Tanding ere were demanding know whereabours or fate of their relatives. As Pinochet's recent general amnesty extends to the secret police (DINA/CNI), the relatives have no recourse to Even if they can demonstrale that the DENA took their away amnesty has already pardoned The Dolsee - 50 there is no crime to answer for!
The postponed for 30 days after Pinochet would give information ahout everyone who has disappeared, SOLIDARITY The 30 days expires on 8 July and already the junta his denied that made promises to the relatives. further solidarity actions will probably be necessary:
The origins of the hunger strikes are to be found in two sets of events apparently quite unconnected the disappearmurder Orlando Lether On September Letchcr, a former Minister in Allende's government, killed by a bomb in Washington DC.
A vear before the Lettier the Committee for Peace of the Chilean had TENTLE Chilean Supreme Cour Inquiry into disappearance Teftists the made no response but coincidentally a minor Brazilian paper O Dia and an Argentinian magazine Les published reports that the 119. had been internal left-wing fäction fight and in clashes i Argentina with the police.
The Chilean press gleefully scized on these reports with the headline, The rats are tre. ginning to kill cach other".
ARE THEY?
WEWANTE TO KNOWE THE TRUTH A solemn MARCH FOR THE 2500 Each marcher carrying a white carnationSUNDAY JULY 9TH IFE ANUFREEDOL cast light on the truth of these reports: i was discovered that magatine Leu was subsiby Argentina and that O Dia was not a minor Brazilian paper one and only publication been that devored to this very "scoop!
Le Monde then discovered general that several of those supposedly killed in Argentina had heen last seen at the time of was DINA who indeed admited inat they wore in castody, full In November 1976 FASIC tan independent body of the Chilean Church) released stati onl detainees: totalled 1400. considerable reduction on the Amnesty International reports any This reduction in numbers could not be explained either by the number of prisoners serving short sentences, nor by those who had commuted their sentence to exile. Morcover, a wave of kidnappings beginning.
DIPLOMATIC
1976 By 1978 the formal lifting of the Siege was *General Amnesty', the com mutation of many sentences into exile, the release of 224 political prisoners es of a new draft Constitution church had resulted in an diplomatic offensive by the junta to repain international mass The political prisoners with criminal offences process as the Church usually aus to defend such prisoners. There were only two prob. lems outstandine. the prearcd and affair.
It was a this moment tha the US Deputy Secretary of State presented a letter to the Chilean Supreme Court from is US cquivalent requesting that two men be interviewed in Orgo-ketbrile Oil Soldanly Campoo IPSemeSses Road London hi Tel: 2724238 OR CHILE'S DISAPPEARED PRISONER altair in the presence of a US investigator.
The men were named fascists Williams Alciantro names which puzzled several experts on Chilean mincteenth century history as they were who, one hundred years to the Letelier, had Chilcan flag on the Magellan Straits!
DINA'S ended when the photographs of the two men were simultan cously published Wushington Mercurio in Santiago (which is which known to have close links with This was intelligence The men identified as Michael Vernor Townley and Armando FerTHEY LATIN say, the shit had hit the fan CAPTAIN Larios was a serving Captain was in the Chilean Army? Coincidentally he had just been given leave for a long holiday when the sory broke!
Townley was a nobody - an electronics engineer the for an American h "coincidences" seemed to dog his life toot and promi- He was quickly identified as overall Libertad - a leading member of Parria 3 Dirls. Not just that wanted for blowing sation in March 1973 and murdering a night watchman during the raid. had aided this Most embarrassingly of all it мая soon May 1976 he had been wpriing on a case involving the tracing Letelier disa- of a right-wing Cuban lertor ist: a case not being handled by the authorities - but the US Federal Bureau E8лоD The juma new story. The men had indeed used Chulean passports the records showed that aisports in question had beer ssued to a mother and child, going one but it was not the Therefore unlals responsibility sody a responsihle By a remarkable come. denice, the those passports had committed suicide within Letelier's murder.
A few doubting Thomases had questioned whether this was at fact suicide but no one had paid them aily heed.
