[NYTr] Landau: September, The Cruellest Month in Chile Date: Thu, 20 Sep 2007 04:41:06 -0500 (CDT) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit Progreso Weekly - Sep 20, 2007 http://progreso-weekly.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=150&Itemid=1 September, the cruelest month in Chile By Saul Landau bLilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain.b -T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land On September 10, 1810, Chile declared independence from Spain. On September 4, 1970, Chilebs Popular Unity coalition of left parties under the leadership of Dr. Salvador Allende won the presidential elections with a plurality of 36.4 percent. On September 11, 1973, Army Chief General Augusto Pinochet led a U.S.-backed military coup that killed Allende and Chilean democracy. The military dictatorship endured for 17 years. U.S. interference in Chilebs elections began in the 1950s and 1960s when the CIA poured money into the right wing opposition. Less than a week after Nixon received the disappointing news about the presidential vote, he decided to annul the Chilean vote. A quote widely attributed to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger explained Nixonbs morality: bI don't see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its people. The issues are much too important for the Chilean voters to be left to decide for themselves.b Nixon ordered CIA Director Richard Helms, according to Helmsb subsequently published notes, to use violence, economic warfare and whatever else it took to prevent Allendebs inauguration and, failing that, to unseat his government. Nixon and Kissingerbs sense of bresponsibilityb meant breaking the law -- in the name of bnational security.b Following the bloody 9/11/73 coup in Chile, Kissinger eagerly recognized the Pinochet-led coupbs illegitimate bjuntab and offered it economic aid as well. He also pressured international lending organizations to open their wallets to Pinochet. The U.S. government has yet to declassify documents related to the role in the coup of U.S. Navy spy ships docked in the Valparaiso harbor -- by coincidence? -- on Septmber 11. The ships monitored Chilean military phone and radio traffic on the day of the golpe and provided coup organizers with information about units loyal to Allende that might resist; thus, the coup plotters could repress them and avoid civil war. The coup script also called for Allende to surrender. Since he refused to play his assigned part, the generals ordered Chilean Air Force jets to fire rockets into the Moneda Palace. (Think of the Pentagon 28 years later -- only the Chilean pilots did not sacrifice themselves, but flew their military jets to safety!) The assault on the Presidentbs office killed Chilean democracy -- and President Allende. The high command of the Chilean armed forces -- unlike the fiends who flew commercial aircraft into office buildings and the Pentagon -- acted at the behest of bhigher powersb in Washington, not in Heaven, although no one should doubt the intensity of U.S. support for the coup. General Carlos Prats, former Chilean Chief of Staff, identified Lt. Col. Patrick Ryan, a Naval AttachC), as the key U.S. military liaison officer assigned to the coup plotters. (Prats was assassinated in 1974 in Buenos Aires by agents of Pinochetbs secret police.) Ryan called the day of the coup bour D-Day.b He described the military operation as bclose to perfect.b (Department of Defense, U.S. Milgroup, Situation Report #2, October 1, 1973 http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB8/nsaebb8.htm) Perfection for Ryan included the reestablishment of bliberty.b In the weeks following the coup, the military dictatorship showed its understanding of liberty: its troops murdered, kidnapped and tortured tens of thousands and forced hundreds of thousands to flee the country. Pinochetbs dictatorship endured for 17 years. Thirty years later, Secretary of State Colin Powell offered sort of an apology: bwhat happened with Mr. Allendeb&is not a part of American history that webre proud of.b (Interview on Black Entertainment Television's Youth Town Hall, Feb. 20, 1973) A typical congressional responses to imperial crimes came in 1975: post mortem hearings about the CIAbs role in Chile. In the testimony, the Solons bdiscoveredb that Nixon and Kissinger had ordered the CIA to bdestabilizeb the Allende government. (United States Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, a U.S. Senate committee chaired by Senator Frank Church (D-ID). Sanctimonious Senators and haughty House Members declared their outrage. Yes, once again, the President had broken U.S. laws by conspiring to overthrow governments and kidnap and murder people. This bshockingb behavior occurred just as Congress voted no more funds to continue the Vietnam War where such behavior had become routine. In one bresponsibleb gambit, the Agency paid $50,000 to Patria y Libertad thugs. The extreme right wing bactionb group tried to kidnap Army Chief General Rene Schneider, but the abductors shot and killed the General and his chauffer. The CIA also organized strikes in strategic sectors of the economy, orchestrated Chilean media propaganda campaigns to smear Allende and paid saboteurs to attack power plants and other infrastructural assets. The Treasury Department pressured international agencies and foreign balliesb to curtail Chilebs foreign credit. bMake the economy scream,b wrote CIA Chief Richard Helms in his notes taken from a meeting with Nixon and Kissinger about what the Agency should do to bring down the Alllende government. Nixon had to resign in 1974, not because of his criminal acts against Chile, but rather for showing his contempt for U.S. laws at home as well. Kissinger, however, continues to receive honorific deference and high consulting fees. In addition, he still gets his pompous commentaries published in leading newspapers. Like Nixon before he died, Kissinger deserves his proper place: in the dock facing charges of war crimes for conspiracy to commit mass murder and other crimes against the people of Chile. (Add to his crimes orders to bomb civilian targets in Vietnam and his support for massive killing in Indonesia. Kissinger represents the obvious dark side of empire -- that Metternichian balance to bdemocracy spreadersb who paint noble intentions over U.S. aggressions.) Even after four and a half years of war in Iraq, bnaC/ve Members still feign bshockb when confronted by daily illegal behavior. Imagine, the President dares violate the very laws and treaties that state