and mere foot soldiers of death - who were responsible for murder, torture and other forms of brutality. But the absurd thing about this country is that everyone knows that at least three thousand people were disappeared, and yet the courts have only verified eleven cases. It's like everyone knows but chooses to look the other way.

Some people say that, rather than being a universal concept, justice is relative to the period in history and the conditions of a particular country. Is that something you agree with?

No. I believe that dignity, respect and justice are universal concepts. Otherwise, why would countries sign declarations on human rights and conventions against torture?

How did you feel when Pinochet was arrested?

It was a real see-saw of hope and despair. What happened in London showed that Chile is still a deeply divided nation. A country where the military still wields considerable power that can hold sway over politicians and institutions. I was also pretty shocked. Over the years, Pinochet had built himself this shield of impunity with an almost maniacal obsession for detail. He had even changed the Constitution so that no one could touch him. If he's not tried abroad, I’m absolutely certain that Pinochet will never be brought before a Chilean court. It just won't happen.

What do you understand by forgiveness?

I think it’s an absolutely personal matter. Everyone will have different opinions. I cannot forgive the people who tortured my brother. Some people might think I’m being vindictive, but it’s not like that. I’m not looking for revenge;

I just want the truth.

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