Pinochet: Better late than never

A Chilean court has stripped former military dictator, General 
Augusto Pinochet, of his immunity from prosecution on human 
rights charges. Pinochet could be prosecuted for 108 different 
criminal charges lodged against him.

"Very good news", said Lorena Pizarro, the head of an association 
for the relatives of victims of the repression suffered by the 
Chilean people during Pinochet's rule. "We are happy now, but we 
remain alert because the next step must be for the dictator to go 
to jail and pay for all the crimes for which he is responsible", 
she said. More than 3000 people were killed or disappeared under 
Pinochet's rule.

In this period among many other crimes, military officers toured 
the country hauling political activists from jail cells, 
torturing and executing them. It became known as the "Caravan of 
Death".

Pinochet has been able to avoid prosecution for many years 
claiming that he suffered from diabetes, arthritis and a mild 
case of dementia. For a time he was detained in Britain following 
a visit to London for medical treatment but the Labour 
Government's then home secretary, Jack Straw, ruled that he 
should not be extradited.

An appeal by Pinochet against the court's decision is still 
likely but the recent decision shows that Pinochet is neither 
physically nor mentally unfit to stand trial. He recently took 
part in a Chilean TV interview.