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The Frei Administration and the Politics of Denial

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Human Rights Policies in Chile

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Abstract

The Frei administration’s human rights policies and decisions are divided in two periods: before and after 1998, or before and after the detention of General Pinochet in London. The period between 1994 and 1998 was characterized by apathy and actual disregard for human rights and as a result the administration introduced bills geared to end the trials, maintained friendly relations with General Pinochet, and supported the military’s interpretation of the Amnesty Decree. In the aftermath of General Pinochet’s detention in London in 1998, there was new life infused into those concerned with human rights abuses, as well as creative thinking on the part of the members of the judicial branch who were willing to address the human rights crimes of the past. The chapter analyzes executive, legislative, and judicial actions, pays special attention to the Human Rights Roundtable, military-executive relations, and new judicial actions. The Human Rights Roundtable, or Mesa de Diálogo, generated in turn new actions of the part of human rights groups and others, which are analyzed in the next chapter.

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Notes

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  2. 2.

    Ricardo French Davis, Op. Cit., p. 247.

  3. 3.

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  5. 5.

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  6. 6.

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  7. 7.

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  8. 8.

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  9. 9.

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  10. 10.

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  11. 11.

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  12. 12.

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  13. 13.

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  14. 14.

    Gregory Weeks, Op. Cit., p. 97.

  15. 15.

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  16. 16.

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  17. 17.

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  18. 18.

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  19. 19.

    Interview Viviana Díaz Caro, Santiago, December 28, 2011.

  20. 20.

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    Gregory Weeks, “The Transition is Dead, Long Live the Transition: Civil Military Relations and the Limits of Consensus” in Silvia Borzutzky and Gregory Weeks, The Bachelet Government: Conflict and Consensus in Post-Pinochet Chile, University Press of Florida, Gainesville, 2010.

  22. 22.

    Cited in Amnesty International, Op. Cit., 1996.

  23. 23.

    Manuel A. Garretón, Op. Cit., pp. 64 and 65.

  24. 24.

    Amnesty International, “Chile Transition at the Crossroads: Human Rights Violations under Pinochet’s Rule Remain the Crux”, 1996 http://www.essex.ac.uk/armedcon/world/americas/south_america/chile/humanrightsviolationsunderpinochet.pdf

  25. 25.

    Amnesty International, Op. Cit., 1996.

  26. 26.

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  27. 27.

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  28. 28.

    Amnesty International, Op. Cit., 1996.

  29. 29.

    Cited in Amnesty International, Op. Cit., 1996.

  30. 30.

    Cited in Amnesty International, Op. Cit., 1996.

  31. 31.

    Cited in Amnesty International, Op. Cit., 1996.

  32. 32.

    Cited in Amnesty International, Op. Cit., 1996.

  33. 33.

    Cited in Amnesty International, Op. Cit., 1996.

  34. 34.

    Cited in Amnesty International, Op. Cit., 1996.

  35. 35.

    Cited in Amnesty International, Op. Cit., 1996.

  36. 36.

    Gregory Weeks, Op. Cit. Chapter 6.

  37. 37.

    Rodrigo Atria, Op. Cit., p. 237.

  38. 38.

    ALAI, América Latina en Movimiento, “Chile Convulsionado por la acusación constitucional contra Pinochet”, April 29, 1998, http://alainet.org/active/94&lang=es

  39. 39.

    http://www.memoriachilena.cl/temas/dest.asp?id=vicariaparada

  40. 40.

    Gregory Weeks, Op. Cit., pp. 98–101, Jorge Correa, “No Victorious Army has ever been Prosecuted: the Unsettled Story of Transitional Justice in Chile” in J. Mc. Adams ed., Transitional Justice and the Rule of Law in New Democracies, University of Notre Dame Press, Indiana, pp. 146–147.

  41. 41.

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  42. 42.

    Greg Weeks, Op. Cit., pp. 101–107.

  43. 43.

    Pascale Bonnefoy, “Manuel Contreras Chilean Spy under Pinochet, Dies at 86” The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/09/world/americas/manuel-contreras-chilean-spy-chief-dies-at-86.html?_r=0

  44. 44.

    The 1980 Constitution established that former Commanders in Chief of the Armed Forces will became Senators for Life. This provision was eliminated from the Constitution in 2005.

  45. 45.

    For analysis of Operation Condor, see Patrice J. McSherry, Predatory States: Operation Condor and Covert War in Latin America, Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2005; John Dinges, The Condor Years: How Pinochet and His Allies Brought Terrorism to Three Continents, The New Press 2004/2005; The National Security Archive, Lifting Pinochet’s Immunity renews Focus on Operation Condor, http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB125/

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  47. 47.

    Cited by Roht-Arriaza, p. 26.

  48. 48.

    La Tercera, www.tercera.cl, October 22, 1998.

