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October 1999
 Vol. 11, No. 1 (B)

CHILE

WHEN TYRANTS TREMBLE: The Pinochet Case


National Anthem of Chile:

Vuestros nombres, valientes soldados...
[s]ean ellos el grito de muerte
Que lancemos, marchando a lidiar
Y sonando en la boca del fuerte
Hagan siempre al tirano temblar.

May your names, valiant soldiers...
[B]e the cry of death
That we shout as we march to the fray
and sounding in the mouth of the strong
make the tyrant ever tremble.

(Translation by Human Rights Watch.)

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.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
A Dictator's Arrest
The Dispute over Territoriality
Chile Unreconciled
The Struggle for Justice
Constitutional Reform
Declassification: the United States Opens Its Books
Recommendations to the Chilean Government
Recommendations to the United States Government

II. BACKGROUND
The Overthrow of Allende
Political Genocide: the Spanish Accusation
Restricted Immunity: Pinochet in the House of Lords
Chile: a Custom-Made Safe Haven

III. KEY ISSUES IN THE EXTRADITION
Aut Dedere Aut Judicare
A Single Act of Torture is Enough
Torture as State Policy
"Disappearance" as Torture

IV. REPERCUSSIONS IN CHILE
Chile's Transition on Trial
Minority Without a Voice: Press and Public Opinion
Pressure for Compromise
The Amnesty Law: A Bone of Contention
Trials in other countries
Unlocking the amnesty law
"Kidnapping is a Permanent Crime:" the Caravan of Death
The CNI in the Dock
The Search for a Formula

V. THE U.S. GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSE

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.