Pinochet purges arrests ordered

[Judi Lynn]

Page last updated at 00:30 GMT, Wednesday, 2 September 2009 01:30 UK
Pinochet purges arrests ordered

A Chilean judge has issued arrest warrants for 129 people for allegedly helping to purge critics of former ruler General Augusto Pinochet.

The suspects - the largest group so far to face arrest warrants - all worked for the secret police agency, Dina.

They are accused of taking part in killings and disappearances of dozens of leftists and opposition activists.

Since Gen Pinochet left power in 1990, arrests of his agents have been frequent - often dividing opinion.

BBC Americas analyst Emilio San Pedro says it is the largest number of arrest warrants ever issued in connection with human rights abuses in Chile.

The warrants also name dozens of former military and security officials who had never faced charges before, he adds.

Disappeared

Anti-Pinochet activists have broadly supported the move to punish those responsible for torture and murder.

But many Chileans have questioned the wisdom of continuing to chase down suspects, saying many of those now being arrested were little more than foot-soldiers.

Thousands of activists were killed or disappeared during the 1973-1990 rule of Gen Pinochet.

Judge Victor Montiglio's latest warrants relate to operations when Dina agents purged opponents of the general.

The first is Operation Condor - a long-running campaign launched in the mid-1970s to hunt down and kill left-wingers.

Condor was a continent-wide operation, also backed by the rulers of Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay.

More:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8232996.stm

[Judi Lynn]

1. Chile seeks arrests for alleged human rights violations

Chile seeks arrests for alleged human rights violations
updated 9 minutes ago

SANTIAGO, Chile (CNN) -- Arrest warrants for more than 120 former soldiers and agents of Chile's National Intelligence Directorate were issued Tuesday for alleged human rights violations during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, CNN Chile reported.

The scale of the order by Judge Victor Montiglio makes this the largest human rights prosecution case in Chile's history.

The Pinochet dictatorship ruled from 1973-1990, after which Chile returned to civilian rule under a democratically elected government. Government investigations conducted after Pinochet left power say nearly 2,300 people disappeared during the dictatorship and another 30,000 were tortured.

At least 51 of the warrants were in connection with a disinformation campaign in the 1970s known as Operation Colombo that historians say was aimed at hiding human rights abuses. Other warrants were linked to Operation Condor, which involved a network of secret police agencies in the region that targeted political opponents in the mid- and late-1970s, and a plot against communist leaders known as the Calle Conferencia case.

More:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/09/01/chile.dirty.war/index.html