The Despot’s Dead!

Stephanie Lord

December 10th, the International Day of Human Rights this year also became the day that genocidal mad man, former Chilean dictator and all round despot Augusto Pinochet finally died. Callous and unyielding in his ruthlessness, the name ‘Pinochet’ has become synonymous with torture and murder for Chilean people. He has been reviled by left-wingers across the globe since he seized power from a democratically elected left government in 1973.

He died over 15 years after his downfall in 1990. Even at this stage he still faced multiple charges of kidnapping, murder, and torture as well as accusations of drug-trafficking and tax evasion. Former Brit warlock Margaret Thatcher has apparently said that she is “deeply saddened” by his death. I bet she is. At the grand old age of 81, she’s another year closer to hell too. Pinochet is probably keeping a seat warm for her down there beside Hitler and other assorted nutters. Thatcher once thanked him for “bringing democracy to Chile”. Clearly her definition of democracy is a military coup d’etat, followed by years of suppression, thousands of disappearances, with thousands more forced to flee Chile, the banning of all leftist parties and an estimated 2,095 deaths. Funny that she felt the change in circumstances in Chile had brought democracy even though it had an incredibly stable democracy already in place. Pinochet the “democrat” also forgot to pay his taxes to the grand total of $28million which he had stashed in numerous foreign bank accounts until a pesky US senate investigation uncovered that one.

Pinochet, after his arrest in London 1998 on foot of a Spanish extradition warrant, Jack Straw the British Home Secretary allowed him to return to Chile due to ill-health. When Pinochet arrived in Chile, he promptly abandoned his wheelchair. Despite this miracle, he simultaneously claim ill-health in an effort to not have to stand trial. Perhaps Jack Straw had uncovered the hash-stash his son was off selling to tabloid reporters in the style of an episode of Cheech and Chong, and it had such a profound effect on him he failed to realise the error in what he was doing. I really don’t know.

Illness was to become a recurring theme for Pinochet and every opportunity to try him was dogged by his claims of having dementia/feeling under the weather etc. His death has stolen from the people he wronged the satisfaction of seeing him live out his days in a prison cell. I won’t crack open the champagne because the man is gone. He should not have died in a military hospital after years under house arrest. He should have served a prison sentence appropriate to his numerous crimes against humanity – life.

Pinochet’s old bellicose buddy Thatcher can send all the condolences she wants but it will not take away from the fact that the man was a criminal. A criminal who has departed this realm without ever having being sentenced. It is widely acknowledged that more could have been done to bring him to justice. Perhaps if Jack Straw had acted differently…who knows? It does serve to show however, the importance of having a speedy and efficient justice system. Not that the Brits are strangers to ineffective justice systems.

All that matters now though, is the world has one less neo-liberal in it. And with the clock in Thatcher’s kitchen tick tock tick tocking in the background we might be two less sooner than we think – best keep that champagne on ice.