  49. 49.

    La Tercera, www.tercera.cl, October 18, 1998.

  50. 50.

    N. Roht-Arriaza, Op. Cit., Ch. 1.

  51. 51.

    See Patrice J. McSherry, Op. Cit., John Dinges, Op. Cit., and The National Security Archive, Op. Cit.

  52. 52.

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  53. 53.

    Human Rights Watch, “The Extradition of General Augusto Pinochet”, October 14, 1999 http://www.hrw.org/news/1999/10/14/extradition-general-augusto-pinochet

  54. 54.

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  55. 55.

    The Guardian, “Extradition Refused as ‘Unjust and Oppressive’”, January 12, 2000, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2000/jan/13/pinochet.chile6

  56. 56.

    BBC News, “Straw: Pinochet may never stand trial”, March 2, 2000, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/663303.stm

  57. 57.

    www.mesaddedialogo.cl. Coordinación de la mesa: Información acerca de sesión de la Mesa de Diálogo sobre Derechos Humanos, August, 31 1999.

  58. 58.

    Rodrigo Atria, Op. Cit., p. 238.

  59. 59.

    Brian Loveman and Elizabeth Lira, El espejismo de la reconciliación política: Chile 1990–2002, Lom Editores, Santiago, 2002, pp. 277–285.

  60. 60.

    Brian Loveman and Elizabeth Lira, Op. Cit., 2002, pp. 277–285.

  61. 61.

    Brian Loveman and Elizabeth Lira, Op. Cit., pp. 277–285; Gregory Weeks, Op. Cit. p.146.

  62. 62.

    Interview, General Carlos Salgado, Santiago December 23, 2010.

  63. 63.

    Daniela Figueroa Videla, “La Mesa de los Derechos Humanos: Un proceso para la historia”, Tesis para optar al grado de Licenciada en Comunicación Social, Santiago, Chile 2001, Archivo Chile http://www.archivochile.com/tesis/07_ddhh/07ddhh0002.pdf

  64. 64.

    Daniela Figueroa Videla, Op. Cit. pp. 93 and 94.

  65. 65.

    Elizabeth Lira, “La mesa de diálogo de Derechos Humanos: Una iniciativa de reconciliación política? Documento preparado para la reunión de LASA, Washington Septiembre, 2001.

  66. 66.

    Elizabeth Lira, Op. Cit. 2001.

  67. 67.

    www.mesadedialogo.cl, Op. Cit., August 31, 1999.

  68. 68.

    Interview, Santiago December 23, 2010.

  69. 69.

    Www.mesadedialogo.cl, July, 7 1999.

  70. 70.

    Elizabeth Lira, Op. Cit., pp. 17 and 18

  71. 71.

    Interview, Santiago, December 23, 2010.

  72. 72.

    www.mesadedialogo.cl. Exposición del General Juan Carlos Salgado, January 13, 2000.

  73. 73.

    The only information about military casualties was reported by General Pinochet and it is discussed earlier.

  74. 74.

    Mesadedialogo.cl, Exposición del Almirante Alex Waghorn, January 13, 2000.

  75. 75.

    Elizabeth Lira, Op. Cit., p. 24.

  76. 76.

    Patrick Barr-Melej, Reforming Chile: Cultural Politics, Nationalism, and the Rise of the Middle Class, University of Nebraska Press, 2002, p. 14.

  77. 77.

    Brian Loveman and Elizabeth Lira.

  78. 78.

    Mesa del Diálogo sobre Derechos Humanos, Intervención de la historiadora Sol Serrano, 7 de septiembre de 1999, www.archivochile.com%2FDerechos_humanos%2FM_Dialogo%2Finterv%2Fhhddinterv0014.pdf&ei=YLK5U8n0McyZqAa24oKYAg&usg=AFQjCNHcyvh4SkcCvWaPn7XUd1bXdsMslg&sig2=aIYUOn1PbumNKSL6Qy_UZA&bvm=bv.70138588,d.b2k.

  79. 79.

    Elizabeth Lira, “Human Rights in Chile: The Long Road to Truth, Justice and Reconciliation” in S. Borzutzky and L. Hecht-Oppenheim, After Pinochet: The Chilean Road to Democracy and the Market, University Press of Florida, 2006 pp. 8 and 9.

  80. 80.

    Emol. Chile, “Declaración de la Mesa de Diálogo sobre Derechos Humanos”, June 13, 2000 http://www.emol.com/noticias/nacional/2000/06/13/23463/declaracion-de-la-mesa-de-dialogo-sobre-derechos-humanos.html

  81. 81.

    Declaración, Op. Cit.

  82. 82.

    Declaración, Op. Cit.

  83. 83.

    E. Lira, Op. Cit., 2006, p. 10.

  84. 84.

    E. Lira, Op. Cit., 2006, p. 9.

  85. 85.