SCANDAL Tel it was perhaps strange that che inquest had ascribed death to 'heart failure withour unking that Taure' to the teport of a The official had last been acco leaving a reception at the Peruvian Embassy in the car of 'Colteras head of DINA — the Chilean secrer police.
The councidences began to crowd cach other thick fast Within an hour discovery of the official's body General Forestier (an intimate al Contreras and Pinochet)
visited the family and persuaded them not io much fuss about the suicide.
Even by the standards of Rose Romeral Jara planted the hooe of a cover-un in Post and services).
BUILAL and, as they working in serics the Clulean fascist discovered that in junta.
serics Christian of Investii came up with a and Townley Trom Chile -but the bead of Contreras.
cover-up mes Townley expulion gave the Consulate was Armly Captain).
CRISIS a month of lying down.
quickly revealed that he equipmert On turther bullet tien of. President Contreras WiLs Pledge tunately and expulsion from the braud?
make too Generals" Chile today this was a scandal. Divisions opened ap within the duced General Leigh dropped bis old fascist fends and made a critical speeches the crucial Democra! leader Forces, the 'Scate of Siege" was lifled ольстро was expelled to thie USA quick Ever this was not cuouet: the price of the Gelleral" support for Pinocher was the HIS by 00W obviously the scapegoat. His the USA victim and took the pressure off Contreras and Larios (tbe movement.
His wife did not take the Santiago. bons.
Having at first
denied that lie was anything sighred but an electronics engineer, she had arrested made several tries to the USA to bury electronic surveillance for the forces and thar he bad worked on other matters with the FBI questioning She revcaled thar Townley was one the leaders of the DINA El Mercurio then revealed that the equipmen Townles had perchased in the USA bad neen tor the persomal protecPinocher.
The junta denied all knowoh Towne regular trips Unfor25] reason they had given for his Also country had been atrepular trips a on May What ensued was the most serious crisis the recome had ever faced. At a molling of the Council a motion asking Pinochet to resign was uhly lost by 13 vates to 17, A Cabinet reshuffle promajority civilian cahinel although Pinochet's posts Delencel. the Divisions were beginning to within the Generals.
The Navy seemed to Tavour a reluTE barracks, sections of the Army seemed to favour a "trazilian' solution, others remained hard liners and gave Contreras a standing ovation on the day of his duughrer's wedding although official sources went to some pains to deny this.
The splits within the Gener als gave confidence to the mass On May Day, despice the ban on demonstra5,000 marched incredibly shortbrutaL ty the police people the Dutch trade unions.
The mass movement wa Intercontinental Press DOCUMENTS fran the discussion in the French Communise Party are printed in the latest issue of Intercontinal Press/laprecor [Vol 10, No.
featured are interview with Daniel Bensuid 68. Why Curter is Shouting at Castro', by Joseph Hansen; un analysis of the lux CENE USA: examination of the process of "de-Mucisution" in China, and • further mulerial Encluding an stirring again: it culminated in the hanger by the relacives of the disappeared. This was Ence to ComI with the arrival in Santiazo ol an AFL-CIO delegation...and American head of th *Letelier avestigating team It would he foolish to make hasty the Generals' speedy demisc Bul despile cverything resistance is sirring and the Generals are in internal crisis — the fruits of their internal brutality and jaternational isolation.
Sucialists must step-up theiz fighs in solidaricy with the Chilean people because concessions by the regime might bring for diplomatic recog nition.
Recognition, the legitimation which goes with it and the financial aid to the economy it would involve, would stabilise the dictatorship for a mud longer period than now seems possible.
That is why the hanger strikes are so important combined win imprecor inferview on the successful campaign free Hugo Single copies ure 10p plus mAD, but why not tuke adsan tape of the favourable suhseri issues], ES for six months |24 issues], introductory offer of 10 issues Write now to Intercontinental Press/Inprecur PO Box 50. London N1 2XP. All cheques. POs should be mude nut to Intercontinental Press.
SOCIALIST CHALLENGE 29 June 197B page 13
BAD TASTE: PLEASE IGNORE THE LEMBEDELE
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Bur cerain facts began 1o | coanection with the Letelier DISAPPEARED PRISONERS IN CHILE' the hunger strikers" symbol for their missing relatives