Congress must declare war and outlaws interference in other nationsb destinies! Havenbt they learned the unwritten clause attached to U.S. laws that say they apply to everyone else, not the empirebs rulers. Indeed, how would the empire bpunishb naughty -- disobedient -- nations if it had to abide by such restrictions as non-intervention? Others count much less. The U.S. media paid little or no attention to the 34th anniversary of Allendebs election, or the military coup in Chile. When TV or print news cover that Andean nation -- rarely -- reporters often fail to mention the coup and the U.S. role in it. Instead, Chile gets characterized as a bsuccessful democracy,b an example of bfree marketb success, where neo liberal economics brought economic growth. Amnesia exists in some Chilean minds as well; not just young people, but those who donbt want to recall the bunpleasantnessb of that aberrant period. How long does it take to heal from the trauma of a coup and 17 years of military rule? I asked a Chilean friend. bIbll let you know,b he said. September 18 is Chilebs national day, a week after September 11. Chileans count more dead from their 9/11 than the U.S. does from its trauma -- plus the loss of liberties, the constitution, university system and other institutions deemed dangerous by the military plotters. Chileans have recovered some freedom, some confidence in old institutions. Fools anywhere may continue to trust the military to accept its subordinate role, but only idiots will rely on Washingtonbs repeated assurances that it will obey international law. The loss of innocence is painful and permanent. Salvador Allende, one of the last true democrats, perished with gun in hand, defending the Constitution, the peoplebs document. In his last radio speech, tanks surrounding the Moneda Palace, Allende said: bMy words do not have bitterness but disappointment.b He refused to resign. bI will pay for loyalty to the people with my life. And I say to them that I am certain that the seeds which we have planted in the good conscience of thousands and thousands of Chileans will not be shriveled forever.b Allende asked Chilebs workers to grasp the lesson: bforeign capital, imperialism, together with the reaction, created the climate in which the Armed Forces broke their tradition.... The people must defend themselves, but they must not sacrifice themselves. The people must not let themselves be destroyed or riddled with bullets, but they cannot be humiliated either... These are my last words, and I am certain that my sacrifice will not be in vain, I am certain that, at the very least, it will be a moral lesson that will punish felony, cowardice, and treason.b One day, the majority will absorb Allendebs warning. [Saul Landau is an Institute for Policy Studies Fellow. His latest book is A BUSH AND BOTOX WORLD. His new film is WE DONbT PLAY GOLF HERE.] [Full text of Salvador Allende's final address to the nation is here at the link below. -NY Transfer] "Remembering the Atrocities of 9/11 - 34 Years Ago" 9/11/2007 http://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/Week-of-Mon-20070910/068221.html *** "Missing" The Death of Charles Horman Resulted in an Arrest, 30 Years Later* The Guardian - Dec 12, 2003 http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,12589,1105336,00.html Arrest in Chile for 1973 coup death of US film-maker by Jonathan Franklin in Santiago A retired military intelligence officer has been arrested in Chile for his role in the execution of the American film-maker Charles Horman, whose death during the 1973 military coup became the focus of the film Missing. The arrest on Wednesday of Colonel Rafael GonzC!lez, 64, was the first big break in the 30-year investigation of the killing. Judge Jorge Zepeda, who is investigating the case, said more arrests were expected in the next several weeks. Article continues Horman was picked up by a military patrol on September 17 1973, six days after the US-backed coup deposed President Salvador Allende and installed the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Horman was taken for interrogation to the national football stadium, which had been turned into a prison camp. His body was found in a mortuary months later. New evidence indicates that he was killed elsewhere, at "an installation under the control of the Chilean intelligence service", according to Sergio CorvalC!n, the lawyer in Chile acting for Horman's widow, Joyce. Recently unearthed papers in the Chilean military archives show that Horman's arrest was closely monitored by the US secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, whose responses to questions about his knowledge of the affairs have failed to satisfy the victim's lawyers. Gen Pinochet's part in Horman's death is also being re-examined: the courts are considering a human rights lawyer's request to interview him about it. Mr CorvalC!n said Horman's death had been "completely avoidable". He said the newly discovered memoranda showed that US officials could have saved his life. He said: "These arrests are a huge advance, but we need further cooperation from US authorities. Many of the relevant documents are still classified. "The question now is whether the death of Horman was negligence or far worse." An excerpt from the investigating judge's report says that Horman was arrested and interrogated because of the investigative reports he published before the coup. In the early 1970s he spent months researching and writing about the role of the US government in fomenting a coup in Chile, and in particular its role in the murder of RenC) Schneider, who was the Chilean army chief of staff and a fervent supporter of Allende and the Chilean constitution. *** * For updated info, and links to more articles on documents revealing the depth of US involvement in the Chile coup and Horman's death specifically, see HormanTruth.org: http://www.hormantruth.org/building.htm According to the US State Department's March 6, 2007 report on Human Rights in Chile, 2006 http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78884.htm "Judge Jorge Zepeda's investigation of retired security officer Rafael Gonzales, charged in connection with the 1973 killing of US citizen Charles Horman, remained pending at year's end." * ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us Our main website: http://www.blythe.org List Archives: http://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ Subscribe: http://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr =================================================================