MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Former Chilean president father alleged torturers formally charged with his death
Chile charged two former officers in Augusto Pinochet's military dictatorship with being the “co-authors” of the torture that killed the father of former president Michelle Bachelet. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesMichelle Bachelet firstly must ask somethings to her uncle not any other inconsequent persons.
Jul 18th, 2012 - 07:06 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Vincit Omnia Veritas
Jul 18th, 2012 - 08:35 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@1
Jul 18th, 2012 - 10:57 pm - Link - Report abuse 0What do you mean by that?
Great news.
Jul 19th, 2012 - 04:37 am - Link - Report abuse 0It was a sad time in Chile. To those that try to justify the crimes of the dictatorship with the economic gains of the country, I simply say Socialism was doomed and so was Allende. This incompetent fool was never going to win the 1976 election, his wholesale destruction of the economy and the social fabric of the republic would have guaranteed this. The coup was unnecessary and an ugly stain on our glorious military constitutional heroes.
Jul 19th, 2012 - 08:12 am - Link - Report abuse 0TCP, it is a very hypothetical prediction of yours to say, that Allende would have fallen over his own disastrous government. Nobody can/could predict this. You only considered the economical aspect and assume that this alone would have suffice to get rid of him, but you forget that Allende was not only undermining economical substance of the nation, but also subverting the democratic institutions, call it the parliament or even worse, the rulings of the highest court.
Jul 19th, 2012 - 11:44 am - Link - Report abuse 0A country, whereas the president aims to eliminate the seperation of powers is doomed and is very likely to convert into an authoritarian/dictatorial regime in a short term. Examples you have plenty... Nevertheless, the military coup did take over this role of the villian for him.
PS: suprisingly to see Michelle Bachelet being such a handsome girl in her youth.
Great news, its taking a bit longer than in Argentina but I hope all the criminals of the Pinochet regime still alive will be made to pay. And from a politicians standpoint, this must be helpful to Bachelet if she was to stand for President again?
Jul 20th, 2012 - 07:46 am - Link - Report abuse 0#5 An interesting perspective. While we don't agree on socialism we seem to agree on democracy, and if the people were left genuinely to decide in 1976 then, whatever their decision, that would have been legitimate. Unfortunately the ruling class groups around Pinochet and Nixon's CIA didn't agree
#6 So kill him and torture his associates to death, thats clearly the best way to deal with someone who's “ndermining institutions of democracy”! No hypocrisy there of course! PS why is it surprising that Michelle was pretty??
BK
Jul 20th, 2012 - 07:41 pm - Link - Report abuse 0It must be so easy to preach from where you are sitting. From your comments on ManRod’s post it is clear that you do not understand or choose not to understand that the complexities of the situation.
Manrod is 100% correct. There would not have been free elections under Allende. Under Allende our fate would have been similar to eastern Europe under Soviet rule. I suppose you agree with that kind of democracy, one in which you don’t get a vote? Do you really think that we would have been different? How many people in Cuba get to vote?
If you think about it, it is offensive that you think we should have submitted like sheep and just been marched down the road to Soviet ruin. It might be your nirvana, but it is closer to hell for most of us. Many Chilean were victimized by the PS thugs, property stolen and favours dished out party faithful. It wasn’t about ruling classes. It might be a romantic notion that fits with your view from afar of how thing were. But you are very wrong, many working class Chileans wanted rid of Allende.
Unfortunately when things get to the extreme that your own military is required to remove your own leaders then the perverse logic of war takes over and people get killed. If you try to burn down my house and I respond by burning down your house, you are as responsible as I am for the damage caused.
If you were to ask Chileans if they supported the coup, about 30% would say yes. If you were to ask if it was a necessary evil about 60% would say yes. That 60% is not the ruling class it is everyday Chileans. Confirmation of the rejection of the far left in Chile can be seen at the ballot box.
BK, if you want to live in some centrally planned, corrupt, impoverished, totalitarian state, go live in Cuba or North Korea.
CP
What makes you think that we would have fared any better than Cuba?
Sure Allende would have continued to trash the economy, but as a soviet satellite we would have been propped up until the end of the cold war.
#6
Jul 22nd, 2012 - 10:32 am - Link - Report abuse 0Unlike a lot of other banana republics Chile in early 1973 still had a fully functioning parliament, a very aggressive independent media, an educated population, an independent judiciary and police force. It also had a rock solid military, a constitutionalist force that could easily counter any “soviet” interference. So there was NO WAY it could EVER have become a “Cuba”. Whoever believes this dictatorship propaganda is crazy.
#7
I and most Chileans do not support Communism (last ballot 4.6% support). This failed experiment was doomed and Allende was finished. The military had taken steps to disarm extremist groups long before Allende replaced Gen Prats with Pinochet. The dictatorship apologists always point to the fact that there was a rival army ready to turn Chile into Cuba. This is simply NOT true. What is true is that the sovereign right of my fellow citizens to choose whoever the hell they wanted to choose to run the place was stolen by a foreign power. Sadly many died unnecessarily as the winner of the 1976 election undoubtedly would've been the Christian democrats.
#8
You are completely right in saying that Allende would have continued to ”trash'' the economy right up to the 1976 election. But what is worse, three more years of damage and destruction to the economy and social fabric of the country or the destruction of 3000 lives and countless others irreparably damaged by torture or the murder of their loved ones. Let's get real here buddy real people were killed, Dads, moms, brothers, sisters NOTHING can excuse this, NOTHING! And all because they believed in a different political ideology, it's NUTS!! Look at it today Chilean commies are just as involved in capitalism as the Pinochetistas. It was a tragic loss. And finally there was never any threat of us becoming a soviet satellite, there is ample evidence from the Russians themselves. Had the army stayed true to their constitutionalist roots the '76 election would've solved everything.
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