    José Zalaquett, “Políticas de los gobiernos de la Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia frente a las violaciones de derechos humanos durante el régimen militar en Chile”, in Carlos Bascuñán, et. al., eds., Más acá de los sueños, más allá de lo posible: La Concertación en Chile, Vol. II, LOM Ediciones, Santiago, 2009, p. 113.

  86. 86.

    Elizabeth Lira and Brian Loveman, Políticas de reparación, 1990–2004, LOM Editores, Santiago, 2005, p. 171; Declaraciones de Andrés Magaña, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqHmO8txvDQ

  87. 87.

    Interview, Santiago, December 21, 2010.

  88. 88.

    The handshake is important because Pereira had refused to shake hands with Salgado at the beginning of the discussions.

  89. 89.

    Elizabeth Lira, Op. Cit., 2001, pp. 29 and 32.

  90. 90.

    Cristian Correa, “El Decreto Ley de Amnistía: Orígenes, aplicación y debate sobre su validez” in Paulina Veloso, Op. Cit., p. 17 http://www.pnud.cl/proyectos/Documentos%20de%20proyectos/2010/PNUD%207501%20-%20Amnist%C3%ADa.pdf

  91. 91.

    Supreme Court Decision, August 11, 1989, case against Miguel Stay Reino, number 25,900. Cited by Cristian Correa, Op. Cit., p. 18.

  92. 92.

    Cristian Correa, Op. Cit., p. 20.

  93. 93.

    Supreme Court Decisions, case number 469–98, September 1998; case number 28–97 and 973–97, August 1998, case number 2,231–02, August 2003; case number 1,134–02, November 2003; case number 4,622–02 March 2005, and case number 2,326, May 2005. Cited by Cristian Correa, Op. Cit., p. 22.

  94. 94.

    El Libro negro de la justicia chilena, Capítulo 4 http://www.derechos.org/nizkor/chile/libros/lnegro/cap6.html

  95. 95.

    Francisco E. Gonzáles, Dual Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Institutionalized Regimes in Chile and Mexico, 1970–200, John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2008.

  96. 96.

    F. E. Gonzáles, Op. Cit.

  97. 97.

    xxx

  98. 98.

    Ley 19541, Reforma Constitucional relativa al Poder Judicial, December 22, 1997, http://www.leychile.cl/Navegar?idNorma=81905

  99. 99.

    Patricia Verdugo, La Caravana de la muerte: Pruebas a la vista, Editorial Sudamericana, Santiago, 2000, p. 14

  100. 100.

    Patricia Verdugo, Op. Cit., 2000, p. 13

  101. 101.

    Patricia Verdugo, Op. Cit., 2000, p. 24, and “Patricia Verdugo, Los zarpazos del puma” Ediciones Cesoc, Santiago, 1989, p. 26.

  102. 102.

    Juan Guzmán T, En el borde del mundo: Memorias del juez que procesó a Pinochet, Editorial Anagrama, Barcelona, 2005, p. 126.

  103. 103.

    Patricia Verdugo, Op. Cit., 2000, pp. 167–170.

  104. 104.

    Emol, March 9, 2016. http://www.emol.com/noticias/Nacional/2016/03/09/792100/Murio-Sergio-Arellano-Stark-uno-de-los-cabecillas-de-la-Caravana-de-la-muerte.html

  105. 105.

    Juan Guzmán, Op. Cit., p. 134.

  106. 106.

    N. Roht Arriaza, Op. Cit., pp. 76 and 77.

  107. 107.

    Juan Guzmán T., Op. Cit. p. 140.

  108. 108.

    J. Guzmán, Op. Cit. p. 141.

  109. 109.

    P. Verdugo, Op. Cit., p. 20.

  110. 110.

    J. Guzmán, Op. Cit., p. 153.

  111. 111.

    P. Verdugo, Op. cit., p. 21.

  112. 112.

    La Nación, August 10, 2000, Cited by Juan Guzmán, Op. Cit., p. 162.

  113. 113.

    J. Guzmán, Op. Cit., p. 171.

  114. 114.

    J. Guzmán, Op. Cit., pp. 182–203.

  115. 115.

    Human Rights Watch, The Limits of Tolerance: Freedom of Expression and the Public Debate in Chile (New York: Human Rights Watch, 1998), p. ix.

  116. 116.

    TRC Report.

  117. 117.

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  118. 118.

    Nancy Caro Hollander, Love in Time of Hate: Liberation Psychology in Latin America (New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1997), p. 93.

  119. 119.

    Clari News, September 14, 1995.

  120. 120.

    Katherine Sikkink, Op. Cit.

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Borzutzky, S. (2017). The Frei Administration and the Politics of Denial. In: Human Rights Policies in Chile. Studies of the Americas. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53697-2_4

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